Top 10 Antarctic cruises
There’s more than one way to explore Antarctica – as our best Antarctic cruises reveal. These are often once-in-a-lifetime expeditions, so you might want to take in Patagonia, the Falklands or South Georgia while you’re at it – or save time and pennies by sailing (or even flying) straight to the Antarctic Peninsula. Some cruises concentrate on whales, while others specialise in human history – the impact of whaling and near-mythical explorations on the White Continent.
Our top 10 sifts through the huge choice of expeditions and reveals our best cruises to Antarctica.
Our top 10 sifts through the huge choice of expeditions and reveals our best cruises to Antarctica.
1. Falklands, South Georgia & Antarctica cruise
Our best-selling Antarctic cruise is a truly epic voyage, pushing off from Puerto Madryn in Argentina – one of the best places to see southern right whales. Over three weeks, you’ll swing by the Falkland Islands and South Georgia before heading south to the Antarctic Peninsula and finishing back on the South American continent in Ushuaia. You can also choose to flip the route – will it be the Drake Passage first or last?
Our top cruise: Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica cruise
See all our cruises: Antarctica small ship cruises
Read more: Antarctica and Falklands travel guide and South Georgia travel guide
Our top cruise: Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica cruise
See all our cruises: Antarctica small ship cruises
Read more: Antarctica and Falklands travel guide and South Georgia travel guide
2. Classic Antarctic cruise
This classic cruise gets to the point, setting course straight for the Antarctic Peninsula from Ushuaia. At 12 days long, it’s a (relatively) short trip – great for those short on time or looking to save some pennies. However, there’s still plenty of time to savour lectures and extraordinary wavescapes on your two-day crossing of the Drake Passage, as well as the whales, seals and penguins of the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula.Our top cruise: Classic Antarctica cruise and South Shetland Islands
See all our cruises: Antarctica vacations
Read more: Antarctica travel guide
3. Antarctic Peninsula on a (really) small ship cruise
We only sell small ship cruises – but there’s small… and then there’s small. This cruise gives you the chance to choose a vessel that holds as few as 60 passengers. What’s the difference? This is an exceptionally friendly voyage with a real sense of kinship, where you get to know everyone and have the opportunity to spend quality time with the polar guides and conservationists on board.Our top cruise: Antarctic Peninsula cruise
See all our cruises: Antarctic cruises
Read more: Antarctica travel guide
4. Cross the Antarctic Circle
Not all Antarctica Cruises venture as far south as this – 66 degrees, 33 minutes south, to be precise. You’ll join a privileged few who can say they’ve been in the Antarctic circle. What will you do when you’re over the line? Paddleboard or kayak, or take a polar plunge to celebrate. Or do something weird and be ‘the first person to sing Bohemian Rhapsody in its entirety whilst south of the Antarctic circle’.
Our top cruise: Antarctic circle cruise vis Buenos Aires
See all our cruises: Antarctica vacations
Read more: Antarctica travel guide
Our top cruise: Antarctic circle cruise vis Buenos Aires
See all our cruises: Antarctica vacations
Read more: Antarctica travel guide
5. Cruise Shackleton’s route across the Weddell Sea
The Antarctic summer reveals a rare chance to explore the remote Weddell Sea, where Shackleton’s Endurance was trapped and wrecked in 1915. It’s just east of the Antarctic Peninsula – a patch of wild and remote icebergs that’s rich in krill. And where there’s krill, there are feeding cetaceans and bustling penguin colonies, including the rarely sighted emperor penguin.Our top cruise: Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea cruise
See all our cruises: Antarctica small ship cruises
Read more: Antarctica travel guide
6. Antarctica by plane & small cruise ship
If you don’t have the time – or the stomach – to cross the notoriously wobbly Drake Passage, flying is another option. The flight across the Southern Ocean skips from Punta Arenas in Chile to King George Island in the South Shetlands in 2.5 hours. The cruise sets off from there, spending four nights meandering around the Antarctic Peninsula.Our top cruise: Antarctica fly and cruise
See all our cruises: Antarctica vacations
Read more: How to get to Antarctica guide and Antarctica travel guide
7. Antarctic research cruise with WWF
Our partners have joined up with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to design a cruise shaped around the expertise of marine ecologists. This is a working research expedition, so you’ll get live insights into whale conservation, learning about tagging, data collection and the impact of the climate crisis. Zodiac boat trips with polar experts reveal the lives of equally charming land mammals too.
