Antarctica Cruises - Leaving from the UK - United Kingdom

The majority of trips to Antarctica Leave from the South American port of Ushuaia in Argentina and visit the Antarctic Peninsula and the islands of the Scotia Arc (fig 2) that stretches east from the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego, to South Georgia, the South Shetland Islands and back to the west again through the South Orkney Islands before joining the northernmost tip of the Peninsula.

There are a smaller number of trips that leave from Australia or New Zealand and visit Eastern Antarctica taking 6-7 days to sail there and the same back again so making the trips longer and consequently more expensive. These trips usually leave from Hobart, Australia or Invercargill, New Zealand, often leaving from one and returning to the other.

	Fig 1. Trips to Antarctica leaving from the UK most commonly leave from Ushuaia, Argentina at the tip of South America and visit the Antarctic Peninsula and possibly some nearby islands. There are a smaller number of trips that leave from Hobart, Australia or Invercargill, New Zealand (frequently leaving from one and returning to the other) that visit the more remote Eastern part of Antarctica. 1 - London UK 2 - Ushuaia, Argentina 3 - Antarctic Peninsula Distances - miles / km London - Ushuaia, Argentina 8,310 / 13,380 London - Hobart, Australia 10,790 / 17,370 London - Invercargill, NZ 11,800 / 18,990 Leaving from London the trip to Ushuaia takes around 25-30 hours and will cost in the region of £1,000 per person return (2012/2013), the return journey takes 30-40 hours.
	Fig 2. Trips to the Peninsula region of Antarctica. Shorter trips visit the Peninsula 6 only and some nearby islands such as the South Shetlands 5. Longer trips may also take in the Falkland Islands 3 and / or South Georgia 4 and possibly some other landings en route. Cruises most commonly go down the western side of the Peninsula as they are less likely to encounter problematic sea ice that is more likely found on the Eastern side in the Weddell Sea. 1 - Ushuaia, Argentina 2 - Punta Arenas, Chile 3 - Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas 4 - South Georgia 5 - South Shetland Islands 6 - Antarctic Peninsula Distances - miles / km Ushuaia - Falklands 480 / 770 Ushuaia - South Georgia 1,255 / 2,020 Ushuaia - South Shetlands 610  / 980 Ushuaia - Peninsula tip 724 / 1,165 Punta Arenas - Peninsula tip  870 / 1,395 Peninsula top to bottom 765 / 1,230 Peninsula top to Antarctic Circle 280 / 450
	Fig 3. Trips to Eastern Antarctica from Australia and New Zealand. These trips usually leave from Invercargill / Port of Bluff in New Zealand 2 (Invercargill has the airport, Bluff, 30km away has a deep-water port) or Hobart in Australia 1. It takes about seven days sailing to reach Antarctica from Australia or New Zealand, the journey there and back is usually broken up with visits to the wildlife rich Macquarie Island 3 and others. Once in Antarctica trips usually spend their time either in the Commonwealth Bay area 4 or the Ross Sea region between Cape Adare 5 and McMurdo 6 with possibly a short trip along the front of the Ross Ice Shelf R. 1 - Hobart - Australia 2 - Invercargill / Port of Bluff - New Zealand 3 - Macquarie Island 4 - Commonwealth Bay 5 - Cape Adare 6 - McMurdo / Scott bases R - Ross Ice Shelf Distances - miles / km Hobart - Commonwealth Bay 1,640 / 2,640 Invercargill - Commonwealth Bay 1,720 / 2,760 Hobart - Macquarie Island 940 / 1,500 Invercargill - Macquarie Island 690 / 1,110 Commonwealth Bay - Cape Adare 805 / 1,300 Cape Adare - McMurdo 470 / 760 Each leg of London to Hobart or London to Invercargill takes 20-40 hours with 30 hours being typical, the cost to either is around £2,000 return per person (2012/2013).

The distance to be travelled means that trips to the Eastern side of Antarctica take longer than trips to the Peninsula region from South America and are also subsequently more expensive.

There are also a lot less trips departing from this region than there are from South America meaning less choice of dates and of ship.

On the other hand, Eastern Antarctica is entirely within the Antarctic Circle and a different kind of Antarctica, as remote as it's possible to get on the planet. It is colder than a Peninsula trip and with a higher chance of rough seas at some point. Getting to Antarctica and back again is more of an expedition than the traditional kind of cruise. You will probably not see any other ships during your cruise at all and other than visits to research bases, you won't see any people other than those on your ship.