Hotel and Accommodations
Atacama desert
Getting there: Chile's LAN (lan.com; 1800 558 129), Aerolineas Argentinas (02 9234 9000; aerolineas.com.ar) and Qantas (13 13 13, qantas.com.au) fly from Australia to Santiago, the Chilean capital, with connections on LAN from Santiago to Calama.
Staying there: The Chilean Explora chain's Hotel de Larache (+ 56 2 395 2800; www.explora.com) is the area's main property. Australia-based Inca Tours (1800 024 955, www.incatours.net) sells packages including the hotel, with travel-and-accommodation options for groups and independent travellers as well as the ability to pay in Aussie dollars. San Pedro has a good choice of hotels from upscale boutique properties through mid-market to basic backpacker lodgings.
Another hotel is the Tierra Atacama Hotel & Spa:
Calle Sequitor S/N, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
(562) 2207 8861 / Toll Free USA: 1800 829 5325
Hotel: (56 - 55) 555 9797
More information: Inca Tours (1800 024 955, www.incatours.net), Explora Hotels (+56 2 395 2800).
Sahara desert
Getting There:
By Plane = Hassan Airport (EUN) near El Aaiún receives most international flights, mainly from Agadir and Casablanca in Morocco (Royal Air Maroc and Regional Airlines) and to and from Las Palmas and several other seasonal flights from cities in Spain. Air Algérie has flights as well. Other than that there are not many options. Infrequent flights connect Dakhla with Agadir and Casablanca as well.
By Car =The route from Morocco to West Africa travels through the Western Sahara and is getting more and more popular now that almost the entire road is paved all the way to Mauritania. You don't need a 4wd car to get you there, a regular car will be fine. Be sure to have you papers and insurance in order though. You can take rental cars from Morocco to Western Sahara and as Morocco treats the region as domestic part of the country, there are no formal designated borders.
By Bus = Buses travel between both Dakhla and Laayoun towards Moroccan cities like Agadir and Casablanca, but it takes a long time to get there and flying is preferable. CTM has buses on these route, stopping in Tarfaya, Tan Tan, Goulmime and a few other places en route.
Staying there: The Auberge Café du Sud is the hotel in the Sahara Desert, more specifically in the dunes of Erg Chebbi.
Address: Ras el Erg, Merzouga, Province d’Errachidia, Morocco
Phone: +212.661.602.885
Email: aubergedusud @ gmail.com
Web page: www.aubergedusud.com
Sonoran desert
Getting There:
By Car = Eastbound: exit I-10 at Speedway Blvd and turn right. After 12 miles, turn right onto Kinney Road. In about 2.5 miles, the Desert Museum will be on your left.
Westbound: exit I-10 at 29th Street, take the frontage road north to Speedway Blvd and turn left. After 12 miles, turn right onto Kinney Road. In about 2.5 miles, the Desert Museum will be on your left.
By motor home or towing a trailer = From I-19 take the Ajo exit westbound. Follow Ajo Way until you reach Kinney Road (about 8 miles) and turn right. Follow Kinney Road for 7.5 miles and the Desert Museum will be on your left.
By plane = Inyokern Airport, near Ridgecrest, is served by United Express from Los Angeles. Needles Airport serves small, private planes.
By train = Train Travel Amtrak trains traveling east and west stop in Victorville, Barstow, and Needles, but the stations aren't staffed, so you'll have to purchase tickets in advance and handle your own baggage. The Barstow station is served daily by Amtrak California motor coaches that travel among Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Las Vegas.
By bus = Bus Travel Greyhound provides bus service to Barstow, Victorville, Palmdale, and Needles; check with the chambers of commerce about local bus service, which is generally more useful to residents than to tourists.
Staying there: Relax in the resort-style setting of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tucson – Reid Park, a premier hotel in Tucson, Arizona. The moment you arrive you’ll receive a warm chocolate chip cookie as a welcome gift. Surrounded by the Sonora Desert and four miles from downtown Tucson, the hotel is across the street from Reid Park featuring a zoo and golf courses. Take the complimentary shuttle to attractions within a three-mile radius of the hotel.
Address: 445 S. Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ
Contact: 85711-4198
USA T: 1-520-881-4200
Mojave desert
Getting There:
By car = The Mojave Desert is located between Los Angeles and Las Vegas on Interstate 15. Highway 395 passes through the middle from Victorville in the south; Highway 14 comes in from Lancaster in the southwest. Highway 40 runs from Barstow, roughly in the middle, out through Needles in the east.
By plane Scarce airports are in the area; most have really long runways and rainy, stormy weather; few have commercial flights.
§ Lancaster/General Fox (ICAO: KWJF)
§ Palmdale (ICAO: KPMD)
§ Mojave (ICAO: KMHV)
§ Barstow (ICAO: KDAG)
§ Victorville/Southern California Logistics (ICAO: KVCV)
§ Baker (ICAO: 0O2)
Staying there = Experience the romance, glamour and sophistication of the desert of the 1940s in one of the newest luxury boutique Mojave Resort. Indulgent suites and guestrooms with dreamy beds and all the special touches you expect...from breakfast poolside to spa treatments under the stars. Just steps from the desert's finest shops and restaurants on El Paseo, yet decades away.
Address: 73721 Shadow Mountain Drive Palm Desert, CA 92260, United States
Contact: +1 760-346-6121
Another hotel is the the Saguaro Palm Springs, A Joie de Vivre Boutique Hotel.
Address: 1800 E Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs, CA 92264
Contact: (760) 323-1711
Arctic desert
Getting There: One can go there by ship cruises. The Polar Cruises is the expert in small-ship travel to Antarctica and the Arctic. They are uniquely qualified to help you plan your polar expedition to the most pristine wilderness areas on earth.
Address: 568 NE Savannah Dr. Suite 1 Bend, OR 97701, USA
Contact: US or Canda Toll Free 888-484-2244
Outside the USA 541-330-2454
Email [email protected]
Staying there: The Rica Arctic Hotel is located in the centre of Kirkenes on the border with Russia and Finland. In this border region between East and West, Norwegian, Sami, Finnish and Russian cultures co-exist side by side.
Address: Kongersgate 1-3
Kirkenes, 9915
Contacts: Fax (+47) 78995901
(+47) 78995900
Email [email protected]
There are other hotels, like the Blue Arctic Hotels.
Address: Hringbraut 105, Reykjavik, Iceland
Sudurgata 121, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland
Contact: Sudurgata = 3545624018
For more info: visit http://www.polarcruises.com/arctic/ships
Antarctica
Getting There: One can have a cruise here or can do air travel.
By air = Ocean Nova - expedition ship - 62 passengers
Akademik Shokalskiy - research ship - 54 passengers
Polar Pioneer - research ship - 54 passengers
Clipper Adventurer -research ship - 122 passengers
For further info: http://www.coolantarctica.com/Travel/Fly_to_Antarctica.php
By water = visit http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1327
Staying there: There are no hotels in Antarctica. All tourist accommodation is aboard expedition ships. Some tour operators include a one-night pre-tour stay in a hotel in Argentina, Chile, New Zealand or Tasmania. A few airlines fly over Antarctica to show you the sights, then fly back to where they came from without landing. But some may get to stay in research stations. there is the McMurdo Dormitories in the McMurdo station in Ross Island and the Professor Julio Escudero base in King George Island.
For more info: visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_stations_in_Antarctica