How to Get to the Antarctic: A Practical Guide

Getting to Antarctica isn't like getting anywhere else. There are no scheduled commercial flights, no ferries, no road trips. Every journey to the continent requires either a ship crossing one of the most notorious stretches of ocean on Earth, or a specialist charter flight to a blue-ice runway carved into the ice shelf. Both have their place, depending on what you're trying to achieve.

Most visitors reach Antarctica by sea, departing from Ushuaia in southern Argentina. The crossing takes roughly two days each way across the Drake Passage, which can range from remarkably calm to genuinely brutal depending on conditions. Expedition cruise vessels carry the majority of Antarctic visitors, offering Peninsula access with multiple landings and wildlife encounters.

Fly-cruise options combine the best of both approaches. You fly from Punta Arenas in Chile to King George Island, bypassing the Drake entirely, then join a ship for Peninsula exploration. It saves time but costs more and removes what some consider an essential part of the Antarctic experience—earning your arrival through the Southern Ocean.

For those of us running ski expeditions to the South Pole, the route is different entirely. We fly from Punta Arenas to Union Glacier on an Ilyushin IL-76 cargo aircraft—a four-and-a-half-hour flight that lands on a blue-ice runway. From Union Glacier, smaller Twin Otter aircraft shuttle teams to their starting points on the polar plateau.

Punta Arenas is where Antarctic expeditions begin in earnest. It's the last proper town before the ice, and the final opportunity to sort any kit issues before departure. I always recommend arriving several days early—flights to Antarctica are weather-dependent, and delays of a week or more are not unusual.

The waiting can be difficult. You're ready, your kit is packed, and you're watching weather forecasts with increasing frustration. But this is part of Antarctic travel. The continent operates on its own schedule, and accepting that from the outset makes the delays easier to bear.

Union Glacier serves as the jumping-off point for South Pole expeditions. It's a seasonal camp operated by Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions, with everything from sleeping tents to a surprisingly good food hall. After months of preparation, arriving here is when the expedition becomes real.

The camp sits at around 700 metres elevation, surrounded by the Heritage Range. It's a chance to acclimatise, make final equipment checks, and prepare mentally for what's ahead. The atmosphere is a mixture of nervous energy and quiet focus—everyone there has a serious objective, and the weight of preparation hangs in the air.

For our Challenge 12 expeditions, we fly from Union Glacier to 89° South, one degree of latitude from the Geographic South Pole. From there, teams ski the final 111 kilometres to 90° South, hauling everything they need on pulks.

This final degree takes around eight to ten days depending on conditions. It's the culmination of months or years of preparation—physical training, skills development, mental conditioning. Standing at the Pole, surrounded by the flags of the Antarctic Treaty nations, is a moment that stays with you.

Antarctic travel is expensive. A Peninsula cruise typically starts around £8,000-10,000. Fly-cruise options run higher. A Last Degree expedition represents a significantly larger investment, reflecting the logistical complexity and specialist support required.

The investment isn't just financial. Proper preparation takes 12-24 months—building fitness, developing skills, completing training courses, and getting your head right for the challenge ahead. This isn't something you can rush.

Explore your possible.