Our top cruise: Antarctic cruise with World Wildlife Fund
See all our cruises: Antarctica wildlife vacations
Read more: Antarctica wildlife article
Our top cruise: Antarctic cruise with World Wildlife Fund
See all our cruises: Antarctica wildlife vacations
Read more: Antarctica wildlife article
8. Whale watching cruise in Antarctica
Whale watching cruises set off in February and March, at the peak of the whale migration south to the Antarctic Peninsula. En route, your skilled skipper and expert crew will have you on the lookout for humpback, minke and fin whales, as well as killer whales (orcas). Your itinerary is very much a suggestion; your crew will tweak it to maximise your chances of seeing whales.Our top cruise: Antarctic whale watching cruise
See all our cruises: Antarctica wildlife vacations
Read more: Antarctica whale watching article
9. New Zealand to the Ross Sea expedition cruise
Cruises from New Zealand are a rare chance to approach Antarctica from the east, aiming for the little-visited edge of Antarctica: the Ross Sea. Explore the Transantarctic Mountains, abandoned explorers’ huts and vast ice shelves. The New Zealand subantarctic islands are ecological treasures, too – forested nature reserves where bolshy seabird colonies and amazingly adapted flora are the only permanent inhabitants.Our top cruise: Antarctica bird watching cruise from New Zealand
See all our cruises: Subantarctic Islands vacations
Read more: Subantarctic Islands travel guide
10. Luxury cruise to Antarctica
Comfort is key on luxury Antarctic cruises. They’re the biggest ships we offer – around 260 passengers – and come with cabins kitted out with wide windows so you can watch icebergs glide by from your bed. Despite the cushy quarters, you’ll end up spending more time on deck, where Zodiac boats launch for whale watching and walks along bleak penguin beaches.Our top cruise: Antarctic, South Georgia and Falklands luxury cruise
See all our cruises: Antarctica small ship cruises
Read more: Antarctica travel guide
More about Antarctica
The best time to visit Antarctica is November to March – the months when the sun rises above the horizon and the sea ice melts.
Antarctica is considered by many to be Earth’s last true slice of wilderness. But as our Antarctica travel guide reveals, the continent is far from lifeless.
Cruises take in islands, the peninsula and can depart from Argentina or New Zealand, so it’s best to consider where to go in Antarctica before booking.
We’ve looked at itineraries, ships, cabins, activities and flights to work out the cheapest way to travel to Antarctica.
The best activities in Antarctica include snowshoeing polar landscapes, kayaking frozen seas, hiking mighty mountains and even scuba diving.
Our guide on how to choose a cruise ship for Antarctica covers all the essential information you’ll need to plan this trip.
Before taking the leap and booking your vacation, discover what life is really like on board an Antarctic cruise.
Many visitors are surprised by the quantity of wildlife in Antarctica. You can spot whales, see elephant and leopard seals, and penguins are ubiquitous.
Whale watching in Antarctica is an incredible opportunity to observe these enormous marine mammals.
Our Antarctica photography tips will take your shots to the next level, with advice on lenses, composition and filters.
Find out what to put on your Antarctica packing list – and what not to – with our handy downloadable guide.
Our expedition specialists have shared their Antarctica travel advice – from choosing a boat and activities to exploring the Ross Sea – to help you prepare.
Read about the islands of Antarctica, and you’ll realise that expeditions aren’t all about the frozen continent. There are many outposts along the way.
How to get to Antarctica is one of the first questions that polar explorers ask themselves. Our guide clears up common cruise, flight and route conundrums.
We shed light on life in Antarctica, from Scott and Shackleton to the whalers of South Georgia and modern research stations.
Find out about how responsible tourism in Antarctica – and what you can do to ensure it remains a wilderness.
A semi circumnavigation of Antarctica on a small expedition vessel gives you far more than your fair share of excitement.
Whilst careful preparation is a necessity for these specialist diving expeditions, nothing will truly prepare you for the experience of ice up close.
Kayaking in Antarctica is usually done in small groups far away from the cruise ship and the noise of the motor boats.
It sounds like the start of a children’s book, and about as feasible as camping on Mars, but yes, you really can go camping on Antarctica.
