Antarctica Trips

Antarctica has a short season, from late October to March, the austral summer, when the ice opens up enough for ships to reach the peninsula. Early on, in November and December, the ice and snow are at their cleanest and the penguins are courting and nesting. January and February are the warmest months, with long daylight and the first penguin chicks on the colonies. By February and March the focus turns to whales, as humpbacks and minkes feed in the channels, part of why Antarctica ranks among the world’s great wildlife tours.

These are expedition cruises, not ordinary ones. Most sail from Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina and the usual gateway to Antarctica, crossing the Drake Passage to the peninsula over about two days each way. That far-south corner of the continent is also part of 10Adventures’ South America tours. Once south, the ship becomes a base: small Zodiac boats run daily landings and cruises among the ice, led by expert guides and naturalists, with lectures back on board. The trips sit at the expedition end of 10Adventures’ wider cruise tours.

The routes suit different travellers. The Antarctic Peninsula voyage leans into activity, with kayaking among the icebergs, snowshoeing ashore and even snorkelling for the hardy, which ties it to 10Adventures’ water tours. The longer odyssey trades some of that for wildlife and distance: South Georgia, the ‘Serengeti of the Southern Ocean’, with its vast king penguin and seal colonies and Shackleton’s grave at Grytviken, plus the Falkland Islands on the way south.