Cruise Dates
The Best Time To Visit.
Our Antarctica journeys operate during the austral summer months - November through March. This is the most comfortable period of the Antarctic year and a time when the continent is at its spectacular best. However, within that period, each month has special highlights. Choose your departure date with these possibilities in mind:
November - Early December (late spring - early summer)
- Winter pack ice begins to melt and break up, creating new landscapes of sculpted ice and pristine icebergs.
- Courting season for penguins and seabirds - whole colonies in spectacular displays of courtship rituals.
- Seals visible on fast ice and shorelines.
- Spring wildflowers blooming on the Falklands and South Georgia Islands.
- Research activity at its height.
- Elephant and fur seals establish their breeding territories.
Mid December - January (full summer)
- Wildlife in full swing as temperatures warm and activity levels rise.
- Late December and January are usually Antarctica's warmest months.
- On South Georgia and the Falklands, first penguin chicks emerge and fur seals are breeding.
- Longer days create great light conditions for fabulous photo opportunities - read a newspaper on deck at midnight!
- Seal pups visible on South Georgia and the Falklands.
- Antarctic chicks hatch.
- Whales increasingly numerous.
- Receding ice may open new channels for exploration.
- Christmas and New Year in Antarctica.
February - March (late summer)
- Beautiful sunrises and sunsets create stunning photo opportunities.
- Whale sighting at its best.
- Penguin chicks begin to fledge.
- Snow algae blooming.
- Falklands' chicks leaving the nest.
- Fur seals increasingly common on the Antarctic Peninsula