Things to do in Antarctica

25 things to do in Antarctica

Listed in full below. The running order is set by votes and loads with the page.

• Watch sunrise over Paradise Bay

  Watch the sun paint glaciers and icebergs in shades of pink and gold as your ship drifts through this mirror-calm, mountain-rimmed bay on the Antarctic Peninsula, often accompanied by minke whales and penguin porpoising.

  Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula

• Kayak among icebergs at Neko Harbour

  Paddle silently past colossal blue icebergs and listen to the crackle of ancient air bubbles escaping as you glide alongside gentoo penguin colonies on the rocky beach of this stunning fjord.

  Neko Harbour, Andvord Bay

• Camp overnight on the ice at Whichaway Camp

  Sleep in a luxury pod on the ice of Queen Maud Land at White Desert's Whichaway Camp, falling asleep under the midnight sun with only the sound of wind and distant ice calving.

  Whichaway Camp, Queen Maud Land

• Stand at the geographic South Pole

  Reach the absolute bottom of the world at 90° S, standing at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station where all lines of longitude converge, and snap a photo at the ceremonial pole marker.

  South Pole, Antarctica

• Climb Mount Vinson, Antarctica's highest peak

  Tackle the 4,892m summit of the Sentinel Range, one of the Seven Summits, for 360-degree views of the endless Ellsworth Mountains ice sheet and a true explorer’s feat.

  Mount Vinson, Ellsworth Mountains

• Walk among a gentoo penguin colony at Brown Bluff

  Wander the volcanic beach of Brown Bluff, where thousands of gentoo and Adélie penguins nest beside towering rust-coloured cliffs, with Weddell seals resting on offshore ice.

  Brown Bluff, Tabarin Peninsula

• Photograph tabular icebergs in the Weddell Sea

  Captivate your lens with immense, flat-topped tabular icebergs the size of city blocks, drifting silently through the diamond-dust air of the legendary Weddell Sea.

  Weddell Sea, Antarctica

• Soak in the volcanic hot springs of Pendulum Cove

  Dig your own hot pool on the black sand of Deception Island's flooded caldera at Pendulum Cove, where geothermally heated water mixes with icy Antarctic water for a surreal bath.

  Pendulum Cove, Deception Island

• Explore Scott's Discovery hut at Hut Point

  Step inside the frozen-in-time wooden hut from Scott's 1901–1904 expedition on Ross Island, complete with original supplies, bunks, and a sense of heroic-age exploration.

  Hut Point, Ross Island

• Send a postcard from the Penguin Post Office at Port Lockroy

  Mail a stamped postcard from the world's southernmost post office, a restored British station-turned-museum on Goudier Island, surrounded by nesting gentoo penguins.

  Port Lockroy, Wiencke Island

• Take a polar plunge at Half Moon Island

  Leap into the near-freezing Southern Ocean from the pebbly shore of Half Moon Island, greeted by a shock of adrenaline and an audience of chinstrap penguins on the colony behind.

  Half Moon Island, South Shetlands

• Visit the emperor penguin colony at Snow Hill Island

  Travel by icebreaker and helicopter to reach the remote Snow Hill Island rookery, one of the few accessible places to witness thousands of majestic emperor penguins with their chicks on the sea ice.

  Snow Hill Island, Weddell Sea

• Fly over the Ellsworth Mountains in a ski-plane

  Soar above jagged granite peaks and vast glacial plateaus in a ski-equipped aircraft, landing at Union Glacier for a surreal day trip into the heart of Antarctica's interior.

  Union Glacier, Ellsworth Mountains

• Wander the abandoned whaling station at Whalers Bay

  Roam the rusting boilers, barracks, and whale-oil tanks of the disused Norwegian whaling station, now a haunting open-air museum within Deception Island's volcanic caldera.

  Whalers Bay, Deception Island

• Snorkel with leopard seals at Pleneau Island

  Slip into the water near the 'Iceberg Graveyard' to snorkel face-to-face with curious leopard seals as they glide between submerged blue ice sculptures and darting penguins.

  Pleneau Island, Antarctic Peninsula

• Witness ice calving at the Gerlache Strait's glacier face

  Stand on deck as cathedral-sized chunks of ice collapse from the mighty glacier front into the Gerlache Strait, booming like thunder and creating rolling waves in an icy amphitheatre.

  Gerlache Strait, Antarctic Peninsula

• Climb to the rim of Mount Erebus, an active volcano

  Ascend the lower slopes of the world's southernmost active volcano on Ross Island to peer into its steaming lava lake, surrounded by an otherworldly landscape of ice towers and fumaroles.

  Mount Erebus, Ross Island

• Marvel at Blood Falls in the Taylor Dry Valley

  Hike to the eerie, iron-oxide-stained cascade of Blood Falls pouring from the snout of Taylor Glacier in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a deep-red anomaly on a pure white ice sheet.

  Taylor Glacier, McMurdo Dry Valleys

• Cruise the Lemaire Channel in a zodiac

  Weave through mirror-like water between towering cliffs and ice pinnacles in the photogenic Lemaire Channel, nicknamed 'Kodak Gap', as seals doze on nearby floes.

  Lemaire Channel, Antarctic Peninsula

• Have a drink at the Vernadsky Research Station bar

  Sip a shot of homemade vodka at the legendary Faraday Bar inside Ukraine's Vernadsky Station, a convivial spot where scientists and visitors swap stories under a ceiling of bras.

  Vernadsky Research Base, Galindez Island

• Tour the U.S. Palmer Station

  Join a guided walk through a modern Antarctic research base on Anvers Island, meeting the biologists studying krill and penguins and seeing the labs that support climate science.

  Palmer Station, Anvers Island

• Take a helicopter tour over Mount Scott

  Lift off from an expedition ship to hover above the jagged ridgelines of Mount Scott on the Trinity Peninsula, where icefalls tumble into the Antarctic Sound and the scale of the ice cap becomes clear.

  Mount Scott, Trinity Peninsula

• Snowshoe across the frozen sea ice in the Ross Sea

  Clip on snowshoes to traverse the solid white expanse of sea ice near Terra Nova Bay, crisscrossed by seal breathing holes and framed by the distant Transantarctic Mountains.

  Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea

• Take a scenic flight over the Ross Ice Shelf

  Gaze down from a window seat at the world's largest ice shelf, a floating plain of ice the size of France, dotted with rift lines and surreal blue melt ponds.

  Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica

• Explore the ice tunnels of Marambio Base

  Venture into the crystalline ice tunnels carved beneath Argentina's Marambio Base on Seymour Island, a hidden network used for training and storage within the permafrost.

  Marambio Base, Seymour Island