Antarctica, South Georgia and Falkland Islands

 February/March, 2026

Large blocky ice berg off of Danco Island, Antartica

What do you think of when you think of Antarctica?  For me, I think of ice bergs, penguins, snow and glaciers.  Antarctica is a bucket list trip for many people, including myself, and we are fortunate to have been able to check that one off our list.  Antarctica is often referred to as the seventh continent.  Technically anything below the 60th parallel is considered Antarctica and includes many islands, such as the South Shetland Islands and Danco Island, but many who visit want to stand on the actual Antarctic Continent. Until recently Antarctica was a continent exclusively for explorers, conservationists or seen on a National Geographic type documentaries.  However in recent years, the boom in the expedition ship market has opened this region to so many more people.  

Gentoo Penguin in Yankee Harbor (South Shetland Islands)

When is the best time to visit Antarctica?  The tourist season is in the summer months in Antarctica which is November to March.  Depending on when you visit during that season determines partly what you will see.  If you go in December and January you will see penguins sitting on their nest incubating their eggs and raising their young and small fur seal pups.  If you go later in the season, February to March, the penguin chicks are nearly full grown, but you will see lots of older fur seal pups learning to swim and it is the prime whale season.  The southern ocean is teaming with krill and the whales come to feed on the plentiful bounty of the sea before they migrate north.

Whale tail fluke, Danco Island, Antarctica

To have the opportunity to see Antarctica, one must take a cruise.  There are different types of antarctic cruises and different ways to get to your cruise ship.  First, let's talk about the different types of Antarctic cruises available.  We chose to visit Antarctica on an expedition ship which would allow us to have the opportunity to stand on the continent and the surrounding islands.  The expeditions ships are smaller, with less passengers.  However, larger more mainstream cruise lines like Princess, Holland America and Celebrity can also visit Antarctica, but the larger cruise ships are scenic sailing only in Antarctica, as they have more than 500 passengers and are not allowed landings in Antarctica.  Rules and guideline for visiting Antarctica are set by IAATO, the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators.  IAATO guidelines only allow 100 people to be on land at any given site at a time in Antarctica. Expedition cruise lines such as Linblad Expeditions-National Geographic, HX Expeditions, Atlas Expeditions, Quark Expedition, Viking and Silverseas among others have smaller numbers of passengers (<500) and generally include the majority of their expedition excursion in the price of the cruise.  Due to the distance of Antarctica from land, most cruises are a minimum of 10 days.  For these reasons, the expedition ship cruises are significantly more expensive and that should factor in on your decision on which type of cruise you wish to take.  

Viking Octantis Expedition Ship, South Georgia Island

The second big thing to take into account when visiting Antarctica is how to get there.  Most cruises will depart from Ushuaia, Argentina the southernmost port of South America.  These ships then must pass through the Drake Passage which is the region of ocean where the Pacific, Atlantic and Southern Oceans meet.  There is no land in this area to break up the winds or provide shelter and breakup the weather systems, therefore, the Drake Passage can have smooth seas, very rough seas or anything in between.  If the seas are calm through the Drake passage, people often refer to is as the Drake Lake, however, if the seas are rough, it is referred to as the Drake Shake or Drake Quake.  One has no idea which will be present until you get there and the crossing typically takes two days to complete.  For some, sailing the Drake Passage is not a desirable option, so there is another option to fly over the Drake from Ushuaia, Argentina or Punta Arenas, Chile to King George Island.  The fly over option is only offered by some of the companies, so you will need to see which cruise lines offer this option.  This option, however, has some drawbacks too.  The weather in Antarctica is cold and can be quite windy and/or snowy preventing planes from taking off and landing.  So your trip can be shortened due to weather delays.

King Penguins at South Georgia Island

For us, visiting Antarctica was all about the wildlife (as you will see) so an expedition cruise was the only way to see this amazing region.  There is a wide variety of expedition ships that operate in Antarctica, some are older expeditions ships that were originally built for research and shipping which have been refurbished into passenger ships.  There are many newer ships purpose built for cruising the Antarctic with passengers.  The expeditions ships also range from less than 100 guests to around 400 passengers.  The different ships also have different types of "toys" available for use.  John wanted a smaller (older) expedition type ship, where I wanted more creature comforts, so we ultimately compromised and chose the Viking Expedition ship Octantis for our Antarctic cruise.  Viking has two expedition ships, Octantis and Polaris, and each has four main categories of "toys" to be used for exploration which included special operation boats, 2 submarines, zodiac boats for landings and kayaks.  We had a full expedition team on the ship with us providing enrichment lectures, guiding, as well as doing meaningful research.  You will not find casinos, broadway type shows, or kids on Viking ships, so it is important that you know what you want on a ship and do your research for the best fit before you spend the money for an Antarctic cruise.   Another thing to be mindful of when choosing an Antarctic cruise is in regards to the itinerary, which is just a suggestion for these cruises.  This is very different from what one expects from a mediterranean or caribdean cruise.  In the Antarctic, you are very much at the whim of mother nature and conditions are not always amenable to landings.  When that happens, the expedition team works very hard to find alternatives, but no landings are guaranteed.

