Antarctica (via Ushuaia), Antarctica
The last continent. Penguins by the hundred thousand, whales, icebergs the size of towns. Season November to March.
Best time to visit
Weather by month
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1° | -1° | 100 mm | prime |
| Feb | 1° | -2° | 138 mm | prime |
| Mar | 0° | -3° | 172 mm | prime |
| Apr | -2° | -5° | 177 mm | |
| May | -3° | -6° | 152 mm | |
| Jun | -5° | -9° | 125 mm | |
| Jul | -6° | -10° | 144 mm | |
| Aug | -6° | -11° | 157 mm | |
| Sep | -5° | -10° | 191 mm | |
| Oct | -3° | -7° | 188 mm | |
| Nov | -1° | -4° | 147 mm | prime |
| Dec | 0° | -2° | 104 mm | prime |
30-year averages (1995–2024) from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Rain is the monthly total.
Cost
Serves travellers at Premium→Ultra-luxury level. Typically around $1200 a day on the ground.
Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.
What's on
Penguin chicks hatch January
Peak wildlife activity
Whale season February
Humpbacks and orcas feeding
Worth knowing
The ship is the hotel and the transport. Landings are by inflatable boat and the weather decides which ones happen, not the itinerary.
getting around · editorial
Fly to Ushuaia at the bottom of Argentina, usually via Buenos Aires, and sail from there. The Drake Passage is about two days each way; some trips fly across it to King George Island instead.
getting there · editorial
The Drake is one of the roughest crossings in the world and seasickness is the norm rather than the exception. Boots and outerwear are washed and inspected before every landing under biosecurity rules.
know before · editorial
Onboard accounts settle by card at the end of the voyage. Carry some cash for Ushuaia; there is nothing to spend money on south of it.
money · editorial
Outside the austral summer nothing sails at all. Early season means more fast ice and fewer landings; late season means muddy colonies and grown chicks.
when not to go · editorial
Nowhere ashore. Plan a night at each end in Ushuaia: sailing times and flight times rarely line up.
where to stay · editorial
Quests
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Ushuaia harbour
The starting point. The sign for the end of the world is right there.
Tierra del Fuego National Park
The end of Ruta 3, with Lapataia bay behind the sign.
Beagle Channel
The channel between the islands, with the Les Éclaireurs lighthouse in the middle.
The Lemaire Channel
The ice corridor between rock walls. It opens only when the ice allows.
See
See a gentoo penguin colony from dry land
Eat
Drink hot soup on deck during the Drake crossing
Eat centolla in Ushuaia before you sail
King crab from the channel, caught right there.
Drink a hot chocolate on deck with your coat done up
The wind decides how long you stay.
Moment
Stay on deck at midnight with the sun still on the horizon
Cross the Drake Passage awake
Two days of open sea, in both directions. There is no shortcut.
Stand ten minutes in silence on the ice, no photographs
Nowhere else is this quiet.
Sit and wait until a penguin decides to come closer
Five metres is the rule. The penguin may close the gap; you may not.
Listen to the ice crack and the glacier calve in the distance
The sound arrives after the picture.
Water
Get into the water at the polar plunge
One degree. Seconds. A rope round your waist and someone holding it.