Antarctica can be reached from China and SE Asia via Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America or from New Zealand (less frequently Australia). There are many more South American departures, the distance is closer, shorter trips are available and you can fly or sail, New Zealand departures are to the deep South.
Antarctica
Travel From China and South East Asia
Cruise in Antarctica, Adventure Travels With Cool Antarctica and Antarctica Travels
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Antarctic Peninsula |
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Falkland Islands |
Arctic
Antarctica is a trip like no other, there are landscapes and wildlife like nowhere else, the air is the cleanest in the world.
The approach to Antarctica is either via ports in the south of Australia and New Zealand or via the tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego. China is closer to Australia and New Zealand than it is to South America, though South America is closer to Antarctica with a greater range of trips available and shorter travelling times leading to lower prices and longer in Antarctica. It is possible to fly from South America to join a cruise ship in Antarctica. The journey to Eastern Antarctica is by ship only, it is not possible for tourists to fly to Antarctica from Australia or New Zealand.
Distances | km / miles / flight hrs. |
Beijing - Ushuaia, Argentina | 18,350 / 11,400 / 40 |
Beijing - Hobart, Australia | 9,930 / 6,040 / 20 |
Beijing - Invercargill, NZ | 10,900 / 6780 / 26 |
Hong Kong - Ushuaia, Argentina | 16,410 / 10,200 / 50 |
Hong Kong - Hobart, Australia | 8,010 / 4,980 / 15 |
Hong Kong - Invercargill, NZ | 9,390 / 5,830 / 21 |

Fig 1. Access to Antarctica
1
- Beijing, China, 2 - Hong
Kong, China
3 - Ushuaia, Argentina,
4 - Antarctic Peninsula
5 - Hobart, Australia,
6 - Invercargill,
New Zealand
7 - Commonwealth Bay,
8 - McMurdo
The world's cleanest air
Antarctica is used to set a pollution base-line for the planet, there is less air pollution there than anywhere. The WHO guideline for PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter in the air) is an average of 25 micrograms per cubic metre over 24 hours, levels in Antarctica sometimes peak at 0.4, in heavily polluted cities, the figure frequently exceeds 150 and sometimes reaches 400+. (refs: 1 2)
The great majority of trips that leave for Antarctica are ship based cruises or fly-cruise trips leaving from the Argentinean port of Ushuaia or Punta Arenas in Chile. On a fly-cruise trips you fly across the Drake's Passage from South America to join your ship in Antarctica. These trips visit the Antarctic Peninsula and sometimes sub Antarctic islands too, fig.2. Peninsula trips typically take 10-12 days with 6-16 day trips available, taking in the Falkland Islands and/or South Georgia as well takes from 15-24 days.
A smaller number of cruises depart from Australia or New Zealand visiting the opposite side of the continent to Eastern Antarctica. These trips are longer and therefore more expensive with a sailing time of 6-7 days there and the same back again in a total trip duration of 26-30 days. They usually leave from Hobart, Australia or Invercargill, New Zealand, frequently leaving from one and returning to the other.
Antarctica is a relatively expensive niche destination, cold and clean, voyages focus the wilderness and aesthetic experience. A coast-line rich in wildlife backed by snow covered mountains and glaciers with an extreme climate make this a truly magical place to visit unlike any other on the planet. The remoteness and experiences make it the ultimate destination for many adventurous travellers.
Travelling to the Antarctic Peninsula
The majority of tourist trips visit the Peninsula 6 and nearby islands such as the South Shetlands 5 (where the Chinese Great Wall scientific station is located). Longer trips may also take in the Falkland Islands 3 and / or the wildlife rich island of South Georgia 4, described as the "Alps in Mid-Ocean".
Ships almost always cruise along the western side of the Peninsula, the eastern side and Weddell Sea frequently have much heavier sea ice which is potentially problematic for shipping.
Distances | km / miles |
Ushuaia - Falklands | 770 / 480 |
Ushuaia - South Georgia | 2,020 / 1,255 |
Ushuaia - South Shetlands | 980 / 610 |
Ushuaia - Peninsula tip | 1,165 / 724 |
Punta Arenas - Peninsula tip | 1,395 / 870 |
Peninsula top to bottom | 1,230 / 765 |
Peninsula top to Antarctic Circle | 450 / 280 |
Need a Little Guidance? contact our travel partners who will help you find the best cruise for your requirements

Fig 2. Trips to the Antarctic Peninsula.
1 - Ushuaia,
Argentina, 2 - Punta Arenas, Chile
3 - Falkland Islands, 4
- South Georgia
5 - South Shetland
Islands, 6 - Antarctic Peninsula
Travel to the Ross Sea / Commonwealth Bay Region - Eastern Antarctica
These cruises (and they are always cruises) depart from Australia or New Zealand, Hobart, Australia 1, Invercargill / Port of Bluff in New Zealand 2, Invercargill has the airport, Bluff, 30km away by road has a deep-water port. Less commonly trips may leave/return from or other ports in New Zealand such as Dunedin or Lyttleton.
Trips may depart and return to the same port though often leave from one and return to another alternating between cruises. It takes about seven days to sail to Antarctica, the journey there and back is broken up with visits to the wildlife rich islands such as Macquarie 3 and other island groups such as Snares, Auckland and Campbell that lie between Macquarie and New Zealand.
Once in Antarctica trips spend their time either in the Commonwealth Bay area 4 or the Ross Sea region between Cape Adare 5 and McMurdo 6 with possibly a short trip along the front of the Ross Ice Shelf R
Distances | km / miles |
Hobart - Commonwealth Bay | 2640 / 1640 |
Invercargill - Commonwealth Bay | 2760 / 1720 |
Hobart - Macquarie Island | 1500 / 940 |
Invercargill - Macquarie Island | 1110 / 690 |
Commonwealth Bay - Cape Adare | 1300 / 805 |
Cape Adare - McMurdo | 760 / 470 |

