Antarctica holidays

Wildlife-watching is one of the best parts of any holiday to Antarctica. Penguins are the most likely spot – watching them waddle comically across the ice before diving effortlessly into the water is a sight you’ll never forget. Other creatures to look out for include seals; orca, humpback and minke whales; and all manner of sea birds. If you’re really lucky, you’ll get a glimpse of the world’s largest animal: the blue whale.

On our Antarctica cruise tours, you’ll be travelling with specialists and modern-day explorers, who you can meet and chat with at the ship’s state-of-the-art Science Centre. Throughout the cruise, there’ll be lectures on science and sustainability, photography workshops, and opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of this incredible part of the world.

During holidays to Antarctica, boat tours will give you the chance to glide through ice floes and step ashore to explore a little of the landscape. Where you land will depend on the weather and sea/ice conditions, but options include Neko Harbour, Paradise Bay and Wilhemina Bay. If you’re feeling energetic, you could give snowshoeing a go, or even paddle through the pristine waters in a polar kayak.

Holidays to Antarctica from UK will first take you to South America, where you’ll board your expedition cruise to set sail (usually from the port of Ushuaia, on the southern tip of Argentina). The cruise will cross the Drake Passage, before arriving at the outer islands of the Antarctica peninsula a couple of days later. 

It’s a lengthy journey – first a long flight to South America, followed by travel to Ushuaia, then a couple of days to cruise down to Antarctica. We recommend breaking it up, so we begin our Antarctica tours with time in Brazil. First, we explore Rio de Janeiro, then we head to the spectacular Iguazu Falls, on the Brazil-Argentina border. We’ll then journey on to Buenos Aires, where we’ll fly down to Ushuaia to board our ship. On the return leg, we’ll spend a couple of nights in Buenos Aires before flying back to the UK. 

No – the continent of Antarctica is not owned by a particular country, and is instead governed by a series of guidelines and agreements known as the Antarctic Treaty.  

There are a number of small scientific settlements and research stations in Antarctica, but no-one lives there permanently. Instead, staff work on a rotating basis, for a few months at a time. Around 5,000 people live in Antarctica during the summer months; during the cold, harsh winters, this drops to approximately 1,000. 

Antarctica covers approximately 5.5 million square miles, and covers around 20% of the southern hemisphere.   

Aside from research staff and scientists, a handful of lucky people are permitted to camp overnight in Antarctica. This may be on offer during your Antarctica cruise, but do note that numbers are always extremely limited and often decided using a lottery system. Those who are fortunate enough to be able to camp can look forward to star-filled skies and an incredible sunrise over the otherworldly landscape.  

Temperatures on the Antarctic continent can average a bone-chilling -34°C in the winter, but luckily things are milder on the peninsula, where most Antarctica holiday packages go. It’s not warm by any means, but during the summertime the mercury just about nudges into low single figures. However, if the sun is shining and the wind has dropped, it can feel rather lovely.