Cuverville Island
Visiting Cuverville Island in the Errera Channel: its large gentoo penguin colony, the landing beach and closed areas, whaling relics, bird flu closures and which ships stop.
What is Cuverville Island known for, and can you land there?
Cuverville Island is a steep, ice-capped island about 1.2 by 1.6 miles (2 by 2.5 km) in the Errera Channel off the Antarctic Peninsula, known for a large gentoo penguin colony: a drone survey counted 9,627 nests in December 2025. Ships of up to 500 passengers may land 100 people at a time on its north beach, and it had 169 landings in 2025-26.
Facts checked October 15, 2026 against 19 sources.
Cuverville Island at a glance
- July: no trips
- August: no trips
- September: no trips
- October: no trips
- November: in season
- December: best
- January: best
- February: in season
- March: in season
- April: no trips
- May: no trips
- June: no trips
Best Season
- Type
- Landing site
- Location
- 64°41′S, 62°38′W
- Part of
- Antarctic Peninsula
- Season
- Ships land through the cruise season; the island was closed to visitors from December 11, 2024 to January 22, 2025 as a bird flu precaution, and late in the season moulting penguins may confine visits to the beach.
- Best months
- December to January
- Getting there
- By ship through the Errera Channel, between Rongé Island and the Peninsula's Danco Coast; ships may carry up to 500 passengers, one ship at a time, and no more than three ships of over 200 passengers may call in a day.
- Wildlife
- Gentoo penguins in large numbers, plus breeding blue-eyed shags, Cape and snow petrels, skuas, sheathbills, kelp gulls, Antarctic terns and Wilson's storm petrels; leopard seals hunt near shore, and fur and Weddell seals haul out.
- Landings
- 100 visitors ashore at once, one guide per 20; nobody ashore 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. except organized overnight stays; land on the wide northern cobble beach; closed area A protects the colonies and penguin routes; groups of up to 15 may visit the beach's eastern end.
Cuverville Island is a steep-sided dome in the Errera Channel, between Rongé Island and the Antarctic Peninsula's Danco Coast, about 1.2 by 1.6 miles (2 by 2.5 km) and two-thirds covered by a permanent ice cap.12 Ships stop for its gentoo penguins. A drone survey on December 14, 2025 counted 9,627 nests, more than twice the 4,421 recorded in 1993.3 That colony keeps it near the top of the landing table: 169 landings in 2025-26, fourth on the Peninsula, the season after bird flu closed it for six weeks.8
Can you land on Cuverville Island?
Yes, from ships of up to 500 passengers, one ship at a time. What sets Cuverville's Antarctic Treaty guidelines (last revised in 2013) apart is a daily cap on big ships: no more than three carrying over 200 passengers may call between midnight and midnight. On the beach, at most 100 visitors at a time, one staff member per 20, and a wildlife rest period from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. that only organized overnight stays may break.1
That cap falls on the big expedition ships. Dividing IAATO's 2025-26 passenger totals by voyages, HX's Fridtjof Nansen averaged about 384 passengers per Peninsula voyage and Roald Amundsen about 324, so each uses one of the three daily slots; Oceanwide's Hondius averaged about 166 and Ortelius about 105, so they do not.19
The landing is on the wide beach of cobbles and boulders, about a mile (1.5 km) long, on the north shore, below steep, plant-covered cliffs to the east and gentler slopes to the west. Boats keep away from the gentoo colonies at the western end, and the small beaches at the eastern end are off limits because penguins use them to reach the sea.1 On land, the rules work in three zones:
- Closed area A covers the penguins' routes between sea and colonies and the closely packed colonies on the high ground and outcrops below the cliffs.
- The eastern end of the beach is a guided area: groups of up to 15 may go there under close supervision, only when they can keep 16 ft (5 m) from wildlife. It has the same gentoos as the west but less room.
- Everywhere else you may roam under supervision.
Late in the season, when the penguins moult, their numbers will probably confine visits to the area around the landing beach.1
How many gentoo penguins live on Cuverville Island?
Several thousand pairs, roughly double the numbers of the early 1990s. Nest counts compiled in MAPPPD, the penguin population database run with the Oceanites survey program:3
| Date | Gentoo nests | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 4,421 | Ground |
| December 21, 2003 | 5,990 | Ground |
| December 15, 2015 | 9,648 | Ground |
| December 16, 2018 | 5,633 | Ground |
| January 29, 2022 | 4,461 | Ground |
| January 10, 2025 | 9,083 | Drone |
| December 14, 2025 | 9,627 | Drone |
Counts swing widely between seasons and with the date and method, so treat any single number loosely. Chinstraps once nested here too, 37 nests in 1971, but counts since 2003 have found none or one.3 For the birds themselves, see our gentoo penguin page.
What else is there to see on Cuverville Island?
