Antarctica. The seventh continent. A vast, ice-covered landmass at the bottom of the world, often perceived as a realm of nature documentaries and historical accounts, distant and unattainable. It might seem like an abstract destination, incredibly difficult, perhaps even impossible, to visit. But this perception couldn’t be further from the truth.
When I share that I work on an expedition ship guiding travelers to Antarctica, the most frequent reaction is disbelief, “People can actually go to Antarctica?” My answer is always a resounding, “Yes, they absolutely can, and you can too!”
Despite its aura of remoteness, Antarctica is more accessible to adventurous travelers than ever before. In the 2016-2017 season alone, over 45,000 individuals from across the globe, including the United States, China, Australia, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and India, embarked on journeys to this extraordinary continent.
As the saying goes, knowledge is power. This guide aims to provide you with the essential knowledge to understand not only that visiting Antarctica is possible from almost anywhere in the world but, more importantly, how to travel in Antarctica and make this incredible journey a reality.
Your Journey to Antarctica: Step-by-Step
One of the first questions that arises when the idea of Antarctic travel takes hold is, “How do I even get there?” While the image of researchers on military aircraft from New Zealand or lengthy sailing expeditions from South Africa or Australia might come to mind, the most straightforward route is surprisingly simple. Your Antarctic adventure begins in either Buenos Aires, Argentina, or Punta Arenas, Chile. Both are vibrant cosmopolitan cities boasting international airports with excellent connectivity to destinations worldwide.
For the vast majority of Antarctic voyages, Ushuaia, Argentina, serves as the departure point. A short, three-and-a-half-hour direct flight from Buenos Aires, Ushuaia is a bustling port city that, during the Antarctic summer season, efficiently handles the embarkation and disembarkation of expedition vessels bound for the southern wilderness, much like any busy harbor in popular cruise destinations like the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, or Alaska.
Antarctic expeditions departing from Ushuaia navigate to Antarctica by sea, crossing the infamous Drake Passage. This 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) stretch of water separating South America from the Antarctic Peninsula is known for its potentially rough seas but also for incredible wildlife viewing opportunities, particularly iconic seabirds like the majestic wandering albatross. The Drake Passage crossing typically takes around a day and a half, becoming an integral part of the Antarctic experience.
For those who prefer to bypass the Drake Passage, an alternative option exists: flying from Punta Arenas, Chile, directly to an airstrip on King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, adjacent to the Antarctic Peninsula. From there, you’ll board your expedition ship and find yourself surrounded by glaciers and penguins within mere hours of leaving Punta Arenas, offering a quicker entry into the heart of Antarctica.
When to Plan Your Antarctic Trip: Navigating the Seasons
The optimal time for How To Travel In Antarctica is during the Antarctic summer, which corresponds to late spring to early fall in the Southern Hemisphere, spanning from October to March. The season begins in late spring (late October to early November) as the sea ice gradually breaks up, allowing expedition ships to access pristine glacial landscapes. Voyages operate continuously throughout this summer period until mid-March, when the Antarctic autumn begins to set in, bringing with it a different kind of stark beauty.
Each phase of the Antarctic summer offers unique highlights. Early season voyages often provide opportunities to witness landscapes virtually untouched by humans that season, covered in pristine snow and ice. Mid-season (December and January) coincides with the peak of wildlife activity, including penguin chicks hatching and whale sightings becoming more frequent. Late season voyages (February and March) often offer the best chances for whale watching and witnessing incredible sunsets, with softer light painting the icy landscapes in breathtaking hues.
To delve deeper into the specific attractions of visiting Antarctica during different times of the season, numerous resources are available online, offering detailed insights into seasonal variations in wildlife, ice conditions, and daylight hours.
Antarctic Expedition Length: Choosing the Right Duration for You
When researching how to travel in Antarctica, you’ll encounter various expedition “itineraries” or sailing plans. These are not rigid schedules but rather flexible frameworks that guide the direction and length of each voyage. Expedition options range from trips focused solely on Antarctica to those that incorporate the remarkable sub-Antarctic regions of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia.
For travelers with limited time, “express” Antarctica expeditions offer a fast track to the continent. These voyages often utilize flights to the Antarctic Peninsula, allowing you to experience Antarctica and return in as little as eight days. On the other end of the spectrum, “epic explorations” delve deep into the sub-Antarctic islands and the Antarctic continent itself, extending for three weeks or more and providing an incredibly comprehensive polar experience.
