How
to Travel to Antarctica
From the United
States
Antarctic Cruises and Adventure Travel With Cool Antarctica and Antarctica Travels
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Regions:
Antarctic Peninsula |
South Georgia |
South Shetland Islands |
Falkland Islands |
Arctic
Travelling to the Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctica can be reached from the USA via Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America or from New Zealand (less frequently Australia). There are many more South American departures, the distance is closer, shorter trips are available and you can fly or sail, New Zealand departures are to the deep South.
Most trips to Antarctica are cruises or fly-cruise trips that leave from the port of Ushuaia in Argentina or the airport at Punta Arenas in Chile visiting the Antarctic Peninsula and the islands of the (largely undersea) Scotia Arc (fig 2). This stretches east from the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego (South America), through 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.
A smaller number of trips leave from Australia or New Zealand and visit the eastern region of Antarctica, sailing time is about 6-7 days there and the same back again. These trips are longer and therefore more expensive, they usually leave from Invercargill, New Zealand or less frequently from Hobart, Australia, sometimes leaving from one and returning to the other on alternate trips.

Fig 1. Trips to the Antarctic leaving from the USA most commonly leave from the southern most tip of South America and visit the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands.
1 - New
York, USA 2 - Dallas
Tx, USA
3 - Miami Fl, USA
4 - Ushuaia, Argentina
5
- Antarctic Peninsula
Distances | miles / km |
1 New York - 4 Ushuaia, Argentina | 6,615 / 10,646 |
2 Dallas - 4 Ushuaia, Argentina | 6,290 / 10,124 |
3 Miami - 4 Ushuaia, Argentina | 5,617 / 9,040 |
1 New York - Hobart, Australia | 10,335 / 16,633 |
1 New York - Invercargill, NZ | 9,382 / 15,099 |

1 - Ushuaia,
Argentina, 2 - Punta Arenas, Chile
3 - Falkland Islands, 4
- South Georgia
5 - South Shetland
Islands, 6 - Antarctic Peninsula
Fig 2. Trips to the Peninsula region of Antarctica. The majority of trips visit the Peninsula 6 and 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.
Distances | miles / km |
1 Ushuaia - 3 Falklands | 480 / 770 |
1 Ushuaia - 4 South Georgia | 1,255 / 2,020 |
1 Ushuaia - 5 South Shetlands | 610 / 980 |
1 Ushuaia - Peninsula tip | 724 / 1,165 |
2 Punta Arenas - Peninsula tip | 870 / 1,395 |
Peninsula top to bottom | 765 / 1,230 |
Peninsula top to Antarctic Circle | 280 / 450 |
Need a Little Guidance? contact our travel partners who will help you find the best cruise for your requirements
Travel to the Ross Sea / Commonwealth Bay Region - Eastern Antarctica

