Travel Clothing for Antarctica and Arctic,
Cold Weather Gear for Tourists

Wind and water proof outer shell

A wind and water resistant shell is vital when ashore or when cruising and travelling by zodiac. Insulation can be built-in or a separate layer.

Parka, down or synthetic insulation, select by warmth level:
Men's   Women's

3-in-1 Jackets,  waterproof shell + insulation:
Men's  Women's

Waterproof breathable shells, non-insulated:
Men's  Women's

Boots

Waterproof for those wet zodiac landings, rugged and comfortable enough for extended walking on a variety of terrain. Your non-waterproof pants get tucked into them or waterproof over-pants go over the top.
Men's   Women's

Waterproof rain pants

Overpants for riding in the zodiac and staying dry during landings, light-weight is fine and will be easier to put away into your backpack. Long zips down each leg make it much easier to get them on and off over your boots.

Men's   Women's

Socks

You'll need some good warm socks to go with your boots. A thick pair of wool-rich outer socks with thinner wicking inner pair are ideal for most. Merino wool is the gold standard for warmth and comfort, look for at least 70% wool and avoid cotton.
Darn Tough hikers - recommended | Hiking Socks | | Liner socks

Insulating layer/s

OneOne or more layers under the outer shell that can be varied according to conditions, zips, buttons etc. allow for venting or to batten down the hatches when it gets cold and windy.

Fleece and soft-shell jackets are an ideal insulating layer:
Men's | Women's

You might prefer a lightweight down or synthetic filled jacket or a down-sweater, very warm and easily thrown on over a shirt for immediate insulation like when there's a call for an exciting wildlife sighting. Wind resistant and to a lesser degree water resistant, not an outer shell layer for all conditions though.
Lightweight insulated jackets: Men's: | Women's

Warm pants - of a winter-weight natural material such as moleskin or heavyweight synthetic material such as polyester are best, not jeans! Relaxed fit to allow for flexibility of movement getting in and out of zodiacs and also possibly for long-johns underneath.
Winter pants: Men's | Women's

I have worn moleskin (a kind of cotton, named for its texture and not made from either the skin or kin of moles) pants in both polar regions, warmth, comfort and practicality.
Men's moleskins

Head and ear protection from the cold

There's a saying that a good hat is worth an extra layer. Ma Make sure the hat has ear flaps or can be pulled down to cover your ears, the wind is unrelenting. Synthetic windstopper material is less bulky and can be easily slipped into a pocket, pom-poms cause difficulties when using a hood over the top. Merino wool is a good natural alternative, acrylic is cheap, bulky and not so warm.

Men's | Women's | Balaclavas

Good quality warm gloves

WatWater-resistant gloves are always very useful in and around small boats. Ski-type are good as they are warm and water resistant with it. A thin pair of glove liners as well as a warmer pair means that you'll be able to take photographs without taking them off. Mittens are warmer than gloves, though reduce dexterity.

Men's Ski Gloves | Women's Ski Gloves
Men's lightweight glove liners | Women's lightweight glove liners
Men's Mittens | Women's Mittens

Neck Gaiter or Scarf

A neck gaiter or scarf to insulate the neck, to stop warm air from pumping out to be replaced with cold air coming back in, and stop wind-driven snow from getting into your clothes where it could melt and become very uncomfortable. My son voted this item as his most useful and favorite item of clothing when we went on an Arctic cruise around Spitsbergen. You can pull it up as far as over your nose if needed or it sits in a well-behaved manner out of the way when required rather than flapping around like scarves tend to.

Thermal Underwear

A warm comfortable base-layer can be the under clothing you already have. As long as you have a good insulting layer and outer shell layer, you won't need "thermal" underwear unless you feel the cold very badly. You may however like to get some nice baselayers. Tops can be worn as a comfortable shirt around the ship and it is easy to pull other layers on quickly when going outdoors. Merino wool is the gold standard, synthetic is also good, cotton is best avoided.

You are less likely to need bottoms or long-johns for everyday trips ashore, they are however very welcome during extended zodiac cruises when you are sitting for a longer than normal period or when kayaking.

Women's merino wool  |  Men's merino wool
Women's synthetic fiber  |  Men's synthetic fiber

Camera. Get a good quality camera, most people are fine with a digital camera of 20+ mega pixels. This will give plenty of scope for cropping the pictures later and allow enlargements of 20" x 16" and larger and a very impressive image on a screen or projector.

A good compact camera will be fine for most people though if you're more serious about your pictures you'll need a single lens reflex (DSLR) with at least a wide angle to short telephoto lens, 20-50mm ish, and a short telephoto zoom 50-200mm ish. Anything over a 300mm lens is an extravagance for Antarctica that you'll hardly ever use and will be much heavier to carry. More information.

Make sure you take spare batteries, and spare spare batteries and lots of memory.

Phone cameras are very good these days too and will probably be adequate for the non-photographer. They don't have much of a telephoto capacity though, the screen can be difficult to see in bright light and they can stop working at not-that-cold temperatures. My android phone kept packing up at just above freezing point the last time I went to Greenland for instance and had to be warmed up by a hand in a pocket to get it going again, it wasn't my only phone thankfully.

Good quality sun-glasses with full u.v. protection. It gets really bright in Antarctica, especially when the sun reflects off the sea and ice or snow.

High factor sun-screen for the same reason. If you've never been burnt under your nose from reflections from snow or sea now's your chance (a small tube is enough though).

Lightweight backpack to carry your stuff ashore while leaving arms free to clamber in and out of the Zodiacs. A "day pack" of around 1200-2000 cu. in. / 20-30L is a useful size.

Full size waterproof liners for your backpack will protect everything inside from the sea splashing on a bumpy zodiac ride or in case you drop it in the sea (a rare occurrence but not entirely unknown).

These may be available to hire from your ship or tour operator, though they also make ideal carry-on bags for the flight to your ship, more flexible and versatile than the usual carry-on luggage.

Luggage - you'll need something to lug your stuff around in.

Ships cabins are smaller than hotel rooms, so space matters. Soft sided bags can be squashed and pushed under beds or into wardrobes whereas large rigid cases can be more awkward. They also tend to weigh less, so making them easier to carry and taking up less of your baggage allowance.

Binoculars  - A must if you're a wildlife fanatic and a "nice to have" if you're not.

Binoculars are described by two numbers "10 x 30" for instance. The first number is the magnification and the second is the diameter of the front lens in millimeters. This tells you first of all how much bigger things appear and then how much of it you see at that magnification.

A magnification of 10 or 12 is about as much as most people can manage to hand-hold without shaking. 8 or 10 x magnification is generally most useful and 20 to 30 mm front elements keep the size down enough to slip into a coat pocket fairly easily especially if they fold as well.