AddictedToTravel.com

Hi there. I have seen many programmes on Antarctica and it looks absolutely amazing and is definitely on my wish list of places to travel to. But......is it a place that we should avoid under the environmental argument or is it better to still go, but only with good guys who take care of all those issues? Anybody know what the current opinion is?

The arguments for and against visiting Antarctica are vast. As Clive says above, you can't help but have an effect by visiting (even if on the face of it the effect seems positive) and it probably is one of the last pristine environments remaining on earth. On the other hand, as with a number of other parts of the world, the tourism $ prevents alternative activities either due to direct need for land for tourism or an increased knowledge and interest in the area. The boats really do seem to work together so that they only visit a certain set of places, aiming to leave the rest to the scientific researchers, if that.

The good news for me was that on board most of the boats, there are lecture series which the majority of visitors partake in. The most lively lecture by far for us was a seminar on Antarctica's future and the effect of tourism. By entering into debate directly with the people providing the tours, your voice can immediately be heard and have effect. And, further, the big cruise ships (the ones with black tie, casinos and few lectures) still seem to have the same restrictions on stopping and number of passengers getting off so they can't do any more damage than anyone else.

In terms of tours, I can highly recommend MV Polar Star. It's a smaller boat (circa 100 passengers max) and is an ice breaker which means that you can generally get in further. The thing the websites don't tell you is that if you are on an ice breaker, the hull is more rounded and hence the ship rolls more in the open ocean so if you go for one, make sure it doesn't have 11 storeys as you will definitely feel the effects. That's where the Polar Star sems to have got it right! Plenty of lectures on board, lots of stops, cosy atmosphere, very comfortable but certainly still expedition cruise rather than cruise cruise.

Yes, Carl, I've also seen there is a big debate about all of the different pros and cons of carbon offsetting at the moment.

When I flew to the Galapagos Islands recently I did offset my flights online with the approach that a small contribution is better than no contribution at all. I just hope it does a small amount of good and wasn't all swallowed up in admin costs or ineffective projects.

On the Galapagos Islands there were several organisations looking for donations to help fund their conservation projects, which I also contributed to. Maybe my money would have been better spent by offering the same amount directly to these local charities – at least I could be sure it would have gone directly to the area I was visiting.