How do you get to Antarctica?

There are five ways in, and most people take the first: an expedition ship from Ushuaia in Argentina, two days across the Drake Passage each way, on a trip that usually lasts 11 to 14 days. The others are a charter flight from Chile to King George Island, where a ship waits; a voyage of three to five weeks from New Zealand or Australia to the Ross Sea; a private jet to a camp in the interior; and a big cruise ship that sails past without landing anyone. Most flights to Antarctica carry government staff and scientists, and the U.S. Antarctic Program tells would-be visitors to book through a private tour company, so every route starts with an operator.¹²

The traffic is lopsided. IAATO counted 85,195 passengers who went ashore from ships in the 2025-26 season, plus 27,217 on cruise-only voyages that landed no one.³ Of the landing passengers, 11,764 flew to King George Island and joined their ship there.³ IAATO's deep-field and air operators carried 1,106 clients, 79 of them on DAP's King George Island day trips and the rest to camps in the interior, which IAATO puts at roughly 1% of all visitors.⁴

What are the ways to get to Antarctica?

Five routes, with the lowest 2026-27 fares we found on the operators' own pages, per person, read October 14 and 15, 2026:

Are tourists allowed to go to Antarctica?

Yes. Antarctica is not a country, and it needs no visa of its own; you only need a passport, and any visas, for the countries you travel through on the way.¹¹³ The Antarctic Treaty requires each member country to tell the others about every trip south of 60°S. In the US, the expedition organizer files that notice with the State Department, and IAATO requires its members to do it.¹ Only travelers who organize a private trip must email the State Department themselves, at least 3 months before they go.¹

The State Department also advises traveling with an IAATO member, and IAATO's members account for 98% of tourism to the continent.¹³ There is no free route: the U.S. Antarctic Program does not support tourism and does not offer "space-available" seats on its flights.² Once you are there, the Treaty's rules apply to you; see Antarctica visitor rules.

How do you get to Antarctica by ship from Ushuaia?

Fly to Ushuaia, board an expedition ship and cross the Drake Passage; Quark Expeditions' 11-day Antarctic Explorer, the standard version of the trip, allows two days for each crossing.¹⁴ Aerolíneas Argentinas flies to Ushuaia from Buenos Aires in about three and a half hours.¹⁵ Some fares include that flight: HX's 12-day Highlights of Antarctica, from $8,830 on October 30, 2026, adds a Buenos Aires hotel night, the flights to and from Ushuaia, drinks and gratuities.¹⁶ Quark's brochure fare for its 11-day trip starts at $15,095 in a triple suite, with a hotel night in Ushuaia but no flights.¹⁷

This is the route for most first trips. It is the cheapest way to land, it has by far the most ships and dates, and the crossing is part of the experience. The price is about four days at sea. Our guide to Antarctica cruises from Ushuaia compares every line's cheapest departure, and Drake Passage seasickness covers the crossing.

Can you fly to Antarctica instead of crossing the Drake?

Yes. On a fly-cruise, a private charter flies you about two hours from southern Chile to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, where your ship waits, and 11,764 people started their trip this way in 2025-26.¹⁸¹⁹³ The plane lands on a gravel airstrip, and a bus and a Zodiac take you to the ship.¹⁸ The departure town depends on the line:

A fly-cruise suits travelers who cannot spare two weeks or who dread the Drake. Its weak point is the weather at the island. Antarctica21, which has flown guests since 2003, published a record of 346 flights: 264 left on the scheduled day, 26 a day early and 56 one to three days late, by our count.¹⁹ If the flight south never leaves, Antarctica21, Lindblad and Silversea refund the cruise fare: Antarctica21 after trying until 2 p.m. on day 4 of its Classic, Lindblad after 2 p.m. on day 3, and Silversea after up to three days of attempts.¹⁹¹⁸²¹ None of the three pays for flights you booked yourself; our guide to flights to Antarctica sets every line's rules side by side, and fly or sail the Drake Passage weighs the trade.

How do you get to the Ross Sea from New Zealand or Australia?

By expedition ship, on a voyage of three to five weeks. IAATO names Hobart in Australia and Lyttelton and Bluff in New Zealand as the ports for the Ross Sea.¹³ For 2026-27, Heritage Expeditions, whose 28-day voyage is called In the Wake of Scott and Shackleton, sails round trips from Bluff from $33,075 (waitlisted), with the cheapest open cabin at $34,285.⁸ Ponant sails 22 days round trip from Dunedin, with the cheapest open cabin at $34,800 (its $32,320 window staterooms were sold out), and Aurora Expeditions sails 26 days from Hobart to Dunedin, with the cheapest open cabin at $40,406.²³²⁴ Swan Hellenic's 33-night crossing from Ushuaia to Dunedin, from $30,725, visits the Peninsula on the way.²⁵

Few people make this trip: 834 passengers sailed on Ross Sea-only voyages in 2025-26.³ It suits a second visit, or anyone who wants the history of the Ross Sea side more than the penguin colonies of the Peninsula; our Ross Sea page, linked above, has the detail.

