Antarctica
Ice, penguins and silence at the bottom of the world.
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and most remote continent, with no permanent population beyond research stations. Almost all visitors see the Antarctic Peninsula, where glaciers, icebergs and mountains rise straight from the sea along places like the Lemaire Channel, Paradise Bay and Deception Island. Penguin colonies, seals and whales are the stars; the Ross Sea side is visited far less often.
Tourism is limited to expedition cruises and a few specialist flights, and most voyages cross the Drake Passage from Ushuaia in Argentina. Days revolve around Zodiac landings, lectures and strict rules to protect wildlife. The season runs from November to March: penguins court in November, chicks hatch around December and January, and whale sightings peak later in the summer.
January, February, December.