While Australia's borders remain indefinitely closed to international travel, there's still one way you can leave the country for a truly adventurous vacay – if only for a day.
You can now book your highly sought-after seat on a charter flight making its scenic way to Antarctica with travel operator, Antarctica Flights. How, you ask? Flights to Antarctica are classified as 'domestic' – so you won't even need to take your passport with you. The flight will soar across Antarctica's landscape, with each approximately 12.5-hour flight path carefully mapped out to ensure that both sides of the plane get their dose of stunning scenery and otherworldly views of ice-caps, glaciers and the coastline of the Treaty area. While you're in flight, you'll hear from explorers and scholars who will illuminate the history of the mysterious continent.
You can leave from cities around Australia on a series of limited dates across the summer. Melburnians can hop on board the flight departing on January 31 – check out the details here. You'll get food on board, a full bar, and some sneaky in-flight entertainment before the views begin.
As expected, this kind of shebang doesn't exactly come for cheap. The starting fare of $1,199 will get you a seat but without access to a window. On the Economy Class Standard ($2,199), the Economy Class Superior ($3,199) and the Premium Economy Class ($3,999), you'll be able to rotate seats during the flight so that you get some solid time gazing down at the spectacular landscape. If that's not enough for you, Business Class Deluxe tickets, with whole-flight access to the window, come for a cool $7,999 per person.
Book in online here. Maybe 2021 is the year you tick this off your bucket list?