So what did we see...

Penguins

There are many types of penguins in Antarctica.  We saw Gentoo, Adelie, Chinstrap, Magellanic, King and Rockhopper penguins.  The Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie penguins were in Antarctica.  The King penguins we saw were on South Georgia Island and we saw Magellanic and Rockhopper penguins in the Falkland Islands.

Gentoo Penguins

Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo penguins can be distinguished from the other type of penguins by the patch of white feathers above their eyes which stretches across the top of the head.  Their beaks are bright orange with a variable amount of black on the top.  They are the third largest penguin and range in size from 2-3 feet tall with maximum weight of just under 20 lbs.  

Gentoo Penguin

Gentoo Penguin

Porpoising Gentoo Penguin 

Porpoising Gentoo Penguin 

Porpoising Gentoo Penguins

Porpoising Gentoo Penguin 

Gentoo Penguins

Gentoo Penguin calling to mate

Gentoo penguins nest on rocky shorelines or grassy areas.  The males bring the females stones to build their nests.  They generally lay 2 eggs and the male and female take turns protecting and keeping the eggs warm.  New chicks hatch after about a month and will stay in the nest for another month.  Then they will venture out into the colony with other chicks until they are ready to leave the nest and go out to sea at around 3 months old after they moult.

Gentoo Penguin calling to mate

Chinstrap Penguins

Chinstrap Penguin

Chinstrap Penguin

Chinstrap Penguin

Chinstrap penguins can be identified by the thin band of black feathers that stretch under its head that looks like a chinstrap from a helmet.  They also have black beaks.  Chinstrap penguins are smaller than the Gentoo penguins and stand about 2-2 1/2 feet tall and weigh about 11-12 lbs.  Like the gentoo, the Chinstrap penguins nests are composed of a circle of rocks on rocky shorelines or grassy areas. 

Chinstrap Penguin

Chinstrap Penguin

The Chinstrap penguin parents also share the responsibility of caring for the eggs and young chicks.  The chicks have a similar maturation pattern to that of the Gentoos.

Chinstrap Penguin with our ship in the background

Chinstrap Penguin

Adelie Penguins

Adelie Penguin

Adelie Penguin

Adelie Penguin

The Adelie penguins are roughly the same size as the Chinstrap penguins.  They have black heads with a thin circle of white around their eyes and have a black beak.  They, like the Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, nest on the rocky shoreline or grassy areas.  They are of similar size as the Chinstrap penguins and are mostly found south of the 60 parallel in the southern hemisphere.  We saw far fewer Adelie penguins where we stopped.

Adelie Penguin

Adelie Penguin

Magellanic Penguins

Magellanic penguin in their burrow

Magellanic Penguins

Magellanic Penguins have black backs with white bellies.  They have an additional black band at the top of the belly that forms an inverted horseshoe.  They have a predominantly black head with a white stripe that reaches from above the eyes, around the cheeks and joins under the chin.  We didn't see too many Magellanic penguins on our trip in Antarctica,  South Georgia, or the Falkland Isslands, as most of them had already migrated north to warmer climates such as Brazil and Uruguay for the winter.  We did see a large colony of Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island in the Strait of Magellan in Chile.  Magellanic penguins are different from the other penguins that I discussed above, as they nest in borrows dug into the ground.

Magellanic Penguins on Magdalena Island

Rockhopper Penguins

Rockhopper Penguin

Rockhopper Penguin

Rockhopper Penguin

Rockhopper Penguin

Rockhopper penguins are one of the smaller penguins and reach only about 2 feet tall.  They have red eyes, an orange beak, and spiky yellow and black feathers on their head.  The Southern Rockhopper penguins nest in the Falkland Islands and eat mostly krill, but also eat some squid, small crustaceans, and small fish.

Rockhopper Penguin

Rockhopper Penguin

Rockhopper Penguin

Rockhopper Penguin (Photo from Expedition Staff on Viking Octantis

King Penguins

King Penguin

King Penguin

King Penguin

The King Penguin is one of the largest penguins, only second to the Emperor Penguin, and can reach heights greater than 3 feet.  We saw them on South Georgia Island and in the Falkland Islands.  The King penguins have black heads with a bright orange/yellow cheek patch and orange to yellow feathers at the top of their chest.  Their beak is mostly black with a bright pink to orange patch along the sides.  The female lays and egg and the male and female penguins take turns incubating the egg between their feet and a lower belly pouch.  

