Travel to Antarctica
Flying to Antarctica
Antarctica has no scheduled commercial air services. Tourist flights operate during the austral summer, mainly from Punta Arenas in southern Chile to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. These are primarily used by fly-cruise programmes, allowing passengers to join an expedition vessel in Antarctica without crossing the Drake Passage by sea.
Specialist operators also arrange charter flights into the Antarctic interior, including services to seasonal camps from which expeditions continue towards destinations such as the South Pole. These journeys require specialist arrangements and are considerably less common than visits to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Air notes:
Flights to Antarctica are highly dependent on weather and may be delayed or cancelled at short notice. Travellers should allow sufficient flexibility in their itinerary to accommodate disruptions.
Flight times:
From Punta Arenas to King George Island: approximately 2 hours.
Travel by rail
Getting to Antarctica by boat
Most visitors reach Antarctica by expedition ship, with Ushuaia in southern Argentina the principal departure port for voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula. Punta Arenas in Chile is another gateway, while some itineraries begin elsewhere in South America. Voyages may also include the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia.
The crossing from Ushuaia to the Antarctic Peninsula traverses the Drake Passage and usually takes around two days in each direction, depending on sea and weather conditions. Expedition itineraries generally operate during the austral summer, from November to March.
A much smaller number of voyages visit the Ross Sea and East Antarctica, with some departing from Hobart in Australia or Lyttelton or Bluff in New Zealand. These voyages are considerably longer than those to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Antarctic itineraries are subject to weather, sea ice and other local conditions, and scheduled landing sites may change during the voyage. Expedition vessels generally use small inflatable boats to take passengers ashore where conditions permit.
Expedition vessels carrying up to 500 passengers may make landings, subject to applicable regulations and site restrictions. No more than 100 passengers are normally permitted ashore at a landing site at one time. Larger vessels carrying more than 500 passengers operate on a cruise-only basis without tourist landings.
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