However, the most common expeditions typically last around nine to ten days, including approximately five full days dedicated to exploring Antarctica. These voyages usually depart from Ushuaia and embrace the Drake Passage crossing, allowing you to experience the beauty and wildlife of this famed waterway. While the time spent at sea can vary depending on weather conditions, it generally involves one and a half to two days each way. The remainder of the voyage is dedicated to immersing yourself in the stunning coastal environment of the Antarctic Peninsula.
For those with more generous vacation time and a deeper desire to explore this remote wilderness, extended expeditions of twenty days or longer are available. These comprehensive voyages often include visits to the wildlife havens of the Falkland Islands and the otherworldly landscapes of South Georgia, in addition to extensive exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula, offering the most thorough immersion into the wild environments of the Southern Ocean.
Expedition Ship vs. Cruise Ship: Experiencing Antarctica Authentically
To truly immerse yourself in the Antarctic experience, choosing an authentic expedition ship is crucial. Unlike traditional cruise ships, expedition vessels are significantly smaller, designed to not only bring you closer to Antarctica but to enable you to actually step onto and explore the glacial landscapes that define this continent. This is a key aspect of how to travel in Antarctica for an enriching experience.
Large cruise ships designed for quick “cruise-by” views of Antarctica often carry hundreds or even thousands of passengers (500 – 2,000+). In contrast, expedition ships typically accommodate between 70 and 200 passengers, with a maximum limit of 200 in accordance with Antarctic tourism regulations. Smaller group sizes are essential for facilitating a wider range of activities, including daily landings on islands and the continent itself, and intimate Zodiac cruises among icebergs and wildlife. This type of in-depth exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula is simply not feasible on larger cruise ships.
Expedition ships operating in Antarctica are built with reinforced, ice-class hulls. This means they are designed to withstand encounters with sea ice and smaller iceberg fragments. Engineered to be self-sufficient for weeks on end in the extreme Antarctic environment, these vessels are equipped to navigate the constantly changing seascape of Antarctica’s coastline, inlets, bays, and channels. Antarctic expeditions, therefore, embody the spirit of early exploration, much like the sailing adventures of centuries past. Everything required for the voyage is meticulously planned in advance, allowing for flexibility and spontaneity to capitalize on favorable weather conditions or wildlife sightings.
When planning your trip, a diverse selection of expedition vessels awaits, each varying in size, accommodation styles, and adventure options to suit your personal travel preferences. Consulting with a Polar Travel Advisor or conducting thorough research can help you identify the ship that best aligns with your vision of how to travel in Antarctica.
Unforgettable Activities in Antarctica: Beyond Sightseeing
Expedition trips to Antarctica offer daily opportunities to step off the ship and actively engage with the environment. While cruising along the coastlines of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia, most voyages include at least one landing per day. These landings allow you to walk among penguin colonies and seal gatherings, hike to scenic viewpoints for panoramic vistas of the vast wilderness, or simply sit in quiet contemplation amidst cathedrals of glaciers, icebergs, and abundant wildlife. In addition, daily Zodiac cruises (small, inflatable boats accommodating around 12 people) provide opportunities to explore intricately sculpted icebergs, observe marine life up close – including seals, penguins, and whales – and venture into remote areas that evoke a profound sense of awe in this immense and beautiful environment.
For those seeking even more immersive experiences, various optional adventure activities are available to personalize your Antarctic journey. These include overnight camping on the ice, offering a profound sense of connection with the continent’s raw nature.
Antarctic Camping: Sleeping on the Seventh Continent
Imagine setting up your sleeping bag under the Antarctic midsummer night sky, watching your expedition ship gradually disappear behind a nearby island. The subtle sounds of glacial movements and the calls of penguins become amplified as you realize you are truly out there, camping alongside a small group of adventurous souls who wish to experience the 7th Continent in a manner reminiscent of early explorers. The profound Antarctic silence envelops you as you drift off to sleep, and the first sights greeting you in the morning are the surrounding glaciers, the tranquil waters of a sheltered Antarctic cove, and perhaps a curious penguin or two resting at the water’s edge. This is a truly unique experience offered by expedition travel, a highlight of how to travel in Antarctica in a deeply immersive way.
Stand-Up Paddleboarding in Antarctica: A Unique Perspective
While Antarctica is renowned for its frigid conditions, the Antarctic Peninsula during summer can be surprisingly inviting. Under favorable conditions, visitors can navigate icy bays by stand-up paddleboard (SUP). Often associated with tropical destinations, SUP boarding can be an exceptional way to experience the Antarctic environment intimately. Paddling through a serene, secluded cove offers a unique way to connect with the surroundings, hearing the sounds of penguins porpoising nearby and the gentle crackling of glacial ice drifting in the water. Antarctic waters are teeming with life, and close encounters with penguins, whales, and seals gliding beneath or alongside your board are not uncommon, adding an element of surprise and wonder to this activity as part of how to travel in Antarctica.
