Deception Island, Antarctica

Deception Island is a huge and secure natural port in the South Shetland Islands near the Antarctic Peninsula. This is an active volcano's caldera, which severely devastated local scientific stations in 1967 and 1969. The island used to be a whaling station; presently, it is the most popular tourist site, with over 15,000 tourists each year, and two scientific stations from Argentina and Spain operating during the summer season. While numerous governments have claimed sovereignty, the Antarctic Treaty System continues to govern the region.

There is an island north of the Antarctic Peninsula that is so unusual that Jules Verne may have used it as the enigmatic hidden base of the Nautilus in his famous sci-fi classic 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. The island is a partially submerged caldera of an active volcano, with a sheltered interior harbor. Despite its name, it has traditionally served as a safe haven for mariners caught in severe seas. Because of the geothermally heated water, this is one of the few spots in Antarctica where you may swim.

Don't miss out on seeing the ruins of Hektor Whaling Station and Antarctica's biggest cemetery, both of which are Antarctic Treaty Historic Sites.

If you want to get there, you should fly to Buenos Aires and then take a small airline or a 50-hour bus journey to Ushuaia. Once there, you'll need to arrange overnight passage to the South Shetlands through the famed Drake Passage.