Fig.3 the remote and less visited Eastern
side of Antarctica
R - Ross
Ice Shelf, 1 - Hobart - Australia
2 - Invercargill / Port of Bluff -
New Zealand
3 - Macquarie Island,
4 - Commonwealth Bay
5
- Cape Adare, 6 - McMurdo / Scott bases
Eastern Antarctica, Ross Sea Region v Antarctic Peninsula Cruises
- Remoteness - You will see few if any other ships
and get a greater feeling of isolation and being at the end of the world,
this is a little visited part of the planet. You are going where the world's biggest icebergs
are and the most extreme weather conditions.
- Greater chance of rough seas due to longer
spent crossing the open ocean which can take 6-7 days in each
direction, no flights available.
- See Emperor Penguins, the birds of the deep
south that rear their young in the depths of the Antarctic winter,
the largest of all penguin species.
- See Mount Erebus, the world's southernmost active
volcano and the Ross Ice Shelf, a 600km long wall of
ice between 15m and 50m high.
- Visit the huts of Scott, Shackleton, Mawson and other
Heroic Age explorers
depending on where your cruise goes. This is the area where
much of the early exploratory history of Antarctica was played out and
where historical remains still stand.
- Exclusivity - of the people who go to
Antarctica, only a small proportion visit regions other than the
Peninsula, there are relatively few trips here and they are often
fully booked up well in advance.
- Trip length of 26-30 days, sometimes there may be the possibility of a semi-circumnavigation over a similar time period from the Ross Sea to the Peninsula.
- It takes 2 days to cross the Drake Passage to reach the
Antarctic Peninsula, rough seas are possible though
short-lived, you can also fly across it in 2 hours on a fly-cruise
trip.
- Varied mountainous scenery with glaciers and icebergs,
some of the most beautiful scenery on earth.
- The most wildlife rich area, with huge penguin colonies,
and many other breeding birds, seals are common and whales may be
seen. The sub-Antarctic islands you may visit en route are
particularly wildlife rich,
especially South Georgia.
- Historic preserved British Base, now a working Post
Office at Port Lockroy,
you may also visit other currently active research bases and historic sites.
- Easier to reach, The closeness of the peninsula
to the tip of South America means that travel time to reach
Antarctica here is much less than in the East. It also
means that a greater portion of the trip is spent in Antarctica
rather than travelling there and back.
- A larger number and variety of trips available, duration from 6-24 days, a wide range of ships and choice of travel dates and itineraries.
Need a Little Guidance? contact our travel partners who will help you find the best cruise for your requirements
Antarctic Peninsula - Sample Cruises - 2023 - 2024
Trip | Highlights | Prices USD* |
---|---|---|
8-22 days Classic Antarctic Peninsula Expedition |
South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, Penguin Rookeries, Lemaire Channel. | $4,860 - $43,995 |
13 days Antarctica Peninsula Basecamp |
Antarctic Peninsula trip with several inclusive activities on offer such as hiking, snowshoeing, kayaking, mountaineering, and camping out under the Southern Polar skies. | $9,100 - $11,750 |
10-16 days Crossing the Circle |
Sail down the Antarctic Peninsula and cross the Antarctic Circle, South Shetland Islands, Wildlife, Scenery. | $7,700 - $25,995 |
Air-Cruise, Fly the Drake - Sample Cruises - 2023 / 2024
Trip | Highlights | Prices USD* |
---|---|---|
6 - 15 days Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands. Fly across the Drake Passage |
Fly across the Drake Passage in 2 hours to join your ship, cruise the South Shetland Islands and western Antarctic Peninsula. Spectacular scenery, glaciers, icebergs, penguins, seals and whale sightings. Limited number of sail one way, fly the other trips. | $4,995 - $19,206 |
South Georgia / Falkland Islands / Antarctica - Sample Cruises - 2023 / 2024
Trip | Highlights | Prices USD* |
---|---|---|
17 - 23 days Antarctica, South Georgia, and Falkland Islands |
Trips to some of the most unique and abundant wildlife on earth, penguins, whales, seabirds and seals as well as magnificent scenery, ice and seascapes. | $11,556 - $48,191 |
15 or 16 days Antarctica and South Georgia |
$10,500 - $29,196 |
* Prices are based per person, the lowest price is usually for triple occupancy in a basic cabin, the highest for double occupancy in the best available suite.
Options may be at additional cost and are usually booked when the cruise is booked - it may be too late once the cruise has started.
Contact me about my trip to Antarctica!
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Departures from late October to late March
Our partner company, Antarctica Travels, passionately help people to reach their ultimate destination.
All enquiries will be answered from our office in Patagonia, Argentina.
Dozens of trips - unique combinations of ship + itinerary
Choice of ships - 67 to 199 passenger capacity
$5,500 to $43,995
6 to 23 days
Please note - we cannot help directly to find employment in Antarctica, please do not use this form to request any other information than for Antarctic tourist trips

