Antarctica · Antarctica
The interior and the Weddell Sea.
Flying into the interior from Cape Town reaches emperor penguins and the South Pole itself — the most expensive and most committing way to visit.
Photo Derek Oyen / Unsplash
These itineraries land aircraft on blue-ice runways and operate from seasonal camps. Emperor penguin colonies, the Ellsworth Mountains and the geographic South Pole are what they exist for.
The season is narrower still, the cost is in a different bracket entirely, and places are extremely limited.
How do you fly to Antarctica?
Interior trips fly on large aircraft that land on blue-ice runways, where the wind has scoured the snow off glacier ice. Flights leave from Cape Town for Queen Maud Land, taking about five to six hours, and from Punta Arenas for Union Glacier. Onward flights to the South Pole and to emperor penguin colonies are by smaller ski-equipped aircraft, and every flight depends on the weather.
Can you see emperor penguins in Antarctica?
Yes, but mostly on interior trips. Emperor penguins breed on the sea ice around the continent, and most colonies are beyond the reach of ships, so seeing one usually means flying to it.
What is the South Pole like to visit?
The geographic South Pole sits on an ice sheet at around 2,800 metres, so visitors feel both the altitude and extreme cold. The marker is moved each year because the ice beneath it flows by about ten metres a year. The United States' Amundsen-Scott research station stands beside it.
What are the Ellsworth Mountains?
Antarctica's highest range, rising above Union Glacier and including Mount Vinson, the highest peak on the continent at 4,892 metres and one of the Seven Summits. Interior camps near the range use it for walks, ski touring and mountaineering.
How long does an Antarctic interior trip take?
From a few days for a short visit to a week or more for the South Pole and an emperor colony, with extra days held in reserve for the weather. Flights in and out are only made when conditions allow.
What is there to see in the interior and the Weddell Sea?
What does the interior and the Weddell Sea pair well with?
- The Antarctic PeninsulaThe Peninsula is where the great majority of visitors go, and where the wildlife and the landscape are most concentrated.
- Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula, South AfricaCape Town is the city most itineraries are anchored to, and the Peninsula gives it a coastline, a mountain and a wine region within an hour of the centre.
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Elsewhere in Antarctica
- South Georgia and the FalklandsSouth Georgia holds the largest concentrations of wildlife anywhere on earth, and is a longer voyage than the Peninsula alone.
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