Antarctic Cruises

Antarctica offers towering icebergs, vast glaciers and extraordinary polar wildlife, with the best regions to explore including the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetland Islands, the Weddell Sea, the Ross Sea and the Antarctic Circle.

Antarctic Peninsula: The Antarctic Peninsula’s glacier-covered mountains and iceberg-filled bays provide spectacular expedition cruising, Zodiac landings and close encounters with penguins, seals and whales.

South Shetland Islands: The South Shetland Islands offer dramatic volcanic landscapes and rich wildlife colonies explored through Zodiac cruises and shore landings.

Weddell Sea: The remote Weddell Sea reveals immense tabular icebergs and pristine polar wilderness where expedition voyages explore one of Antarctica’s most dramatic ice landscapes.

Ross Sea: The Ross Sea region combines historic expedition sites, immense ice shelves and remarkable wildlife colonies in one of Antarctica’s most remote environments.

Antarctic Circle: Crossing the Antarctic Circle brings travellers into the heart of Antarctica where expedition cruising navigates vast icefields and remote polar waters.

The best time to travel to Antarctica for expedition travel, wildlife viewing and kayaking is during the short summer season, November-March, when sea ice retreats and access improves.

Antarctica has a polar climate with long cold winters and short cool summers. Temperatures typically range between -30°C and 5°C (-22°F–41°F) depending on the season.

Outside the summer season the region becomes colder and more remote, yet the scenery is striking with glaciers, sea ice and vast polar landscapes.

There are numerous time zones across the Antarctic continent, however the Ukraine research station of Vernadsky which is located on the Antarctic Peninsula is -3 hours behind UTC/GMT.

There is no official language for the Antarctic continent.

Payment of incidental expenses aboard most ships can be paid for with US dollars cash or with Visa and Mastercards.

We recommend taking a universal adapter.

Whilst visa's are not required to visit Antarctica many passport holders may require visa's for countries they transit en-route to the voyage. Please check with your reservations consultant or travel agent to determine if visa's are required for your journey.

Your safety is our number one concern. Our safety track record is exemplary thanks to careful management and thorough consultation with local partners. Our industry leading risk management procedures have become a skill that we continue to refine. Our leaders in the field are highly trained and have safety as their number one priority. Expert leaders, risk assessments, quality inclusions and your financial security all come standard when you travel with us.

Please refer to our Travel Advisory page for updates on recent events, travel warnings and advice.

We strongly recommend that all clients take out travel insurance at the time of booking to cover against sickness, accident, loss of baggage, unexpected alterations to travel arrangements and travel disruption, emergency evacuation, cancellations, etc. Insurance information is enclosed with your pre-departure information. Please contact us if you would like to obtain a quote for your trip duration.

We suggest that you consult your doctor, local government inoculation centre or a travel medical specialist in order to get the most current advice regarding vaccination requirements.

Money and valuables should always be stored safely when travelling. Keep your passport with you at all times and do not leave it in your main luggage. You will need it to change money and check into hotels. Where safety deposit boxes are available, we recommend that you use them. Keep jewellery and valuables to a minimum.