Fly
to Antarctica
Air Cruise - Fly / Sail
Trips to Antarctica, Adventure Travel With Cool Antarctica and Antarctica Travels
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Regions:
Antarctic Peninsula |
South Georgia |
South Shetland Islands |
Falkland Islands |
Arctic
Typical fly-cruise trips, please
contact us for options
6, 8 or 10 days - fly
/ fly - both ways from Punta Arenas, Chile
6, 8,
9, 11, 12 or 14 days - fly / sail - fly one way, sail
the other
Flights to Antarctica
The return trip to Antarctica across the Drake Passage is 4 hours by air or 4 days by ship. If you are time limited and / or are affected by sea sickness the Fly-Cruise option could be your ideal way to experience the icy continent.
Board a charter flight in Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America and fly to Frei Station on King George Island in the South Shetlands Group in about two hours where you will board your cruise ship.
You can fly both ways of make one leg by air and the other by sea. Either fly down and sail back or sail down and fly back. The South American airport for the journey is Punta Arenas in Chile while the seaport is Ushuaia in Argentina.
Fly-cruises voyage around the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, the most accessible regions of Antarctica, where spectacular scenery abounds as well as all kinds of Antarctic wildlife, penguins, whales, seals and all manner of other sea-birds. There are many opportunities for landings ashore to visit wildlife colonies and walk amongst spectacular landscapes, you can expect daily landings once in Antarctica. You may even sail down as far as the Antarctic Circle on longer trips.
Some of the possible sights and actvities on your Antarctic cruise
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A number of trips leave from late November to mid March giving you a choice of dates, length of trip and which ship. Some cruises provide optional camping ashore for a night and/or kayaking.
Arrival in Antarctica is at the airstrip of the Chilean Presidente Frei station on King George Island, the largest island of the South Shetlands group. This is part of the Scotia arc 75 miles (120 kilometers) to the north east of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is the unofficial capital of Antarctica in that it has ten national research stations and a semi-permanent population of about 500 people largely on the small ice-free area of the Fildes Peninsula at the south-west tip of the island.
The population is semi-permanent and fairly steady at 500, though people come and go quite frequently, spending from a few months to a year or two. It is the only place in Antarctica with something like a normal human population, Presidente Frei station has families living there and even a small school.
King George Island is home to a Russian Orthodox church with its own priest and the world's most southerly lighthouse. It is the site of an annual Antarctic Marathon.
Fly-cruise v Cruise-only Trip to Antarctica
- Time saving - There and back
flights take 4 hours in total, There and back sailings
take about 4 days in total. You can visit Antarctica
without spending so much time travelling, either
take a shorter trip, or spend more time there.
- Avoid crossing the Drake Passage by ship - this can be a very rough crossing which for some may prevent them going to Antarctica at all if sea-sickness is a problem.
- Delays to your trip -
While no Antarctica Fly and Cruise departure
has yet been cancelled due to weather conditions,
some departures have experienced delays of up to
three days. The current estimate is that the chances
of delay are in the range of 5-10%. Ships can operate
in conditions in Antarctica that leave aircraft
grounded.
- You don't get to cross the Drake Passage - there is something special about arriving in Antarctica by ship where the weather and ice change slowly over a longer period, watching albatrosses following the ship, the first ice-bergs, the first penguins and seals porpoising alongside.
Sample Fly-Cruise Trips
to Antarctica, Nov 2024 - March 2025
prices $4,995 - $29,995
| Trip |
Classic Antarctica Air-Cruise |
Polar Circle Air-Cruise |
|---|---|---|
| Ships | Ocean Nova Magellan Explorer World Explorer Ocean Adventurer |
|
| Days | 8 | |
| Price | from $11,495 | |
| Pax | 67 / 100 | |
| Notes | Fly
/ Fly 29 departures, Nov-Mar |
Notes
* Prices are 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 such as kayaking are usually booked when the cruise is
booked, they may be at additional cost and have limited
availability
- it may be too late once the cruise has started.
Antarctic trips that fly across the Drake Passage cost somewhat more than similar trips that sail there and back because of the logistics involved in operating the aircraft (not needed at all by cruise only!) and because the ships often have a smaller number of passengers.
Fly-The-Drake for the 2024-2025 Season
Fly-cruise trips are often booked up in advance of the start of the season with few or no late booking opportunities available especially in the peak months of December, January and February.
8 days, National Geographic Explorer, from
$10,138, depart 26 Nov, 1, 15 Dec 2024
6 days, World Voyager, from
$11,299, depart 27
Nov, 2 Dec 2024
8 days, Ocean Nova, from
$11,495, depart 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27 Dec 2024
13 days, Sylvia Earle,
from $17,906 - was $19,895,
depart 19 Jan 2025
Contact me about my trip to Antarctica!
Please complete the form
and an Antarctic Expert will contact you
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
Prices from $5,900 per person
6 to 28 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
The following is a general description of the kind of t&c's that apply to Antarctic fly-cruise expeditions, specific t&c's will depend on the particular cruise booked.
It is important that prospective passengers understand
that weather conditions could impact the operation.
Should weather delay a departure, contingency plans
will be put into operation. There is also the possibility of
the return leg being delayed so flexibility should be allowed
when returning home. We are not responsible for any itinerary
changes.
Getting There & Getting Home:
A tight
time-schedule connection with an Antarctic expedition is not
recommended. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that a flexible
air ticket be held for your journey home. In addition, we strongly
advise against booking a departing flight on the same day as
the return flight from Antarctica.
The Aircraft:
Usually used are 70 passenger
BAE 146-200 manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace
and equipped with 4 turbofan Honeywell engines. It is a high-wing
aircraft with very short runway requirements which makes it
particularly suited for this kind of destination. The operaters
have many years experience of flying in Patagonia and Antarctica.
Substitute aircraft however may be used as necessary.
Luggage Weight Restriction:
Due to the
limited carrying capacity of the aircraft, participants in the
Antarctica Fly and Cruise programs can only carry 20 kg/44 lb
of personal luggage, including carry-on. This weight restriction
is enforced strictly. Note that hand luggage will be weighed
as well as checked baggage. Soft sided luggage is recommended.
Some ships will loan heavy and bulky items such as waterproof
boots, check with your ship as to what is provided.
Included:
Accommodations onboard ship,
in accordance with cabin chosen. Often a one night hotel stay
both pre and post flight to Antarctica with transfers are provided,
check with your tour operator as to what is included for your
particular trip.
Not included:
Airfare to/from Punta Arenas,
Chile, visa and/or passport expenses, arrival and departure
taxes, if applicable, transfers, lodging and meals other than
those offered in the program, mandatory evacuation insurance,
recommended travel insurance, personal expenses, such as laundry
service, telephone calls, use of Internet or other means of
communication, etc. gratuity to ship's crew at the end of
the voyage.
Contingency Plans:
Some departures in
the past have experienced delays. Based on past experience,
the estimated chance of delay is very low, in the range of 5-10%.
Still, it is important that prospective participants understand
that weather conditions could impact the operation. Travelers
are responsible for any expenses associated with the rescheduling
of airline tickets or onward travel plans. In the unlikely event
that flights cannot operate due to unfavorable conditions, whether
at point of origin and/or at the destination contingency plans
will be put into operation. No refund will be extended for any
reason whatsoever.
Picture credits: Slider top page: 3 Adelie penguins in front of mountains courtesy ravas51 used under CC BY SA 2.0 licence / Aircraft on the ground picture courtesy of LBM1948, used under CC BY SA 4.0 license.