How do you fly to the interior and the South Pole?

With a private air operator, and only with a large budget. Two carry most of these travelers: ALE and White Desert took 852 of the 1,106 clients IAATO's deep-field and air operators reported in 2025-26, and a third, Ultima Expeditions, took 175.⁴

• From Punta Arenas, Chile, with Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE). A chartered jet flies about 4 hours to a blue-ice runway on Union Glacier, where ALE runs a tented camp.²⁶ Five days there with guided excursions cost $33,500 (December 14, 2026), and the 6-day South Pole Flights trip costs $66,750, with December 30 the one 2026-27 date still marked available when we read the page.¹¹²⁷ ALE's flights run from November 2, 2026 to January 29, 2027.²⁸
• From Cape Town, South Africa, with White Desert. An Airbus flies about 5.5 hours, 2,610 miles (4,220 km), to its Wolf's Fang ice runway in Dronning Maud Land, and guests stay in camps of six suites; the season runs November to February.²⁹³⁰ A day trip costs $16,500, and a 7-day trip with the South Pole and emperor penguins costs $95,000 to $115,500, sharing.¹⁰³¹

Both ask for spare days at the gateway: ALE wants you in Punta Arenas three nights before and does not hold its flights for late passengers, and White Desert asks you to reach Cape Town two days early and leave two days after your return.²⁶²⁹ Across all of IAATO's deep-field operators, 336 clients flew to the South Pole in 2025-26 and 293 visited emperor penguin colonies.⁴

Can you see Antarctica from a regular cruise ship?

Yes, but you will not set foot on it. Ships carrying more than 500 passengers may not land anyone in Antarctica, so the big lines sell scenic cruising only.¹³ Holland America's 22-day South America and Antarctica cruise on the 2,388-passenger Oosterdam leaves Buenos Aires on February 1, 2027, from $5,569 per person in an inside cabin with taxes and fees.¹²³² It also calls at Montevideo, the Falklands, Ushuaia and Punta Arenas, so it suits travelers who want a South America cruise with a look at the ice. See big-ship Antarctica cruises.

Can you visit Antarctica in a day?

Yes, from Chile or South Africa, and you can see it without landing from Australia. DAP's Full Day Antarctica flies from Punta Arenas to King George Island for about 5 hours on the ground, at $7,060 per person, on eight dates from December 4, 2026 to March 16, 2027.³³³⁴ White Desert's Antarctica in a Day from Cape Town costs $16,500.¹⁰ Antarctica Flights sells sightseeing flights on a Qantas 787 from Australian cities that never land, at AUD 1,399 to AUD 8,999 a seat.³⁵³⁶³⁷

How long does it take to get to Antarctica from the US?

Add one to three days at a gateway city to the length of the trip itself: there is no direct air service from the United States to Antarctica, so every route starts with a flight to South America, South Africa or Australia and a buffer for delays.¹ Ships use Ushuaia, usually by way of Buenos Aires; Silversea's guests arrive in Santiago two days before their voyage starts; ALE's guests spend three nights in Punta Arenas first; and White Desert's spend two days in Cape Town.^15212629 Quark's Ushuaia voyages build the buffer in: day 1 is an arrival day with a hotel night, and the ship sails in the late afternoon of day 2.¹⁴ For how long to spend once you are there, see how many days you need in Antarctica.

Which way to Antarctica should you choose?

• First trip, normal budget: an 11 to 14 day voyage from Ushuaia.
• Short of leave: a fly-cruise from Chile. Silversea's 6-day voyage is the shortest we found with flights both ways, but with its Santiago and Puerto Williams nights the trip runs 10 days from Santiago; Antarctica21's 8-day Classic runs Punta Arenas to Punta Arenas.²²²⁰
• Worried about seasickness: cross the Drake only once, on a sail-one-way, fly-the-other trip such as Antarctica21's Antarctica Express.³⁸
• Been to the Peninsula already: the Ross Sea from New Zealand or Australia.
• The South Pole or emperor penguins: ALE from Punta Arenas or White Desert from Cape Town.
• Just want to see it, for the least money: a big cruise ship, knowing you will not land.

For what each route costs in total, see how much an Antarctica trip costs and the cheapest way to get to Antarctica; for the continent region by region, see our Antarctica guide.