Just imagine: The crisp Antarctic air fills your lungs as your boat glides towards a snow-blanketed landscape. Silently navigating between the towering ice cathedrals, your guide explains how the light is refracted inside the crystalised formations to form a shimmering ethereal blue. In the distance, scores of black-and-white penguins pad along the rocks.
Taking a trip to the southernmost continent in the world is, undoubtedly, the ultimate adventure. However, choosing the best and safest way to visit Antarctica can be daunting. With expedition cruises becoming an increasingly popular method of travelling to remote destinations, we consider why they are the best way to visit Antarctica.
Expedition cruises take place on ice class ships that navigate the vast, freezing waters surrounding the polar regions. Steering away from a traditional polar cruise, voyages tend to be ‘expedition-style’. This means itineraries are explorative, engaging and flexible. Ultimately, they enable you to visit Antarctica in an adventurous, yet safe, way.
The majority of expedition cruises visit the Antarctic Peninsula on 10 and 12-day voyages. Extended trips also trace the footsteps of explorer Ernest Shackleton’s heroic journey to the White Continent via the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Itineraries also explore the Falkland Islands and the South Sandwich Islands. The most adventurous voyages head deep into the ice-laden Weddell Sea, usually in search of the elusive emperor penguin.
Oceanwide Expeditions offer all three route options on its three ice-class vessels during their Antarctic season, which runs from November to March each year. A company with over 30 years of experience leading polar expeditions, it focuses on providing education-packed and exploratory experiences in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic Islands, with specialized whale-watching cruises offered towards the end of the season when whale numbers increase dramatically.
Led by an experienced Captain and Expedition Leader, expedition cruises carry far less passengers compared to traditional polar cruises. Typically between 100 and 350 passengers travel on an expedition cruise ship.
Even smaller expedition vessels allow you to explore where bigger ships cannot access. Oceanwide Expeditions is one of a handful of companies operating with under 200 guests. Its ships carry just 108 and 170 guests, allowing more time for wildlife watching and exploration ashore. Such intimate numbers mean guests can spend maximum time ashore. This is especially needed when you visit Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands as, to reduce disturbance to wildlife, only 100 guests are permitted on land at one time.
In addition, each Oceanwide Expeditions ship is designed with 360° views. This allows you to enjoy uncrowded views of the ice-carved mountains and drifting icebergs as you sail between sites.
Oceanwide Expeditions’ m/v Hondius © Andrew Peacock – Oceanwide Expeditions
On the Peninsula, at least five species of penguin – gentoo, chinstrap, Adélie, rockhopper, macaroni – can be spotted padding over the rocky shores. You might see them mating and building nests out of pebbles in October and November, incubating their first eggs in November and December – and feeding their young in January and February.
The sub-Antarctic islands of the Falklands and South Georgia are home to six species, including Magellanic, king, rockhopper, and macaroni penguins. Gentoos and chinstraps can be seen here, too. If you choose a voyage that ventures as far as the Weddell Sea, there is a chance you might spot the lesser-seen emperor penguin.
With marine biologists, ornithologists, geologists and historians onboard – expedition cruises offer an expert-led, educational experience. Oceanwide Expeditions have a 8 to 13-person strong expedition team. Their role is to teach you all about the extraordinary Antarctic environment.
Life onboard is a casual and welcoming affair. Cabins and communal areas favour comfort rather than indulgence. Importantly, the focus is on expanding knowledge and mingling with fellow adventurers. Through a series of presentations by the expedition team, you can learn about polar history, the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and the behaviour and physiology of the wildlife you’ve witnessed. The same experts lead excursions out on land and water, teaching you about your surroundings along the way.
There are three species of penguin to see on an Antarctica expedition © Andrew Peacock – Oceanwide Expeditions
Out in the field, the use of small inflatable vessels, called Zodiacs, allows you to experience and visit Antarctica in a more intricate way.
Zodiacs are particularly efficient at exploring the ice-packed channels and shallow coastlines that surround the mainland. They offer a speedy and efficient way of transferring you from the ship to the shore. They also allow you to get within a safe distance of the wildlife without disturbance. Perhaps most excitingly, Zodiacs place you close to the ice that makes Antarctica so magical.
Shore excursions and Zodiac cruises are standard activities on all expedition vessels that visit Antarctica. Impressively, however, Oceanwide Expeditions has pioneered unique ways of experiencing Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic Islands.
Its ‘Basecamp Antarctica’ itinerary is packed with adventure-filled opportunities including hiking, kayaking, snow-shoeing, photo workshops and camping under the stars. Even better, it offers these activities in lesser visited areas of the continent, as well as the region’s most remote islands.
Many excursions available from hiking, kayaking and snow-shoeing © Andrew Peacock – Oceanwide Expeditions
To successfully visit Antarctica, you need time, patience and a willingness for spontaneity. Wait long enough and you might spot weddell, crabeater or a leopard seal slumbering on the icebergs. In the sub-Antarctic region, male fur seals and elephant seals can be seen jostling for territory earlier in the season. A lucky few may even get to see humpback whales feeding on krill at the surface of the water. Perhaps the most exciting is when the ship comes across a pod of orca (killer whales) hunting for penguins and seals in the open ocean.
With plenty to distract you on the ground, don’t forget to look up. Bear in mind the wildlife sightings on an expedition cruise start long before you visit Antarctica. Soaring alongside the ship, making the most of the updraft of currents, are usually southern fulmars and cape petrels. The sprawling wings of the black-browed, gray headed, and light-mantled sooty albatross are equally hard to miss as they manoeuvre low over the ocean swell.
Finally, there is the renowned wandering albatross – sighted only as you cross the Drake Passage. This oceanic bird has a wingspan of over three-metres – making it the largest wingspan in the world.
Smaller ships have less impact on the enviroment © Andrew Peacock – Oceanwide Expeditions
If you are considering booking a trip to the White Continent, bear in mind that smaller ships, with reduced passenger numbers, have less of an impact on the marine environment. Similarly, newer vessels like Oceanwide Expeditions’ m/v Hondius, tend to be more energy efficient. This means less greenhouse emissions are produced compared to traditional and luxury vessels.
Finally, do your adventure justice by booking an itinerary that offers extraordinary ways to explore this extraordinary continent. Trust us, you won’t regret it.
For those seeking an even more extensive adventure, Oceanwide Expeditions offers an Atlantic Odyssey voyage to round off the Antarctic season. This unique journey takes guests from Antarctica to Tristan da Cunha, St Helena, and Cape Verde, providing an extraordinary transition from the icy southern waters to the tropical Atlantic.
Bookings are now open for Oceanwide Expeditions’ 2025/26 season. Find out more about Antarctica itineraries.
This article was made in partnership with Oceanwide Expeditions.
written by
Karen Edwards
updated 23.01.2025
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