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Antarctica Holidays
Magnificent glaciers, staggeringly beautiful icebergs, epic mountains and an abundance of wildlife all contribute to the allure of Antarctica – the 'Great White Continent' - covering an area of around 14 million square kilometres that are virtually untouched by humankind. Surrounded by the turbulent Southern Ocean, it comprises an isolated land mass shrouded in ice and snow. The world's windiest, coldest and driest continent is also breathtakingly beautiful.
Our collection of holidays to Antarctica includes small ship expedition voyages and land based adventures, including fly-in options to the South Pole. We have carefully chosen what we believe to be the best trips available and offer the most comprehensive choice of Polar holidays available from the UK. Our team of Travel Specialists will also arrange your flights, any pre- and post-voyage accommodation as well as extensions in Latin America.
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About Antarctica
While Antarctica remains the habitat of intrepid explorers and scientific expeditions, its extraordinary wildlife and jaw-dropping scenery is also accessible to discerning travellers wishing to discover one the most pristine areas of the planet, under strict environmental guidelines.
Antarctica is the world’s fifth largest continent and much of it is blanketed by a vast permanent ice sheet, averaging 2,000 metres in thickness. The wider region comprises a much larger area than the continent itself, including ice shelves, seas and islands off the coast of South America and Australasia.
Dominated by an ice shelf the size of France, the Ross Sea region is inextricably linked to the golden age of exploration. The historic huts at Terra Nova Bay, Cape Evans and Cape Royds stand as monuments to Scott and Shackleton’s heroic expeditions. This area also boasts one of Antarctica’s most perplexing natural assets, the Dry Valleys, where no rain has fallen for at least 2 million years. Considerably more remote and inaccessible than the Peninsula, this is an area of dense pack ice most commonly reached from Australasia.
Antarctica Holiday Types and Experiences
We offer a wide choice of ships and routes for exploring Antarctica on a voyage. Some departures offer more adventure options for the active traveller, while all feature a bounty of wildlife potential. Alternatively, you might choose to fly-in to the South Pole.
How to plan a polar holiday
Read our step by step guide to choosing your expedition voyage from when to travel, where and what is involved
How to pick your polar vessel
With an increasing range of expedition ships cruising in polar waters these days read our guide to choosing the best for you
Spectacular scenery and wildlife
Some may argue that it’s impossible to describe the scenery of Antarctica in a single word, but ‘breathtaking’ comes close! It really is the world’s last true wilderness area and during its fleeting summer, this inhospitable land plays host to some of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth. Millions of pairs of penguins, albatrosses, petrels and other sea birds breed in the region; five species of seal are regularly observed hauled out on ice floes; orcas, humpback and minke whales are often encountered feeding on the ocean’s rich pickings, adding to the impressive list of marine mammals.
The wildlife-rich Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands are the most accessible parts of the continent, and hence are the focus of many expedition voyages departing from South America. Longer voyages also take in South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, the former, with its links to Shackleton’s fabled trek across the glaciers, being a must for many intrepid travellers. The lesser explored Weddell Sea region hugs the Peninsula and is home to emperor penguins nesting on the frozen oceans; little wonder that this area is known as ‘iceberg alley’.
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