Antarctic Peninsula

See the boundless icescapes of the Antarctic Continent

Here it continues as a mainly sub-marine ridge, the Scotia Ridge, until it comes above sea-level at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. 

The peninsula consists of an 800 kilometres (500 mile) long mountain chain, the highest peaks rising to approximately 2,800 metres (9,186 feet), and numerous off-lying islands. The Peninsula offers the most dramatic scenery and biggest variety of wildlife in Antarctica. Visitors are easily overcome by sensory overload by the huge amount of ice-bergs.

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Cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to Cape Verde
Hasta US$3120 de descuento

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to Cape Verde

HDS30D25 The Atlantic Odyssey cruise visits some of the remotest islands in the world, crossing the migratory paths of Arctic Terns, Long-tailed Skuas, other birds, and a variety of whales as they make their annual expeditions north for the breeding season.

m/v Hondius

El Hondius

Fecha del crucero:

14 mar. - 25 abr., 2025

Amarres a partir de

15435 USD

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to Cape Verde
Hasta US$2775 de descuento

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to Cape Verde

PLA31B26 The Atlantic Odyssey cruise visits some of the remotest islands in the world, crossing the migratory paths of Arctic Terns, Long-tailed Skuas, other birds, and a variety of whales as they make their annual expeditions north for the breeding season.

m/v Plancius

El Plancius

Fecha del crucero:

23 mar. - 4 may., 2026

Amarres a partir de

16380 USD

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to St. Helena
Hasta US$2670 de descuento

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to St. Helena

HDS30C25 The Atlantic Odyssey cruise visits some of the remotest islands in the world, crossing the migratory paths of Arctic Terns, Long-tailed Skuas, other birds, and a variety of whales as they make their annual expeditions north for the breeding season.

m/v Hondius

El Hondius

Fecha del crucero:

14 mar. - 15 abr., 2025

Amarres a partir de

13320 USD

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to St. Helena
Hasta US$2380 de descuento

Atlantic Odyssey incl. Antarctic Peninsula to St. Helena

PLA31A26 The Atlantic Odyssey cruise visits some of the remotest islands in the world, crossing the migratory paths of Arctic Terns, Long-tailed Skuas, other birds, and a variety of whales as they make their annual expeditions north for the breeding season.

m/v Plancius

El Plancius

Fecha del crucero:

23 mar. - 24 abr., 2026

Amarres a partir de

14175 USD

Islas Malvinas – Georgias del Sur – Península Antártica

Cumplir al menos seis especies de pingüino!

PLA20-24 Un crucero a las islas Malvinas, las islas Georgias del Sur y la Península Antártica. Visite una de la más bellas exhibiciones de vida silvestre sobre la Tierra. Este viaje le permitirá conocer al menos 6 especies de pingüinos ¡y una gran cantidad de...

m/v Plancius

El Plancius

Fecha del crucero:

18 oct. - 7 nov., 2024

Amarres a partir de

13350 USD

Video Antarctic Expedition

Latest blog and customer story

Blog

Guide’s Choice for Binoculars: Swarovski Optik

Our guests often ask us what they should pack when it comes to the more optional polar travel gear, such as cameras or binoculars.

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Customer story

Basecamp Plancius: A True Antarctic Adventure

It was New Year’s Eve, and I was dressed in a full-body penguin suit, making my way to the buffet. We were three days into our cruise aboard the Plancius, and everyone on the ship was celebrating our first day in Antarctica, as well as New Year’s Eve, with a barbecue on the back of the ship.

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Antarctic Peninsula cruise reviews

por Luděk Jakob
Thank you to Oceanwide and especially to the ENTIRE crew of the Plancius for the perfect care during the Antarctic cruise we took part in. From the first welcome on the ship to the kind care of the staff, daily exclusive food, interesting and funny lectures and the entire program on the Zodiac cruise and during walks on the coast organized by the best guides, it was an unforgettable and lifetime experience for us! We also of course thank the ship's crew for the professional management of the ship and the safe return. Long will this cruise remain in our minds and hearts!! Luděk and Petra Jakob Leer reseña completa
por Petra Jakobová
Thank you to Oceanwide and especially to the ENTIRE crew of the Plancius for the perfect care during the Antarctic cruise we took part in. From the first welcome on the ship to the kind care of the staff, daily exclusive food, interesting and funny lectures and the entire program on the Zodiac cruise and during walks on the coast organized by the best guides, it was an unforgettable and lifetime experience for us! We also of course thank the ship's crew for the professional management of the ship and the safe return. Long will this cruise remain in our minds and hearts!! Luděk and Petra Jakob Leer reseña completa
por robyn quaintance
With the kayaking.... it is extremely important to have one leader at the front and one 'sweeping' at the back. This didn't happen at all. But both leaders were excellent, friendly, helpful and wonderful. Leer reseña completa
por Stella Ellis
From the first briefing when we were told that plan B was already in operation due to severe weather around the Falklands and S Georgia, taking a passenger to King George Island to be medevacked off the ship, then doing the whole trip in reverse, it was brilliant. The expedition crew certainly new their stuff, their English was excellent ( with one exception) and they certainly got us to every landing and zodiac cruise possible. Even backtracking around South Georgia and a full circumnavigation just to get us to all possible landings was fantastic. Another example - out last day in the Falklands and we were visiting New Island. The plan was North Beach in the morning and South Beach in the afternoon. As we approached North Beach the wind was far too strong for a landing so we didn't stop, and headed straight to South Beach. A great landing had by all and then as we had lunch we went back to North Beach - the wind was reasonable so we could land and had a great last afternoon before sailing back to The cabin stewards were thorough in their work and very friendly. All the crew on the boat were first class, especially getting us on and off the zodiacs. Food fab!
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por Andrea Attwenger
Going to Antarctica was a big big BIG dream of mine - and what can I say, it was magnificent. Antarctica feels so incredible and otherwordly, it's like Drake Passage is a vortex taking you through time and space to another planet or dimension. I chose the "Antarctica - Elephant Island - Weddell Sea - Polar Circle" voyage simply because it was one of the longest ones still in my budget and I have no regrets - I loved seeing different kinds of landscape. All the guides told us that we were incredibly lucky with the weather and the wildlife - but I also know we were lucky because of the passion and expertise of the Oceanwide team. Everyone involved - from the expedition leader and guides to the captain and his officers to the hotel staff - worked tirelessly to give us our best possible experience in Antarctica. I always thought this would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. It definitely was, but also: I kind of want to go back now... - in the meantime I'll check out Oceanwide's offers in the Arctic.
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por Sieglinde Spranger
We filled out the questionnaire. Leer reseña completa

