SV Bark Europa

On board of the Bark Europa there are three 2-person cabins, four 4-person cabins and four 6-person cabins. Each bunk has a blanket and bedlinen. Own bedrolls are therefore not necessary. Towels are also provided. All cabins have their private bathroom and WC. 

To book your Sailing Expedtion with the Bark Europa, please send back the following documents (see the links for the pdf-files) filled-out and signed by email:
 

• Booking Form: Please fill-out completely including the health statement. 
  Being fit and healthy is extremely important when undertaking a voyage on a sailing and moving vessel in remote areas where no extra medical care is available. Safety is our number one priority. Please inform us of any changes in your medical situation between the moment of booking and the moment of embarkation.
• In addition to the health statement in the booking form, we ask our sailors aged 65 or over to submit this health statement from their physician. Please sign it as well before sending it back to us. Our Antarctica voyages and ocean crossings are not available for sailors of 73 years or older. 
• Passport: send us a copy of your passport valid at least six months counting from voyage commencement.

After receiving your booking forms, we will send you the booking confirmation and invoice whereupon a deposit of 30% is due. The second installment of 50% is payable until 5 months prior departure and the last 20% until 2 months prior departure. Landing fees or costs for tourist visa are not included in the travel fare. 
If you pay from outside the EURO-zone, paying by credit card might be a good option. But still we have to charge a non-refundable credit card fee of 2.5%. Another, maybe even cheaper version is wise.com or one of the other internet wire-transfer-services. 
If you use classical wire-transfer through your bank, please make sure that you cover 100% of the bank charges of all banks involved.

For further details we refer to:
 

• The Bark Europa only has 3 two-person cabins. Those are of the same standard as the 4-/6-bed-cabins and offer no extra luxuries or room. The extra privacy is its main advantage. When two-person cabins are sold out and you book a 4-bed-cabin with your partner instead, we can make a note of your preference for a private 2-bed-cabin, so we can contact you in case of cancellations.  
• Meal options onboard are non-vegetarian or vegetarian. Due to the limited size of our galley and storage room, all other meal requirements and allergies need to be checked with our cook first before we can confirm a booking. A vegan diet cannot be catered for onboard Europa.  
• Sailing on the SV Bark Europa is not permitted for sailors who are pregnant or diabetic. Use of heart medication, blood thinners or recent treatments affecting the immune system requires consultation with our team of ship doctors.
• When booking your flights, please allow yourself enough time to travel, especially to destinations which require more than 8 hours of travelling. We advise our guests to arrive at least 2-3 days prior to embarkation in the port of departure, to give you enough time in case flights are delayed or bags are missing during changeovers. It also gives you the possibility to start your expedition well rested and to enjoy the beautiful local surroundings. If you wish to book flights, we advise to go for a refundable flight or a flight that can be easily changed in case of any changes, (local) extra requirements or other unknown circumstances. 
• On board we live very close to each other and viruses can spread easily. To protect your health and the well-being of your fellow sailors, we recommend practicing good hand hygiene on board to help prevent the spread of viruses during your voyage. Please be advised that it is your own responsibility to check and meet the travel and vaccination requirements in the countries you will visit before, during and after the voyage.
• Living together on board means sharing space in close quarters. This means that we ask you to be considerate of your fellow voyage crew and crew at all times and to take our general terms and conditions and our code of conduct in account.
• As you all might know already, Bark EUROPA is a sail training ship and as such you will be mustered as voyage crew. This means that you will get extensive safety instructions and you and your fellow voyage crew will be placed in the Watch system. Participating in sailing and running the EUROPA is a very big part of the overall experience on board. You will work together with your fellow voyage crew mates and the permanent crew. The watch system consists of joining the permanent crew for 4 hours, after which you will be off for 8 hours (a split will make sure that you will have watch at different times every day). It will pull you out of your comfort zone and learn you how to sail a tall ship!
  While on watch, you will take turns at the helm (the crew will explain how to steer the ship and therefore two sailors will be in charge to maintain a steady course), on look-out (on the bow of the ship two sailors will look out for anything of interest in the water such as ships, buoys, icebergs or wildlife, which you will communicate to the respected officer in charge) and help with sail handling (the other will be on deck duty and assisting the crew with maintaining the vessel, where you will have the opportunity to learn about traditional materials and methods, such as woodworking, astronavigation, sailmaker work and traditional rope and rigging work). 
  ​On the Antarctic Expeditions, the watch system for the voyage crew will take place on the Drake Passage from Ushuaia to Antarctica and on the way back. During our time in Antarctica, the watch system for the voyage crew will stop, this way they can make the most of their time in Antarctica and fully enjoy the environment, landings and lectures. Once we start our way back to Ushuaia, the watch system will come back into place again.​
  For the Chilean Channels, during our time exploring the fjords we will have landings in the mornings and afternoons, there will be more flexibility in the watch system during this time. Last Chilean Channels expedition for example the nightwatches have been optional during the time in the fjords, from Puerto Montt to Valparaiso the watch system will be in full force again.
  On other voyages such as the ocean crossings, the watch system stays in place throughout the voyage.
• Please note that an international health insurance including medical repatriation is mandatory. The minimum coverage for medical evacuation from the ship to the mainland and on to your home country is USD 200,000. 
• We also recommend that you consider a travel cancellation insurance. Travel cancellation insurance covers your travel costs if you have to cancel your trip due to unexpected personal circumstances (including those of your travel partner or a close relative at home).
• Terms & Conditions
• Antarctica Expedition: What to expect?
• Checklist Antarctica
• General Terms & Conditions of Slowtravel
• Operational Do's and Don'ts
• Health, Travel and Cancellation Insurance
• Must know's about Avian Influenza
• Packing list day Antarctica expedition
• Travel documents
• Diets on board
• Health care on board
• Keeping in touch - please share this file with your loved ones
• Security certificate for package tours in accordance with Section 651r of the German Civil Code and translation

Besides to those please read the following leaflets and explanatory notes referring our behaviour at the Antarctica, how to protect the environment and reduce our ecolocical footprint:
 

• Cetacean Watching Guidelines of the IAATO
• Seal Watching Guidelines of the IAATO
• Bird Watching Guidelines of the IAATO
• General Information for Wildlife Watching of the IAATO
• Help Protect Antarctica's pristine environment from non-native species (do not pack a pest)
• Boot Washing Guidelines of the IAATO
• Guidelines for Visitors to the Antarctic
• Yacht Outreach Pamphlet of the IAATO
• Operational Do's and Don'ts
• Ushuaia Guide
• Visiting South Georgia
• IAATO Biosecurity Protocols Regarding Avian Influenza
• IAATO Antarctic Treaty General Guidelines
• IAATO Reducing waste visitor guidelines

You will travel on a modern Sailing Vessel. Please keep in mind, that safety first is the highest priority for all sailors on board. For this reason the exact route cannot be predicted and has to be adjusted by the captain/ skipper continuously according to the conditions - for the well-being of the whole team.

If you have booked a voyage with visits of Falklands/ Las Malvinas and/or South Georgia you will receive a seperate invoice for the landingfees. These invoices are based on an estimation of the landings ashore and will reduce the amount of cash that you will need to bring for your expenses on board. Differences in the fees, when for example we will have more landings, will be added to your bar bill on board.