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Planning Your Antarctica Cruise from Australia
Planning your Antarctica Cruise from Australia
Antarctica Travel Centre is Australian owned and based in Melbourne. We have been looking after our clients Antarctic cruises since 2011. Our first experience of Anatrctica was in 2001.
We can look after all aspects of your Antarctica cruise from Australia ; the voyage, flights, transfers and pre and post accommodation (e.g. Patagonia or Buenos Aires) to link everything together. We actually started off as a South America (South America Travel Centre（https://southamericatravelcentre.com.au/）) specialist in 1996, as a result we’re very well placed to help with your Antarctic cruise and arrangements in South America. Between us we have experience from over 40 Polar cruises on 13 different ships with 9 different ship operators, and literally months spent travelling in South America.
It’s this knowledge and our independence that allow us to help you book the best Antarctic cruise, ship and operator.
We start by asking you lots of questions – where to (just the Antarctic Peninsula, or a voyage with the lot – Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia, or New Zealand sub-Antarctic and the Ross Sea), when, for how long, what standard and style of ship or cabin, and whether you have any particular personal interests that may help select the voyage or ship. Once we have a good understanding of just what you’re looking for, we can begin to select the best voyage to meet your time and budget requirements and, most importantly, that will deliver interest and enjoyment in an experience to exceed your expectations.
Please book early: Many of these ships book out 12-18 months in advance, particularly over the December/January period. Please also consider that there may be only a small number of cabins in the category you would prefer. We also have access to any booking offers（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/booking-offers/） ships have and will search out the best option for you.
If you’re thinking of travelling over the Christmas and New Year period our advice is simply to book as early as you can, even a year or more, and we can add flights as soon as they become available.
So, to reiterate, BOOK EARLY to allow us to put together the very best itinerary for you.
CALL US 1300 784 794
ONLINE ENQUIRY（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/online-enquiry/）
VIEW EARLY BOOKING OFFERS（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/booking-offers/）
VIEW SAMPLE ITINERARIES（https://www.antarcticatravelcentre.com.au/patagonia/#sample-itineraries）
Seasons The Weather Flights
The Seasons
In simple terms the Antarctic Peninsula, Falkland Islands and South Georgia open up for exploration in late October and early November and the season runs through until March (i.e. our Australian summer) when the shortening days and encroaching sea ice close this magical place to all but the hardiest visitor. There is no bad time to go on an Antarctica cruise from Australia and below you’ll find a summary of the three seasons and the benefits of travelling at those times.
EARLY SEASON
HIGH SEASON
LATE SEASON
Early Season: LATE OCTOBER, NOVEMBER AND EARLY DECEMBER
ANTARCTIC PENINSULA
In October and November the pack ice starts to break up and allows ice-strengthened ships to access a pristine landscape unexplored by humans since March the previous season. So this makes for a unique experience for your Antarctica Cruise from Australia.
As the season progresses more and more penguins (Adelie, chinstrap and gentoo) return to their colonies and are busy at first with courtship and mating and not long after settle to incubate their eggs.
SOUTH GEORGIA
If you would like to witness the dominant bull elephant seals battling for control of a harem of females on the beaches of South Georgia, you must take an early season voyage – leave it too long and the bulls will have headed out to sea. On the Peninsula the penguins are arriving and beginning their courtship displays. Just as on the Antarctic Peninsula the penguins are also busy courting, mating and laying eggs. Last seasons juveniles will still be in the colonies. Wandering Albatross may also be seen re-establishing their bonds with their life-long partners. Fur seals will be particularly active with females mating soon after giving berth to the new season’s young.
FALKLAND ISLANDS
Just as on the Peninsula and South Georgia activity on the Falklands Islands is well underway in October (being a little further to the North). Five species of penguin (Rock-hopper gentoo, Magellanic, macaroni and king) will all be busy. Several migratory bird species will also have arrived.
High Season: DECEMBER, JANUARY AND EARLY FEBRUARY
HIGH SEASON: LATE DECEMBER, JANUARY & EARLY FEBRUARY
Antarctic Cruises over this period are more likely to book out. It’s not necessarily that it’s a better time – it’s as much that some markets have holidays at this time. The result is generally higher per day prices and lower early booking offers (which are more likley to be removed quite quickly – as cruises fill up).
ANTARCTIC PENINSULA
As the season progresses the daylight hours increase which all of the Antarctic peninsula’s wildlife makes use of; the beaches and hillsides are now hectic with tens of thousands (sometimes more) of penguins (Adelie, gentoo & chinstrap). Not all penguins chicks hatch at the same time, as you go further south they generally hatch a little later (also as the tops of hills clear of snow and ice earlier than the base the penguins that grab the ‘top spots’ often have chicks earlier than those at the bottom of the hill).
With both parents at first taking turns to incubate and soon making ever more frequent fishing trips the colonies get busier and the chicks larger. Chicks grow very quickly and as soon as they are mobile it can be very entertaining, quite chubby, slightly ungainly, hungry juveniles chasing their parents for some more krill.
Seals, skuas, petrels and penguins are all busy attending to their sub-adult young as the short Antarctic ‘summer’ will soon be over. Whales are ever present and as the season progresses they start to become more inquisitive (partially as they’ve been feeding for the last 2 months).
SOUTH GEORGIA
The early season snow will slowly be lost at lower levels (fresh snow can fall at any time), only the peaks will remain snow-capped. This can mean trekking opportunities from your Antarctic cruise from Australia are increased and the weather will always determine what’s possible (safe). Temperatures can vary significantly and over a very short period of time; if it’s sunny and the winds are lights (a relatively rare occurrence) it will be quite warm (10-15 degrees Celsius), if it’s cloudy and there are strong winds and snow it can feel bitterly cold (we’ll advise so you have appropriate clothing).
The beaches of South Georgia are soon littered with fur seal pups. The adult males of fur and elephant seals having completed their task have returned to the southern ocean for a much needed meal (the large bull elephant seals can lose over a third of their body weight during the breeding season).
King Penguins
Many of South Georgia’s beaches are also home to vast colonies of king penguins, several in their tens of thousands. Due to king penguins unsynchronised breeding and a 13-16 month breeding cycle you can usually witness courting, penguins with eggs in pouches above their feet (laid from November to April), brow fluffy chicks and adults throughout the year. The number of young in the colonies fluctuates (highest number in Dec/Jan/Feb) with larger brown fluffy juveniles forming large crèches whilst their parents are ‘gone fishing’.
South Georgia’s other penguins (chinstrap, Gentoo, macaroni) and four albatross species (black-browed, grey-headed, light mantled & wandering) will all be busy raising their chicks during the short Antarctic summer.