Sea Kayaking in Antarctica: Exploring at Water Level
Sea kayaking has long been a cherished method for adventurous travelers to explore Antarctica. Similar to stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking provides a quieter, more intimate way to experience the wilderness, free from the sounds of motors, allowing you to truly appreciate Antarctica’s natural soundscape. Kayakers often venture further than SUP boarders, navigating safe routes through awe-inspiring formations of grounded icebergs and gliding silently along shorelines teeming with nesting penguin colonies. Encounters with marine mammals, such as seals or whales, are also possible, always observed from a safe and respectful distance. The profound sense of sharing the water with these magnificent creatures often ignites a lifelong passion for wildlife and exploration, making kayaking a deeply rewarding aspect of how to travel in Antarctica.
Other activities included on most Antarctic expeditions range from snowshoeing and beginner mountaineering to extended hikes and the invigorating polar plunge.
Choosing Your Perfect Antarctic Itinerary: Tailoring Your Adventure
No two expeditions to Antarctica are ever exactly alike, adding to the unique allure of this destination. Your voyage will be distinctly yours—no other expedition will follow the precise route, encounter the same spontaneous opportunities, or create the same memories. The dynamic nature of sea ice and weather in Antarctica results in a fluid travel style, adapting to weather windows and unexpected opportunities to access otherwise inaccessible landscapes. This inherent variability is a key element of how to travel in Antarctica – embracing the unexpected.
While you will undoubtedly witness countless glaciers, towering mountains, and penguin colonies, each voyage has its own special moments, its own unique discoveries that create truly unforgettable experiences that cannot be replicated. Every Antarctic voyage possesses its own character, its own rhythm, its own narrative, ensuring that your journey will be uniquely yours.
Why Visit Antarctica? Connecting with the Last Great Wilderness
Since ancient Greek times, scholars and explorers suspected the existence of a large landmass in the far south. As scientific understanding of the Earth’s shape evolved, the notion persisted that a southern landmass must exist to counterbalance the landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere.
England dispatched Captain James Cook on multiple voyages to the Southern Ocean, tasked not only with astronomical measurements to refine longitude calculations but also, and equally importantly, with discovering this fabled and enigmatic continent. While Captain Cook never sighted the Antarctic mainland, his voyages penetrated deep into southern latitudes, encountering extensive sea ice and icebergs, leading him to conclude that any land in this region would be cold, ice-bound, and virtually unreachable.
In the 1820s, a wave of explorers, commercial sealers, and whalers made their way to the Antarctic Peninsula region. Names like Bellingshausen, Palmer, and Bransfield are etched onto the Antarctic map, commemorating these early commanders who first laid eyes on the southern continental landmass. Over the subsequent century, explorers battled treacherous icy seas, scurvy, and complete isolation from the outside world as they ventured into various corners of this vast wilderness. Sir Ernest Shackleton, Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Roald Amundsen, Otto Nordenskjold, and Douglas Mawson each have their own compelling and often harrowing stories of humanity’s initial encounters with the 7th Continent.
Like these legendary figures, many travelers today seek to push their personal boundaries, to visit truly wild places, to reconnect with nature, and to disconnect from the demands of modern life. Traveling to Antarctica resonates with a deep-seated human desire to explore the edges of the known world and to experience something genuinely new. Much like the pioneering explorers before us who ventured into the unknown, visiting Antarctica is a transformative experience that can profoundly alter your perspective. There is simply nothing comparable to witnessing landscapes rarely seen by human eyes, hearing the powerful creaking of glaciers thousands of meters thick as they carve their way down coastal mountains, or sharing a snow-covered beach with a vast colony of charismatic penguins. These are the very sights and sounds that drew countless Antarctic explorers back to this remote continent, expedition after expedition. And these are the scenes that will remain etched in your memory for a lifetime.
Antarctica Awaits: Your Journey is Possible
Despite being the most remote continent on Earth, situated over 1,000 km from its nearest continental neighbor, Antarctica is indeed accessible. You can travel to Antarctica and experience this extraordinary destination at your own pace and according to your preferences. With a diverse range of embarkation ports, expedition durations, itineraries, and seasonal options, how to travel in Antarctica is now more flexible and attainable than ever before. The continent remains isolated and pristine, its wildlife and untouched landscapes thriving as they have for millennia. But its breathtaking beauty is accessible – and it is waiting to be explored.
To discover more about how to travel in Antarctica and find the perfect expedition for you, reach out to a Polar Travel Advisor for personalized guidance or explore the wealth of resources available online to begin planning your unforgettable Antarctic adventure.
