How to Get to Antarctica

Ventures by Seabourn kayaking expedition
Ventures by Seabourn kayaking expedition

It's #WanderlustWednesday, and there are few places on Earth that are farther-flung than Antarctica. Fortunately we've got wind of the top ways to get to the White Continent, this year and beyond. 

This month Silversea Expeditions is operating a series of Antarctica voyages celebrating the centenary of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance expedition, in which Shackleton's expedition team was forced to survive 138 days in Antarctica after their ship became ice-bound. 

November marks the first in a series of Silversea voyages departing Ushuaia, Argentina, to retrace Shackleton's journey. Explorer and journalist Rebecca Stephens MBE, who was the first British woman to climb Everest and the Seven Summits, will be on Silver Explorer as part of the onboard enrichment program. 

Also this month the cruise line, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), will host a Shackleton experience at the RGS headquarters for one evening in central London with the renowned travel writer, broadcaster and actor Michael Palin CBE as guest of honor. The evening will mark the opening of the exhibition "The Enduring Eye: the Antarctic Legacy of Sir Ernest Shackleton and Frank Hurley," which will be held at the RGS from the end of November 2015 to the end of February 2016.

Silversea's 18-day Antarctica voyages will also run January and February 2016, as well as December 2016, and will offer guests the chance to interact with onboard historians. 

November 29, 2015, Seabourn Quest will be returning to Antarctica for its third season, this time offering a series of new "Ventures by Seabourn" kayaking excursions. Led by qualified guides, the new excursions launch directly from the ship's fold-out watersports marina and offer guests up-close views of the area's wildlife and scenery. They are also available at South Georgia Island and Port Stanley (Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas). 

This season Seabourn Quest will sail four 21- to 24-day voyages between Valparaíso, (Santiago) Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Each includes days exploring the Chilean coast and fjords, Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley, the Torres del Paine National Park, the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas, Montevideo and six days of cruising and landings on the Antarctic Continent. A 24-day holiday version, departing December 20, 2015, will include two days exploring the sub-Antarctic destination of South Georgia, known for its rookeries of king penguins and other seabirds, as well as breeding elephant and fur seals.

In 2016, Abercrombie & Kent is celebrating 25 years of Antarctic cruises and offering guests in the area the chance to sail aboard the new, all-balcony Le Lyrial. A&K will also be offering two special themed departures of its Classic Antarctica itinerary: Family New Year (December 28, 2016-January 8, 2017), and Understanding Climate Change (January 7-18, 2017). 

A&K will also run two special departures of its Antarctica, South Georgia & the Falkland Islands itinerary: A Family Holiday journey (December 13-29, 2016) and a Photography Expedition (January 17 - February 2, 2017).

Farther out, in 2017 Crystal Cruises is offering its first World Cruise visit to Antarctica in 10 years. The 94-day World Cruise sails roundtrip from Miami onboard Crystal Serenity starting January 10, 2017. 

A 23-day World Cruise segment departing February 8 is also available for separate booking. It begins with an inclusive pre-cruise three-night Extended Land Program to Machu Picchu and then continues 11 days exploring Chile and Argentina, before cruising Cape Horn, Antarctica, and the Falkland Islands before returning to Uruguay and Argentina.

What's your top getaway pick for #WanderlustWednesday? Let us know in the comments below.