R - Ross
Ice Shelf, 1 - Hobart - Australia
2 - Invercargill / Port of Bluff -
New Zealand
3 - Macquarie Island,
4 - Commonwealth Bay
5
- Cape Adare, 6 - McMurdo / Scott bases
Fig 3. Trips to the more remote Eastern side of Antarctica usually leave from Australia and New Zealand often Invercargill / Port of Bluff in New Zealand 2, Invercargill has the airport, Bluff, 30km away by road has a deep-water port. Less commonly trips may leave/return from Hobart, Australia 1, and Dunedin, New Zealand (about 180 km / 110 miles from Invercargill).
The trip may depart and return to the same port or leave from one and return to another in either direction. 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 such as Snares, Auckland and Campbell Islands that lie between Macquarie and New Zealand.
Once having reached 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
Distances | km / miles |
1 Hobart - 4 Commonwealth Bay | 2640 / 1640 |
2 Invercargill - 4 Commonwealth Bay | 2760 / 1720 |
1 Hobart - 3 Macquarie Island | 1500 / 940 |
2 Invercargill - 3 Macquarie Island | 1110 / 690 |
4 Commonwealth Bay - 5 Cape Adare | 1300 / 805 |
5 Cape Adare - 6 McMurdo | 760 / 470 |
Eastern Antarctica, Ross Sea Region v Antarctic Peninsula Cruises
- Remoteness - You will see few if any other ships
and get a greater feeling of isolation and being at the end of the world,
this is a little visited part of the planet. You are going where the world's biggest icebergs
are and the most extreme weather conditions.
- Greater chance of rough seas due to longer
spent crossing the open ocean which can take 6-7 days in each
direction, no flights available.
- See Emperor Penguins, the birds of the deep
south that rear their young in the depths of the Antarctic winter,
the largest of all penguin species.
- See Mount Erebus, the world's southernmost active
volcano and the Ross Ice Shelf, a 600km long wall of
ice between 15m and 50m high.
- Visit the huts of Scott, Shackleton, Mawson and other
Heroic Age explorers
depending on where your cruise goes. This is the area where
much of the early exploratory history of Antarctica was played out and
where historical remains still stand.
- Exclusivity - of the people who go to
Antarctica, only a small proportion visit regions other than the
Peninsula, there are relatively few trips here and they are often
fully booked up well in advance.
- Trip length of 26-30 days, sometimes there may be the possibility of a semi-circumnavigation over a similar time period from the Ross Sea to the Peninsula.
- It takes 2 days to cross the Drake Passage to reach the
Antarctic Peninsula, rough seas are possible though
short-lived, you can also fly across it in 2 hours on a fly-cruise
trip.
- Varied mountainous scenery with glaciers and icebergs,
some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.
- The most wildlife rich area, with huge penguin colonies,
and many other breeding birds, seals are common and whales may be
seen. The sub-Antarctic islands you may visit en route are
particularly wildlife rich,
especially South Georgia.
- Historic preserved British Base, now a working Post
Office at Port Lockroy,
you may also visit other currently active research bases and historic sites.
- Easier to reach, The closeness of the peninsula
to the tip of South America means that travel time to reach
Antarctica here is much less than in the East. It also
means that a greater portion of the trip is spent in Antarctica
rather than travelling there and back.
- A larger number and variety of trips available, duration from 6-24 days, a wide range of ships and choice of travel dates and itineraries.
Need a Little Guidance? contact our travel partners who will help you find the best cruise for your requirements
Antarctic Peninsula - Sample Cruises - 2023 - 2024
Trip | Highlights | Prices USD* |
---|---|---|
8-22 days Classic Antarctic Peninsula Expedition |
South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, Penguin Rookeries, Lemaire Channel. | $4,860 - $43,995 |
13 days Antarctica Peninsula Basecamp |
Antarctic Peninsula trip with several inclusive activities on offer such as hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, mountaineering, and camping out under the Southern Polar skies. | $9,100 - $11,750 |
10-16 days Crossing the Circle |
Sail down the Antarctic Peninsula and cross the Antarctic Circle, South Shetland Islands, Wildlife, Scenery. | $7,700 - $25,995 |
Air-Cruise, Fly the Drake - Sample Cruises - 2023 / 2024
Trip | Highlights | Prices USD* |
---|---|---|
6 - 15 days Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands. Fly across the Drake Passage |
Fly across the Drake Passage in 2 hours to join your ship, cruise the South Shetland Islands and western Antarctic Peninsula. Spectacular scenery, glaciers, icebergs, penguins, seals and whale sightings. Limited number of sail one way, fly the other trips. | $4,995 - $19,206 |
South Georgia / Falkland Islands / Antarctica - Sample Cruises - 2023 / 2024
Trip | Highlights | Prices USD* |
---|---|---|
17 - 23 days Antarctica, South Georgia, and Falkland Islands |
Trips to some of the most unique and abundant wildlife on earth, penguins, whales, seabirds and seals as well as magnificent scenery, ice and seascapes. | $11,556 - $48,191 |
15 or 16 days Antarctica and South Georgia |
$10,500 - $29,196 |
* Prices are based per person, the lowest price is usually for triple occupancy in a basic cabin, the highest for double occupancy in the best available suite.
Options may be at additional cost and are usually booked when the cruise is booked - it may be too late once the cruise has started.
Contact me about my trip to Antarctica!
Please complete the form
and an Antarctic Expert will contact you
Departures from late October to late March
Our partner company, Antarctica Travels, passionately help people to reach their ultimate destination.
All enquiries will be answered from our office in Patagonia, Argentina.
Dozens of trips - unique combinations of ship + itinerary
Choice of ships - 67 to 199 passenger capacity
$5,500 to $43,995
6 to 23 days
Please note - we cannot help directly to find employment in Antarctica, please do not use this form to request any other information than for Antarctic tourist trips


Picture credit: Top banner - Cuverville island, courtesy of Grant C. used under CC BY-SA 2.0 licence