Plenty of other birds, some seals and old whaling gear. The guidelines list breeding Antarctic terns, blue-eyed shags, Cape and snow petrels, kelp gulls, skuas, snowy sheathbills and Wilson's storm petrels; leopard seals hunt near the shore, while fur and Weddell seals haul out. Antarctic hair grass and pearlwort, the continent's two flowering plants, grow among mosses and lichens.15
Early 20th-century whalers left scattered whalebones and a dam on the landing beach, and a waterboat and mooring chain on an islet just offshore; graffiti on the waterboat was reported in 2010.1
The approach is part of the visit. HX describes icebergs stranding in the shallows of the narrow Errera Channel, and Silversea lists Cuverville among the iceberg graveyards its ships navigate.46 Whales come with it: Quark names the Errera Channel and Cuverville as whale hot spots for its marine mammal voyage, where humpbacks, minkes, fin whales and orcas have turned up on past trips.7
Why is Cuverville Island sometimes closed?
Bird flu. The island was closed from December 11, 2024 to January 22, 2025 as a precaution against highly pathogenic avian influenza, and landings fell to 107 that season. It stayed open all of 2025-26.89 Landings by ships and yachts:8
| Season | Landings | Peninsula rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 126 | 1st |
| 2022-23 | 202 | 1st |
| 2023-24 | 183 | 2nd, tied with Whalers Bay |
| 2024-25 | 107 (closed for six weeks) | Outside the top five |
| 2025-26 | 169 | 4th |
A Cuverville landing on a published itinerary is never certain: IAATO says ice and weather also shape which sites ships can reach.9
Who was Cuverville Island named after?
A French admiral. The Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Adrien de Gerlache charted the island on February 3, 1898 and named it after Vice-Admiral Jean Marie Armand Cavelier de Cuverville (1834 to 1912) of the French Navy; the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey resurveyed it in 1955.210
Which cruises visit Cuverville Island?
West-coast Peninsula voyages offer it as one option among several, never a fixture. How the operators we track put it:
- Oceanwide Expeditions names Cuverville in the site lists for its Basecamp voyage on Hondius, where it is one of four Errera Channel options with Danco Island, Orne Island and Georges Point, and for the Polar Circle and Bellingshausen Sea voyages on Ortelius.121314 The 13-day Polar Circle trip on March 6, 2027 starts at $11,000 per person for one of four places in a shared porthole cabin, but only places for men were offered at that price; a twin porthole cost $13,550 per person. Flights to Ushuaia are not included (prices as listed October 14, 2026).15
- Quark Expeditions makes the Errera Channel and Cuverville one of the whale stops on Antarctic Marine Mammals aboard World Voyager.7
- Polar Latitudes names penguins nesting on Cuverville among the possible stops on its Extended Antarctic Circle Crossing.16
- HX Expeditions names it in the boilerplate list of potential sites that runs on every Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen voyage page we checked, so read it as a possibility rather than a plan.411
- Silversea lists it among the iceberg graveyards its ships navigate, and Silver Endeavour landed here in November 2022.617 Seabourn mentions it too.18
Neko Harbour, at the head of nearby Andvord Bay, often shares the itinerary.
Voyages that visit Cuverville Island
Landings depend on weather and ice, so no operator can promise a specific site.
Highlights of Antarctica
HX Expeditions · Fridtjof Nansen · 12 days · Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight to Ushuaia included) to Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight from Ushuaia included) · Sail both ways · October to March
Fare details
Lowest published fare, per person with two sharing, on Fridtjof Nansen, Oct 30, 2026, after HX 130th anniversary discounts (was $10,589; the extra anniversary discount applies only to bookings made by Nov 9, 2026); includes a Buenos Aires hotel night with breakfast, economy flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, drinks and gratuities. Four January and February departures sail on Roald Amundsen instead.
from $8,830about $736 a day
ViewHighlights of Antarctica (Roald Amundsen)
HX Expeditions · Roald Amundsen · 12 days · Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight to Ushuaia included) to Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight from Ushuaia included) · Sail both ways · January to February
Fare details
Lowest published fare on Roald Amundsen, per person with two sharing, Jan 9, 2027, after HX 130th anniversary discounts (was $11,773; the extra anniversary discount applies only to bookings made by Nov 9, 2026); Jan 19 and Feb 8 start at $10,141 and Jan 29 at $12,066; read Oct 15, 2026. Includes a Buenos Aires hotel night with breakfast, economy flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, drinks and gratuities; five days in Antarctica.
