Polar

Antarctica

Icebergs, penguin colonies, and the last true wilderness on Earth.

Overview

Sailing Antarctica

Antarctica is the most expedition-oriented trip I book. Small purpose-built ships, Zodiac landings among penguin colonies, and a Drake Passage crossing that’s part of the adventure itself, or a fly/cruise option that skips two sailing days each way for travelers short on time. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip for most clients, and cabin space books out well over a year in advance.

Best time to sail: November – March

Where to Sail

The routes within Antarctica

Antarctica by ship comes in two very different scales. Here’s the difference.

Antarctic Peninsula

The classic, most accessible expedition. About 10–11 nights round-trip from Ushuaia, Argentina, crossing the Drake Passage to reach the peninsula itself.

Ushuaia, Argentina (embark)Drake Passage crossingParadise BayNeko HarbourDeception Island

Falklands & South Georgia

A longer 18–23 night voyage that adds two extraordinary stops before the peninsula. Wildlife density here is some of the highest anywhere on the trip.

Ushuaia, Argentina (embark)Falkland Islands (Port Stanley)South Georgia (Grytviken)Antarctic Peninsula

Did You Know

Why Antarctica is worth it

1Antarctica holds about 90% of the world's ice and 70% of its fresh water. If it all melted, global sea levels would rise by roughly 200 feet.

2Deception Island is an active volcano you can sail into. Its caldera is flooded by the sea, and some expeditions let you take a polar plunge in water warmed slightly by geothermal activity.

3South Georgia is home to some of the largest king penguin colonies on Earth, some beaches hold several hundred thousand birds at once.

4The Drake Passage, the crossing between South America and Antarctica, is famous for rough seas, but roughly half the crossings turn out calm enough that veteran expedition staff call it the 'Drake Lake.'

A Closer Look

What Antarctica actually looks like

Paradise Bay
One of the most photographed stops on the Peninsula, a glassy bay ringed by glaciers where ships often launch Zodiac cruises.

A ship inside Deception Island
The only way in is through a narrow gap in the crater wall called Neptune's Bellows, then you're floating inside an active volcano.

King penguin colony, South Georgia
Salisbury Plain, where the colony stretches far enough down the beach that you can't fit it all in one photo.

Photos: Gary Bembridge, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 · W. Bulach, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Virtual-Pano, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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