Ten nights or thirty; fly in or sail; the Peninsula alone, or South Georgia’s king penguins too. Here are the seven kinds of Antarctica voyage, what each one sees, who it suits, and the live sailings for each.
The voyage most people mean when they say “Antarctica.” You sail from Ushuaia (or Puerto Williams), cross the Drake in about two days, and spend four to six days exploring the South Shetland Islands and the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula before sailing back.
The Peninsula’s west coast is a maze of mountains, glaciers and channels, and every day brings one or two landings or Zodiac cruises, chosen that morning by the expedition leader to suit the ice and the weather.
Best for: First visits, and anyone with 10 to 14 nights to spend.
See all 413 sailings →A charter flight from Punta Arenas, Chile, to King George Island replaces the two-day sea crossing, one way or both. You board in Antarctica and spend nearly the whole voyage among the islands and channels of the Peninsula.
The trade-off is weather: King George Island is often fogbound, so flights can be held, and the fare per day is higher. How fly-the-Drake voyages work.
Best for: Travelers short on time, and anyone worried about seasickness.
See all 215 sailings →At 66°33′ south, the Antarctic Circle marks the line beyond which the sun does not set at midsummer. Only a minority of voyages go this far, pushing past the classic Peninsula landings into quieter waters with more sea ice and fewer ships.
Whether a ship crosses depends on the ice, so these voyages build in time to try, and many celebrate the crossing on deck.
Best for: Return visitors, and anyone who wants to say they crossed the Circle.
See all 58 sailings →For many people this is the finest wildlife voyage on Earth. You add the Falkland Islands and the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia to the Peninsula, usually over 18 to 23 nights, sailing the Scotia Sea in the wake of Ernest Shackleton.
South Georgia is the highlight: glacier-fringed bays crowded with king penguins, elephant seals and fur seals, in numbers that are hard to describe until you are standing among them.
Best for: Wildlife lovers and photographers with three weeks to spare.
See all 134 sailings →On the eastern side of the Peninsula, the Weddell Sea is a different Antarctica: colder, icier and home to the giant flat-topped tabular icebergs that break from the ice shelves. It is where Shackleton’s Endurance was crushed in the pack ice in 1915.
Ice conditions decide how far ships can go, so these voyages favor ice-class ships, and a few, early in the season, attempt to reach the emperor penguin colony at Snow Hill Island, sometimes by helicopter.
Best for: Second-time visitors and ice lovers.
See all 34 sailings →The rarest Antarctic voyages of all leave from New Zealand or Australia for the Ross Sea, the heartland of the heroic age of exploration. They run three to four weeks, include long sea passages, and depend entirely on the ice.
The reward is the Ross Ice Shelf, a wall of ice that in places stands taller than a ten-story building and runs to the horizon, and the preserved wooden huts of Scott and Shackleton.
Best for: Seasoned polar travelers and history enthusiasts.
See all 12 sailings →Several mainstream and premium lines include Antarctica on longer South America voyages between Buenos Aires and Santiago or Valparaíso, rounding Cape Horn and cruising the Chilean fjords and the Falklands. They spend a few days sailing the Peninsula’s channels and bays.
Because the ships carry more than 500 guests, nobody goes ashore in Antarctica, but you see the ice from a comfortable ship at a fraction of an expedition fare.
Best for: Travelers who want to see Antarctica without the expedition price.
See all 28 sailings →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.