from $9,736about $811 a day
ViewAntarctica: Basecamp, with free camping, kayaking, snowshoeing and mountaineering (Hondius)
Oceanwide Expeditions · Hondius · 13 days · from Ushuaia, Argentina · Sail both ways · November
Fare details
Lowest published fare, one berth in a shared quadruple porthole cabin, Nov 23, 2026 (one female berth showing when read); all Basecamp activities included; flights to Ushuaia not included; read Oct 14, 2026
from $10,150about $781 a day
ViewAntarctica & Falklands Expedition, Buenos Aires to Montevideo
HX Expeditions · Fridtjof Nansen · 19 days · Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight to Ushuaia included) to Montevideo, Uruguay · Sail both ways · March
Fare details
Lowest published fare, per person with two sharing, on Fridtjof Nansen, Mar 19, 2027, after HX 130th anniversary discounts (was $14,398; the extra anniversary discount applies only to bookings made by Nov 9, 2026); includes a Buenos Aires hotel night and a one-way flight to Ushuaia; the ship crosses the Drake both ways, then calls in the Falklands and at Puerto Madryn.
from $10,485about $552 a day
ViewIconic Antarctica: The Explorer's Route
HX Expeditions · Roald Amundsen · 16 days · Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight to Ushuaia included) to Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight from Ushuaia included) · Sail both ways · October to December, March
Fare details
Lowest published fare, per person with two sharing, on Roald Amundsen, Mar 4, 2027, after HX 130th anniversary discounts (was $13,861; the extra anniversary discount applies only to bookings made by Nov 9, 2026); includes a Buenos Aires hotel night and economy flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia. All 2026-27 departures are on Roald Amundsen.
from $10,863about $679 a day
ViewAntarctica: Polar Circle, Deep South Discovery Voyage (Ortelius)
Oceanwide Expeditions · Ortelius · 13 days · from Ushuaia, Argentina · Sail both ways · March
Fare details
Lowest published fare, one berth in a shared quadruple porthole cabin on Ortelius, Mar 6, 2027 (only male berths offered when read); a twin porthole is $13,550 per person; flights to Ushuaia not included; read Oct 14, 2026
from $11,000about $846 a day
ViewAntarctic Peninsula Expedition Cruise, Including South Shetland Islands
Heritage Expeditions · 12 days · Ushuaia, Argentina (hotel night included) to Ushuaia, Argentina · Sail both ways · November to January
Fare details
Deck 3 Superior Stateroom, per person with two sharing, on Heritage Discoverer, Nov 22 and Dec 2, 2027, after 20% off for bookings made before Oct 30, 2026 (regular $13,650); the Dec 12, 2027 and Jan 10, 2028 departures were sold out. Includes one hotel night with dinner and breakfast, transfers, meals, and house beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner; excludes flights, kayaking, gratuities and laundry. Read Oct 15, 2026.
from $11,020about $918 a day
ViewAntarctic Circle Expedition
HX Expeditions · Roald Amundsen · 16 days · Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight to Ushuaia included) to Buenos Aires, Argentina (flight from Ushuaia included) · Sail both ways · December, February
Fare details
Lowest published fare, per person with two sharing, on Roald Amundsen, Dec 26, 2026, after HX 130th anniversary discounts (was $16,469; the extra anniversary discount applies only to bookings made by Nov 9, 2026); the Feb 18, 2027 departure starts at $18,476; includes a Buenos Aires hotel night and economy flights between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia.
from $13,578about $849 a day
ViewExtended Antarctic Circle Crossing (Discoverer)
Polar Latitudes Expeditions · 14 days · from Ushuaia, Argentina · Sail both ways · December
Fare details
Lowest fare, per person sharing a two-bed Ocean Stateroom, Dec 28, 2026, sale price (regular $21,695); includes one Ushuaia hotel night, not flights; read Oct 15, 2026
from $15,187about $1,085 a day
ViewAntarctic Marine Mammals: The World of Whales and Seals (World Voyager)
Quark Expeditions · World Voyager · 11 days · Buenos Aires, Argentina (hotel night and group flight to Ushuaia included) to Buenos Aires, Argentina (group flight from Ushuaia included) · Sail both ways · March
Fare details
Lowest published brochure fare: Infinity Suite on World Voyager, Mar 5, 2027, $16,890 per person, marked Please Call when read on Oct 14, 2026; a Veranda Suite was $17,690 with 3 cabins left. Includes Quark's $1,295 charter flight and hotel package. Scientists from the Friedlaender Lab and a Happywhale research associate sail with guests, and it is Quark's only itinerary that deploys hydrophones.
from $16,890about $1,535 a day
ViewIn-depth Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia Expedition
HX Expeditions · 23 days · Santiago de Chile (flights to and from Punta Arenas included) to Santiago de Chile · Sail both ways · November to February
Fare details
Lowest published fare, per person with two sharing, on Fram, Nov 6, 2026, after HX 130th anniversary discounts (was $22,934; the extra anniversary discount applies only to bookings made by Nov 9, 2026); Dec 18 and Jan 8 departures started at $38,075; includes a Santiago hotel night, flights between Santiago and Punta Arenas and the South Georgia permit. Sails out via the Falklands and South Georgia and returns north across the Drake.
