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