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Cruise ports in Antarctica Cruises – Compare Expedition Destinations

Published ports: 2. An overview for planning your cruise.

About 98 percent of tourist voyages to Antarctica visit the Antarctic Peninsula. These voyages take place during the seven-month austral summer, from October to April. Two very different destinations illustrate the continent’s geography: the South Shetland Islands off the peninsula and Cape Adare on the Ross Sea. The Antarctica cruise overview covers expedition areas and routes at sea.

King George Island and the Antarctic Peninsula

King George Island is part of the South Shetland Islands, near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. On an Antarctica21 fly-cruise, guests fly from Punta Arenas to the island and board an expedition ship there; the operator’s voyages then continue to the peninsula. The King George Island profile explains how the island fits into the South Shetland Islands.

Cape Adare: Expedition History and Protected Area

Cape Adare lies at the northern tip of the Adare Peninsula in Victoria Land, on the Ross Sea. On February 17, 1899, Carsten Borchgrevink’s British Antarctic (Southern Cross) Expedition landed at Cape Adare. The party became the first to spend the winter on the Antarctic continent and built two prefabricated wooden huts from Norway at Ridley Beach: one for living quarters and one for supplies. These were the first structures built on the Antarctic continent. Before departing in 1900, the roof was removed from the supply hut. In 1911, six members of the Northern Party of Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition used the living hut for most of the year. The group also built its own hut, which later collapsed.

Cape Adare is home to the largest known Adélie penguin colony. A 2018 survey counted around half a million breeding pairs there. The area is designated Antarctic Specially Protected Area 159 (ASPA 159). Its site-specific guidelines were revised in 2021. Access requires a permit carried on site and a trained guide; visitor numbers are limited. Visitor routes and small boats are managed with the nesting penguins in mind. The ATCM visitor guidelines, updated in 2025, are intended to protect the area’s ecological, scientific, and scenic values. The Cape Adare profile describes the historic huts, the colony, and the protection rules in detail.

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