Antarctic Peninsula FAQ

La Península Antártica sigue el Tiempo Universal Coordinado -3 (UTC -3). Esto significa que si se trata de las 18:00 UTC-3 (6 PM) durante su crucero de expedición a la Península Antártica, sería las 17:00 (5 PM) en la ciudad de Nueva York, EE.UU. y las 22:00 (10 PM) en Londres, Reino Unido.

El clima en la Península Antártica es mucho más suave de lo que la gente se imaginaría porque se encuentra en la parte más al norte de la Antártida.

Si usted viaja a la Península Antártica en enero, que es verano, puede esperar una temperatura promedio de 1 a 2 grados Celsius (33,8 a 35,6 grados Fahrenheit). Junio es la parte más fría del año, y en esta época la temperatura normalmente ronda los -20 a -15 grados Celsius (-4 a -5 grados Fahrenheit).

Las precipitaciones varían a lo largo de la región. En su viaje a la Península Antártica puede esperar al menos un poco de lluvia en algunas ocasiones. Por otro lado, el interior de la Antártida es similar a un desierto en que sólo recibe una cantidad de precipitación anual de 10 cm (3.93 pulgadas).

Los amantes de los animales que toman sus vacaciones en la Península Antártica podrán disfrutar de una variada lista de fauna que está especialmente adaptada al clima frío de la zona. Es común encontrar varias especies de pingüinos tales como los pingüinos papúa o de vincha. Otro tipo de fauna que se pueden observar desde un crucero o una expedición en tierra a la Península Antártica incluyen a la foca de Weddell, el cormorán antártico y petreles blancos.

La Península Antártica es una de las regiones más hermosas del continente. Su crucero a la Península Antártica le revelará la combinación más diversa de fauna a lo largo de la Antártida.

El paisaje en esta región es dramático, lleno de témpanos, y por supuesto, ideal para sacar fotografías. El predominio de pingüinos se destaca durante casi todas las expediciones, y una visita durante el verano puede revelar la vida vegetal, tales como las dos únicas plantas con flores de la zona: el clavel antártico y el pasto antártico.

Nuestros jefes de expedición siempre hacen todo lo posible para que la actividad de acampada se lleve a cabo, pero a veces esto es imposible debido a condiciones ambientales inseguras. En ese caso, podemos ofrecerle acampar en las cubiertas exteriores del barco.

That depends on whether they only want eclipse photography or also pictures of wildlife and landscapes. Advise the passengers to look at the photography pages on our website. We avoid saying what specific equipment they might need, as this is very subjective, but we do provide general advice based on what our guides bring. We also have a how-to video on the topic of polar photography: Photography Equipment for the Polar Regions >

About

Antarctic Peninsula Weather

The weather patterns on the Peninsula can vary significantly depending on where you are. The west coast of the Peninsula down to about 68°S are actually fairly mild with the local summers averaging around 0°C and the winters only dipping down to around -10°C.

Moving below 63°S along the west coast the averages drop to -15°C in the winter.

Facts about the Antarctic Peninsula

  • The Peninsula is the only part of the Antarctic that extends out beyond the border of the Antarctic Circle. It is the part of the continent that is the furthest out from the South Pole.
  • The only flowering plants on the continent (the Antarctic Pearlwart and the Antarctic Hair-grass) are found on the Peninsula.
  • The Peninsula is about 2000 km long.
  • The Peninsula was originally named the Palmer Peninsula by the U.S., named after an American explorer who journeyed to the area in November of 1820. Other countries later gave it different names – Graham Land and Trinity Peninsula (Britain, 1832), San Martin Land (Argentina, 1940), and O’Higgins Land (Chile, 1942). It didn’t gain the name of the Antarctic Peninsula until 1964 when an international agreement was reached.
  • The Peninsula is regulated under the international Antarctic Treaty System which promotes use of the area for scientific study (especially in regards to environmental safety). There are currently 28 research posts stationed along the Peninsula.
  • The Peninsula is actually a continuation of the Andes Mountains which run down almost the entire west coast of South America
  • There are 28 countries currently contributing to the scientific research conducted on the Peninsula.

Travel to the Antarctic Peninsula

An Antarctic Peninsula cruise carries you into a world of beautiful stark landscapes and a surprisingly vast array of animal life. Embark on one of our Antarctic Peninsula expeditions and use our ice strengthened cruise ships as a home base as you explore the region while snowshoeing & hiking, kayaking, bird watching, mountaineering, or even camping overnight onshore.

Your Antarctic Peninsula holiday will introduce you to 5 seal species, 37 flying seabird species, whales, and more penguins than you can count.

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