[althaine]

I happen to be in Antarctica right now employed by the Australian program that you linked to.

> There's perks, bonuses etc on top of that.

No, the 150,000-170,000 pay range for most of us (everyone but the station leader and doctor) is inclusive of all our allowances. There are a few extra duties like deputy station leader and fire chief that get an additional allowance.

> I wonder if they pay for their own room and board or if that's one of the perks; given they have a cook I suspect they have communal food at least.

All food and accomodation (and utilities, internet, phone calls, recreational equipment and trips, cold weather survival clothing) is provided to us. I have essentially zero expenses.

[Etheryte]

This is both incredibly cool and also somehow such a HN moment. Of course there's someone here who's currently stationed in Antarctica.

Out of curiosity, since I've always had the idea of visiting one day, what do you reckon is the most feasible way to do so, short of stationing there for a living like you are?

[althaine]

Well this is my fourth time down so my recommendation is to figure out how to work down here - it is by far the most cost effective way to experience it!

I don't have much familiarity with the tourism side. The majority of tourist will go via cruises out of Ushuaia to the Antarctic peninsula and sub-Antarctic islands. The advice I've always heard is to go with the smallest ship you can as there are IAATO regulations on how many passengers can go ashore per ship per day and you want to maximise opportunities to get ashore. Price can vary a lot depending on cabin, quality of the operator and last minute deals to fill berths.

If you have a lot of money (>100k USD) burning a hole in your pocket then there are high-end tourist camps run by groups like Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions and White Desert that will fly you to the continent and then around to penguin rookeries, mountain climbing and the South Pole.