King Penguin

King Penguin

King Penguin

King Penguin

King Penguins swimming (photo taken by expedition staff)

King Penguins swimming (photo taken by expedition staff)

King Penguins with chicks (photo by Rick Scarr)

King Penguins with chicks (photo by Rick Scarr)

Seals

Fur Seal

Fur Seal

Fur Seal

The Antarctic Fur Seal was hunted to near extinction by the sealing industry.  They were hunted for their pelts which have very dense fur.  Since the end of sealing and the establishment of sanctuaries like South Georgia. 

Fur Seal Pup

Fur Seal Pups

Fur Seal Pups

Weddell Seal

Weddell Seals are found in and around antarctica and are found in abundant numbers.

Weddell Seal

Whale Flukes

We saw a few whale flukes, but only one whale breaching (no photos of the breach).  There were several types of whales we could have potentially seen, including Humpback, Sei, Fin, and Minke.   There is an app called Happy Whale, where you can upload photos of whale flukes and they will identify both the species of whale and the exact whale (if seen before).   Whale tail flukes are specific for each whale just like our fingerprints.  John did upload his 5 whale flukes into the Happy Whale App and has heard back that one of the whales he photographed is a sperm whale.  We did have one brief sighting of some Orcas, but they were pretty far off in the distance.

Brief Orca sighting in the distance

Birds

Abatross

Black Browed Albatross

Black Browed Albatross

Black Browed Albatross and Prion

Black Browed Albatross

Black Browed Albatross

Black Browed Albatross

Juve nileBlack Browed Albatross

Black Browed Albatross

Black Browed Albatross feeding Juvenile

Black Browed Albatross feeding juvenile

Juvenile Snowy (Wandering) Albatross

Juvenile Snowy (Wandering) Albatross

Other Birds

Magellanic Cormorant

Imperial Cormorant

Caracara

Caracara

Caracara

Caracara

Giant Petrel

Black-chinned Siskin

Black-chinned Siskin

Falkland Goose

Crested Duck

Upland Geese

Kelp Goose

White-chinned Petrel

Prion

Prion

South American Tern

South American Tern

South American Tern

Juvenile Arctic Tern

Juvenile Arctic Tern

Juvenile Arctic Tern

Landscapes of Antarctica

When I thought of Antarctica before we left for this cruise, I thought of icebergs floating in the sea, snow capped mountains and glaciers.  Well our views certainly didn't disappoint, though we had many days of clouds and foggy weather, the views were still breathtaking.  We made 5 landings in Antarctica, 2 in South Georgia, and 2 more in the Falkland Islands.  The map below labeled with all our stops was supplied to us by our expedition leader, Isabel.

Yankee Harbor

Impressive iceberg at Danco Island

Danco Island

Danco Island

Danco Island

Danco Island

We also got to release a weather balloon while on Danko Island.  Viking partners with NOAA.

Iceberg at Palaver Point

Palaver Point

Palaver Point

Brown Bluff

Brown Bluff (Antarctic Peninsula)

Iceberg near Brown Bluff at sunset

We stood on the Antarctic Continent at Brown Bluff

Brown Bluff

Brown Bluff

Paulet Island

Paulet Island

Kayaking Paulet Island

We had a very sad moment as we had to turn north and leave Antarctica, but the captain of our ship had a very special treat for us that afternoon.  We were on the last Antarctic cruise of the season and were leaving Antarctica in early March, which is the end of the summer season.  The captain made a special announcement letting us know that that afternoon we would be sailing by Heroina Island, which is usually surrounded by large ice sheets and ice bergs that ships cannot pass by.  He was able to plot a course through all of the large Icebergs and give us a very special scenic sailing as he and his bridge staff navigated through the ice field on our way to South Georgia.  There is a nomenclature for chunks of ice, the small pieces ranging in size up to 1 meter in height and 5 meters in length are called growlers.  Ice chunks measuring 1-5 meters in height and 5-15 meters in length are called Bergy Bits.  Anything larger than Bergy Bits are called Icebergs.  Icebergs are further classified as small, medium, large and very large.  The larger icebergs are named and tracked by scientists.  The following photos are from our scenic sailing that day as we left Antarctica on our way to South Georgia.

We were also still traveling through some icebergs in the evening and John was able to capture some amazing shots.

