"One of the most challenging parts of visiting Antarctica is answering your friends and family when they ask ‘How was your trip?’. You’ll be able to tell them how goofy the penguins are, how pristine the snow is, and how big the icebergs were…but you’ll never be able to explain the emotional connection you developed with Antarctica. The isolation, the cold, dry air on your face, the sense of exploration. You can only ever understand it if you experience it for yourself.”
- Neill Drake, Polar Expedition Guide
About Us.
Antarctica Travel Group was founded by Polar Expedition Guide Neill Drake who made his first trip to Antarctica in 2015 as a passenger. He created a Facebook group to keep connected with the friends he made while on his expedition which has now grown to over 35,000 members. After his first trip, he fell in love with Antarctica so much so, that he became a certified guide and has been guiding trips to Antarctica since 2016. Neill has spent over 1,000 days guiding in Antarctica and his knowledge is extremely useful when it comes to planning the perfect trip. Through the ATG community, Neill has brought over 500 members to Antarctica on over a dozen ATG group trips.
ATG focuses on planning group trips that will strengthen the community that has organically grown on Facebook. Neill hopes his group will breed a new generation of Antarctica Ambassadors who will continue to advocate for the future conservation and preservation of the most remote place on Earth.
Meet the ATG Team.
-
Neill Drake
Founder and President
of Antarctica Travel Group.
Polar Expedition Guide -
Izabela Hudson
Polar exploration dream maker and expedition organizational expert. Keeps Neill from losing his mind.
-
Ricardo Nisiide
Rico does a million things for ATG so his title is just “Manager of Awesome”. But also data and web stuff too.
Neill and Ricardo met in 2015 when Neill was traveling South America in an old Volkswagen Bus he bought in Brazil. Ricardo owns a hostel in Iguazu Falls where Neill lived and worked while converting his bus into a motorhome. They have been best friends over since. Ricardo joined Neill in Antarctica in Feb 2022 and fell in love with everything about it. He once said, “How can I explain what this place means to anyone else when I can’t even explain it to myself”. Ricardo has since joined the ATG team to help manage our guest information, passenger manifests, and data. Basically the things Neill is terrible at.
It wouldn’t be crazy to call ATG a family business.
Neill and Izabela met shortly after Neill returned to his home in San Diego at the start of the pandemic. Neill left Antarctica in Feb 2020 and quarantined at Ricardo’s hostel, alone, for four months waiting for the pandemic to “end”. As things progressed, he felt it was best to return home. Neill and Izabela met shortly after and just celebrated four incredible years together. They recently just got married!! Izabela joined the ATG team after listening to Neill talk about Antarctica trips to his guests on the phone for months and months! She already knew how to do the job before he asked her to join the team; and now she manages our guest relations, passenger inquiries, and sales.
Our Story.
We’re not in the business of “selling trips to Antarctica”. We’re in the business of making sure you leave Antarctica feeling like your dreams have finally come true.
