Explore epic tours to Antarctica, from choosing the ship to deciding when to go

17.12.2024 - 16:21 / lonelyplanet.com

Dec 16, 2024 • 15 min read

With its enormous ice shelves, vast emptiness and silence, Antarctica is like no place else on earth. Its landscapes are a study in the color white: how it reflects light, accentuates mountains and crumbles atop the sea. Yet, it’s often the animals who leave the biggest impression. There are the tuxedo-clad Adelie penguins who belly-surf out of the ocean to guard eggs from soaring skuas and feisty fur seals that keep an eye on visitors. Then there are the humpback whales, who breach from steel-gray fjords, and the doe-eyed Weddell seals, who ham it up for distant cameras while resting on wandering ice floes. Leopard seals and orcas top the food chain in this harsh but beautiful environment.

In Antarctica, everything is spectacularly extreme, from the constantly shifting weather patterns to the freezing midday temperatures. Yet the journey can be remarkably pleasant thanks to increasingly comfortable expedition cruises, which shuttle you to remote bays for half or full-day adventures before you return to a warm shower and three-course meal. Sure, you’ll probably experience occasional rough seas and cold fingertips, but that’s a small price to pay for the journey of a lifetime and bragging rights to say you “survived the Drake Shake.” (Yes, there are commemorative t-shirts for sale on many ships.) 

Read on to learn about tours to Antarctica, what to expect and how to choose the best ship and itinerary for you.

Antarctica cruises, and expedition cruises in general, are a world away from the cruises you might be familiar with in the Caribbean or Mediterranean. The focus is almost always on science, history, education and adventure, and crew members are expert naturalists and polar experts. On-board activities tend towards lectures and photography workshops. There’s usually a ship-wide wake-up time well before 9am to get everyone through breakfast and to the mudroom on time for the morning activities. The ships are generally designed for function over form, and some may not have elevators or other accessibility features. This is especially true on smaller vessels.

You’re most likely to visit Antarctica as part of a group tour unless you’re part of a military or scientific trip. All activities that are not exploring on land or by zodiac cruise will be on a ship. A zodiac is a small, inflatable boat that brings passengers to and from the ship and shore. Zodiac cruises are used to get close to animals and icebergs. If you’ve explored Antarctica vs Arctic trips, you will note that zodiacs are the ship-to-shore vessel of choice in polar regions.

While there are options to fly to the continent as part of a tour, there are no hotels or restaurants. Visiting Antarctica via ship combines your