Icebergs the size of cathedrals, a hundred thousand penguins on one beach, whales alongside the Zodiac. Here is everything you need to plan it: how the Drake Passage crossing really works, when to go, which cruise lines go, and every sailing still selling, with live fares.
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest and driest continent on Earth, and almost all of it is buried under ice. No single country governs it: under the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1959, territorial claims are set aside and the continent is reserved for peace and science. Nobody lives there permanently. The only way most of us will ever see it is from the deck of a ship.
Nearly every voyage goes to the Antarctic Peninsula, the long arm of mountains that reaches up toward South America. It is the mildest, most dramatic and most wildlife-rich part of the continent, and it lies about two days’ sail south of Cape Horn across the Drake Passage.
Once you arrive, the days are built around the weather. On an expedition ship the expedition team goes out at dawn, picks the landing sites, and puts you ashore by Zodiac once or twice a day: among gentoo penguin colonies, beside a research station, on a glacier-ringed beach. Between landings you cruise through ice-choked channels like the Lemaire Channel and Paradise Bay, with lectures from naturalists, glaciologists and historians in between. Many ships offer kayaking, overnight camping on the ice, and the famous polar plunge.
Between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands lies the most talked-about stretch of water in cruising. It is the one decision every Antarctica traveler makes first: sail across it, or fly over it.
About two days each way from Ushuaia or Puerto Williams. You cross the Antarctic Convergence, albatrosses ride the ship’s wake, and the first iceberg is an event. Calm or rough, it is how Shackleton came, and it is the most affordable way in.
See sail-the-Drake voyages →A charter flight from Punta Arenas, Chile, lands on King George Island in the South Shetlands, and you board the ship already in Antarctica. Shorter trips, no seasickness worry, and more of your time spent on the ice. Flights are weather-dependent, so build in a buffer day.
See fly-the-Drake voyages →Every voyage below comes from the live inventory. Tap a style to open the cruise finder already filtered to it.
The voyage most people mean by “Antarctica”: Ushuaia, the Drake, the South Shetlands and four to six days on the Peninsula. The best first trip.
Browse classic voyages →The great polar safari. South Georgia’s king penguin colonies number in the hundreds of thousands, and Shackleton is buried at Grytviken. Many people call it the highlight.
Browse South Georgia voyages →Push south past 66°33′S, where few ships go: quieter landings, more sea ice, and a crossing ceremony to mark it.
Browse Circle voyages →Fly from Chile to King George Island and start in Antarctica. The answer for short vacations and anyone who dreads seasickness.
Browse fly-cruises →Tabular icebergs, emperor penguin territory and the huts of the heroic-age explorers. Specialist voyages on ice-class ships, including Le Commandant Charcot.
Browse Weddell Sea voyages →South America voyages that spend a few days cruising the Peninsula. No landings, but the lowest fares and the comforts of a large ship.
Browse scenic voyages →Live counts and the lowest published fare for each line. The gold button opens that line’s Antarctica sailings; compare the lines side by side for ship size, landings and what’s included.
Expedition
Sails with National Geographic naturalists and photographers. NG Endurance and NG Resolution are purpose-built Polar Class 5 ships.
Polar specialists since 1991, with fly-the-Drake options and Ultramarine, which carries two twin-engine helicopters for flightseeing and remote landings.
Expedition
All-suite with butler service, and a large luxury fly-the-Drake program that flies guests from Chile straight to the ship.
Expedition
The expedition line born from Hurtigruten. Hybrid-powered ships, an onboard Science Center, and some of the best-value fares to the ice.
All-inclusive "Discovery Yachts" with helicopters and a submarine aboard Scenic Eclipse and Scenic Eclipse II.
Expedition
Ultra-luxury, purpose-built expedition ships Seabourn Venture and Seabourn Pursuit, each with two submarines and a fleet of kayaks.
Expedition
French luxury on small expedition ships, plus Le Commandant Charcot, a true icebreaker that reaches the Weddell and Ross Seas.
All-inclusive luxury-expedition yachts, with round-trip and one-way fly-the-Drake voyages from King George Island.
Expedition
Adults only. Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris launch Zodiacs and two submarines from an enclosed marina inside the ship, The Hangar.
Culture-led expedition cruising on small, ice-class ships, with long voyages that link Antarctica to Africa and New Zealand.
Expedition
An all-inclusive Antarctica journey aboard a chartered Ponant ship, with Buenos Aires hotel nights, the charter flights to Ushuaia and gratuities included.
Also sailing past Antarctica on big-ship South America voyages (scenic cruising, no landings): Celebrity Cruises, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Azamara, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas.
The next expedition departure from each line. Last-minute cabins in Antarctica are rare, and worth a call.
Ships can only reach the Peninsula in the austral summer. Each month has its own character; sailings are open now for the 2026–27 through 2029–30 seasons.
Antarctic animals have no land predators, so most show little fear of people. IAATO guidelines keep you about 15 feet back; the penguins don’t always read them.
The three Peninsula species, in colonies from dozens to tens of thousands. King and macaroni penguins add South Georgia; rockhoppers the Falklands.
Humpbacks feed on krill all summer, often within yards of the Zodiacs. Late season is best, and orcas are seen on many voyages.
Weddell and crabeater seals sleep on the ice floes; leopard seals patrol penguin beaches. Wandering albatrosses follow the ship across the Drake.
Antarctica is the most expensive cruise most people will ever take, which is exactly why where you book it matters.
Our exclusive savings come off every published fare on this site. Find it lower anywhere and we will beat it.
We sell all 17 lines on this page, so we can tell you honestly which ship, cabin and itinerary fits you, not which one we happen to represent.
No service fees and no planning fees, including for the flights, hotels and pre-cruise nights in Buenos Aires or Santiago.
Also from Pavlus: All expedition cruises · White Desert fly-in camps (the South Pole & emperor penguins) · Ushuaia port guide · Punta Arenas port guide · South Georgia port guide · Live cruise ship tracker
Tell us which season, which line, or just how much ice you want to see. We will send your Pavlus price and the cabins still open, usually the same day. Antarctica sells out early; the best cabins on the small ships go a year or more ahead.
Your Pavlus Antarctica price will be emailed to you quickly. No obligation.