Meet Ilanosh, Ilana Ben Michael, 28, the owner of a sportswear brand and a travel blogger, who recently married the love of her life, Bar. For their honeymoon, they chose the most radical destination possible: Antarctica.
“My husband suggested we go to Argentina and Peru, and I wasn’t that excited,” she told ynet. “It sounded a little ordinary to me. Then we discovered that to get to Antarctica, you have to leave from Ushuaia,” she said, referring to the port city in southern Argentina. “We said, ‘OK, let’s go for it, and we’ll add the Amazon too. We’ll make it an extreme trip, the coldest and wettest place in the world. We love adventures,” she said with a laugh.
The unusual choice of destination was not something they took for granted. “At first, I didn’t tell people,” she said. “I was afraid it would be canceled. I didn’t want to jinx it.” Once she did tell, the reactions came immediately. “People were shocked. They thought I was joking. “It’s not a typical destination for people our age.”
The crowd on the ship also surprised her. “I thought it would be only older people,” she said with a smile. “And there were, but also young people our age. “But we were probably the only couple our age who paid for the trip ourselves,” she said with a smile. “We were the only Israelis on the cruise, but no one seemed to care.” The reason, she said, was clear: “People don’t go to Antarctica to argue politics, but to see whales.”
To reach Antarctica from South America, travelers must cross the Drake Passage, a broad stretch of sea considered one of the stormiest in the world. “It’s one of the most dangerous seas there is,” Ilana said. “The waves can reach 20 to 30 meters. We had never been on a cruise before, but decided to take our first cruise there.”
Reality, as always, was even more extreme than the theory. “There is a calm Drake and a rough Drake,” she said, laughing. “We had both. On the way there, it was still OK, with waves of 2 to 3 meters. But on the way back, it was really stormy. Waves were coming from four directions, and the captain simply kept us at sea for another day because we couldn’t cross. Then, when we came back, there was a 10-meter wave. You see a wall of water in front of you.”
The solution was seasickness medication. “I was on pills most of the time,” Ilana said. “They make you drowsy, so I just slept. But there were people who felt really awful. It’s kind of funny. You’re on your honeymoon, in the most extreme place in the world, and in the end, you’re drowsy on pills,” she said with a smile. “But you get through it because you know where you’re going. You prepare for it in advance.”
A luxury ship in one of the world’s toughest seas. Inside the chaos of the ocean, the luxury cruise offered the opposite experience. “It was an insane level of service, the best we’ve ever experienced,” she said. “A room at the level of a luxury hotel, with a balcony. I stood there and saw hundreds of whales jumping. It was crazy. I was full of adrenaline. I left the window open so I could hear them. Every time there was a sound, I ran to film. There were hundreds of whales around the ship. Every time you looked outside, you saw one. Even the guides said they had never seen anything like it. The captain said it was rare. It was insane.”
And the service? It was a luxurious, pampering honeymoon. “There is a personal butler for every room. They clean three times a day and close the curtains before bedtime. Everything is included: food, alcohol, and room service. But what surprised me most was that it felt real. Not fake. And the butler arranged towels for us in the shape of a penguin,” she said, laughing. “It’s the little things that make it memorable.”
The real penguins did not disappoint either. “We were on an island with thousands of penguins. Huge colonies,” she said. “They were molting, which is a painful process. They just stand there and deal with it. They were these chubby little things, incredibly cute. “You just stand there, and they’re all around you, right beside you. It’s not a zoo; there’s no barrier. You’re in their world.”
Going from the ship to the frozen continent is done by small Zodiac boats. “A lot of times, you get wet with Antarctic water, so everything has to be sealed,” she said, explaining the fashion requirements at the South Pole. “The most important thing is a base layer, not a million thick layers. A good base layer keeps your body heat better than anything. Over that comes a fleece jacket for warmth, and a jacket that is completely windproof and waterproof, which we received on the ship. Once you put on that jacket, no matter how cold it is, you feel OK.”
The legs get similar treatment: waterproof ski pants, high rubber boots that reach the knee and double gloves, an inner layer to keep in heat and an outer layer to keep water out.
Before going ashore, every piece of gear is thoroughly cleaned. “They scrub the boots and clothing with water brushes to make sure there’s no dirt or any unwanted material on them, so we don’t harm nature or the ecosystem there,” she said.
Only then, once you are properly layered and the equipment is spotless, can you step into the icy water, and from there, into one of the most extreme places on Earth.
“The water is freezing. Truly,” Ilana said. “You get on a small boat and head out. It’s not a regular trip. Everything depends on nature, and they keep telling you to stay flexible. For example, we went out several times on the Zodiac, and then suddenly the captain announced the wind was too strong, so we had to turn back. It happens in real time. There’s no fixed schedule.
“On one ride, the waves rose in an instant. People were genuinely scared. It’s not gradual, but happens within minutes. The wind changes direction, the sea shifts, and you realize you have no control. And while you’re out there, you see whales, icebergs, seals, sea lions, everything at once. It’s chaos, but beautiful.”
If a motorized Zodiac boat is a noisy experience, kayaking is the exact opposite: slow, quiet and almost meditative. “It’s even better than the Zodiac,” she said. “Because you’re really low on the water, inside the environment. There is total silence. No engine, no people. Just this sound of ice cracking, little crackles all the time. We were inside a glacial bay, and the sea had already started freezing. It looked like slush. You’re paddling through ice.”
“It feels like you’re in a parallel universe. Exactly that.” Here too, as in many thrilling moments on the trip, there was no real preparation. “I had never kayaked in my life,” she admitted. “But I said, ‘OK, Antarctica is a good time to start.’”
Then came an extreme moment that is almost impossible to truly prepare for: a free jump into Antarctica’s freezing water. No wetsuit, no protection, just a swimsuit. It was actually the only time the romantic couple separated during the honeymoon. Bar, her husband, decided to jump into the coldest water in the world, while Ilana stayed on the ship to film.
“It’s like an ice bath,” Bar said, joining the conversation. “In the first second, your body goes into shock.” But what happens next is surprising. “You take a few breaths, try to understand your body inside the situation, and then suddenly it becomes fun.” And as expected from a cruise for the top percentile: “You get out of the water, and they give you a robe, a shot and hot chocolate. Everything is already ready for you.”
An icy plunge
(Video: Ilanosh)
How much does it cost? Quite a bit. “The original price was around $25,000 per couple,” she said with a sigh. But it turns out it is always worth negotiating, and there are tricks worth trying. “We were on the last cruise of the season,” she said, “so we managed to lower the price significantly.”
In the end, after the ice and adrenaline, something deeper remained. “It was the best experience of my life,” she said. “If I’m sad or upset, I remember what I saw there, and it immediately lifts me. It’s imprinted in my mind. In real time, you don’t grasp how crazy it is. Only afterward.”
Was it a once-in-a-lifetime experience? “It’s not something you do every year,” she said with a laugh. “But if I had the chance, I’d go back.”