from $17,774about $773 a day
ViewBellingshausen Sea, Peter I Island and Ellsworth Land, incl. helicopters (Ortelius)
Oceanwide Expeditions · Ortelius · 25 days · from Ushuaia, Argentina · Sail both ways · January
Fare details
Lowest published fare, one berth in a shared quadruple porthole cabin on Ortelius, Jan 14, 2027, shown discounted from $24,600 with no end date (one cabin showing when read); a twin porthole is $24,500 per person (was $30,650); ship-to-shore helicopter transfers included, with no helicopter time guaranteed; crosses the Antarctic Circle; flights to Ushuaia not included; read Oct 15, 2026
from $19,700about $788 a day
ViewThe Ultimate South Georgia, Falklands & Antarctic Peninsula
Heritage Expeditions · 21 days · Ushuaia, Argentina (hotel night included) to Ushuaia, Argentina · Sail both ways · November
Fare details
Deck 4 Superior Stateroom, per person with two sharing, on Heritage Discoverer, Nov 19 to Dec 9, 2026, after 10% off for bookings made before Oct 30, 2026 (regular $24,250); the $21,020 Deck 3 Superior Stateroom was waitlisted. Includes one hotel night with dinner and breakfast, transfers, meals, and house beer, wine and soft drinks with lunch and dinner; excludes flights, kayaking, gratuities and laundry. Heritage's February 2026 announcement said Heritage Discoverer would begin sailing for it in May 2027, with some Antarctic departures chartered to Polar Latitudes, whose own schedule starts her Antarctic season on Dec 8, 2026; this is the only Heritage departure on her before May 2027, so ask Heritage to confirm the ship and operator before booking. Read Oct 15, 2026.
from $21,875about $1,042 a day
View
Lowest published price per person in the operator's currency, checked October 15, 2026. Taxes, flights and single supplements vary.
Wildlife at Cuverville Island
Plan the trip
Sources
- 1.Site Guidelines for Visitors: Cuverville Island, Secretariat of the Antarctic Treaty. Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 2.Cuverville Island (Gazetteer of the British Antarctic Territory, ID 108395), UK Antarctic Place-names Committee, via the SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Data Centre). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 3.MAPPPD penguin census data for Cuverville Island, Half Moon Island, Jougla Point, Port Lockroy, Neko Harbor and Snow Hill Island (CSV export), Mapping Application for Penguin Populations and Projected Dynamics (MAPPPD), Lynch Lab, Stony Brook University and Oceanites. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 4.Highlights of Antarctica Expedition Cruise (12 days, round-trip flights from Buenos Aires), HX Expeditions (Hurtigruten Expeditions). Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 5.Antarctic Express: Crossing the Circle, possible excursions and photo captions, Quark Expeditions. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 6.Antarctica Luxury Fly Cruise, Silversea Cruises. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 7.Antarctic Marine Mammals: The World of Whales and Seals, Quark Expeditions. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 8.IAATO Operator Use of Antarctic Peninsula Landing Sites, 2025-26 Season Report and Five-Year Overview, with appendix tables (ATCM 48 IP 199), International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 9.IAATO Operator Use of Antarctic Peninsula Landing Sites, including the 2025-26 season (ATCM 48 IP 199), International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 10.Lemaire Channel, Oceanwide Expeditions. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 11.Antarctic Circle Expedition (16 days, round-trip flights from Buenos Aires), HX Expeditions (Hurtigruten Expeditions). Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 12.Antarctica: Basecamp, m/v Hondius, 23 November to 5 December 2026 (HDS22-26), Oceanwide Expeditions. Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 13.Antarctica: Polar Circle, Deep South Discovery voyage, m/v Ortelius, 6 to 18 March 2027 (OTL29-27), Oceanwide Expeditions. Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 14.Bellingshausen Sea / Peter I Island + Ellsworth Land, incl. helicopters, m/v Ortelius, 14 January to 7 February 2027 (OTL27-27), Oceanwide Expeditions. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 15.Dates & Rates: Antarctica & Arctic Cruises (Hondius Antarctica 2026-27 rows, PLA32-27, general notes), Oceanwide Expeditions. Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 16.Extended Antarctic Circle Crossing (14 days), Polar Latitudes Expeditions. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 17.Silver Endeavour shows off its stuff, Seatrade Cruise News (Anne Kalosh), Nov 29, 2022. Accessed October 15, 2026.
- 18.Antarctica Expeditions | Seabourn, Seabourn. Accessed October 14, 2026.
- 19.IAATO Overview of Antarctic Vessel Tourism: The 2025-26 Season, and Preliminary Estimates for 2026-27 (ATCM 48 IP 200 rev. 1), International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Accessed October 14, 2026.