After we sailed through the ice field, things started to get a little bumpy as the waves started to increase in height.  We were told at our daily briefing that we were skirting around a low pressure system so to expect some bigger waves throughout the evening.  But I don't think they were actually expecting the waves that we actually experienced.  We were told the next day that they were over 10 meter waves, and a few were closer to 14 meter waves.  They closed the specialty dining restaurants and started duct taping our closet and shower doors closed.  It was quite an experience, one I do not wish to repeat.  But on our ship there is a sitting area called the Hide that is on deck one and it has windows down close to the waterline and before they closed this venue as well, John went down to take some pictures as this window went below the waves.  He got some crazy photos.

The captain had to detour during the night to get the ship out of the path of the storm so we did miss one of our landings in South Georgia, but that was a very small price to pay for the safety of the ship, passengers, and crew.  Our next port of call was Grytviken, South Georgia Island.  While biosecurity was very strictly followed by our expedition crew in Antarctica, the officials in South Georgia take their biosecurity to another level.  The ship had to be inspected and then passengers had to go through a visual inspection before we would be allowed to land in South Georgia.  The reason for the strict biosecurity is to prevent non-native plants and seeds from being introduced in these areas.  In many cases in history, non-native species have been introduced and out competed native plants and animals, severely damaging the fragile ecosystem. 

Grytviken, South Georgia

Grytviken, South Georgia

Grytviken whaling station remains

The reason for the strict biosecurity lies in the past of this station on South Georgia.  Grytviken was an old whaler station first established in 1904 and was used until the 1960s.  At its hay day, approximately 400 people lived in this station.  The station is now home to a research station and biosecurity checkpoint to enforce very strict biosecurity measures.  The remains of the station are left here for not only a reminder that the humans almost wiped out the whale and seal populations and also what we can accomplish with conservation as wildlife is rebounding rapidly on this island.  The station was teaming with fur seal pups and King penguins, meanwhile the whale population in Antarctica and the surrounding waters is also rebounding.

Grytviken whaling station remains

Grytviken whaling station remains

Grytviken whaling station remains

Church in Grytviken

Fortuna Bay South Georgia Island

Fortuna Bay South Georgia Island

Fortuna Bay South Georgia Island

Fortuna Bay South Georgia Island

Fortuna Bay South Georgia Island

Fortuna Bay South Georgia Island

Fortuna Bay South Georgia Island

South Georgia was absolutely beautiful and filled with fur seal pups and King Penguins cohabitating and thriving in harmony with minimal intrusion by humans.

Our last stop on our Antarctic cruise was the Falkland Islands.  Here we were reintroduced to civilization after 13 days exploring without seeing another human other than those with us on this journey.

Port Stanley, East Falkland Island

Port Stanley, East Falkland Island

Final Thoughts

What are our final thoughts on our Antarctic Cruise?  What are the things that touched us the most?  We were both struck with how pristine and untouched the landscapes appeared and how unafraid the animals were of us people.  The wildlife, left to their own devices, have found ways to survive in some of the most extreme and harshest conditions on the planet.   We also saw first hand, that even though humans do not live here, we still have a huge impact on the survival of all of these species including the marine mammals, penguins, and other sea birds.  Their habitats including ice shelfs, sea ice and glaciers are shrinking at an alarming rate due to global warming, so even though this region is protected and we live thousands of miles away, we still are impacting this environment in a negative way.  We had amazing enrichment lectures from all of the expedition staff, but we were especially touched by the specialist on board our ship, Shannon Noelle Rivera who is a conservation biologist.  We were both very moved by her passion and what she is doing to promote conservation all over the world one project at a time.  She also works for the United Nations helping to promote and support conservation projects all over the world.

There is really only one other place on earth that we have visited so far in our travels that can compare to the wonder and amazement that we felt in Antarctica and that was the Galapagos Islands.  In both locations, animals were hunted to near extinction, but people used their voices to support and bring about change in these areas.   Both of these locations have shown that conservation matters and when the animals are no longer hunted by humans their populations can recover.  In both places, Antarctica and Galapagos Islands, the animals present no longer fear humans.  We wondered to ourselves what the penguins must think when they see us, maybe they think something like..."Marge, those weird animals with red feathers are back again!"  (The expedition ships all provide parkas in bright colors so passengers can be easily seen by the expedition team against the white backdrop of Antarctica -- our parkas were fire engine red.)   In fact, the penguins and the fur seal pups were curious about us and in many locations we had to move away from them to keep a 6 -10 ft distance between us.  

Overall, this was definitely an amazing trip and I am so happy that we came.  We have definitely left with a sense of purpose to do what we can do from our home town to help slow climate change.  We also been inspired to look into conservation projects around the globe on behalf of endangered species to see how we can help.  

Coming soon...

Argentina and Iguazu Falls and Chile and the fjords of Patagonia.