Antarctica expedition guide
A few hours from Cape Town to a private lodge on the ice. No Drake Passage, no sea days, no ships.
Why fly-in
Antarctica is a fly-in country for us. From Cape Town, a long-haul flight crosses the Southern Ocean to a blue-ice runway on the continent itself. No Drake Passage. No sea days. You land on the ice, in the interior, where almost no one goes.
The base is a private lodge with heated suites, fresh running water, a small kitchen, and a single long table where everyone eats. From there, smaller aircraft fly you out to the emperor penguin colony at Atka Bay, the geographic South Pole, the high polar plateau, and a network of remote landings the larger aircraft cannot reach. The continent opens up in days that no ship can reach.
Cape Town is part of the trip, not just the gateway. We build a buffer before the flight south and another after, because the weather decides when you fly. We use that time to plan a proper South African leg around it. The natural pairing is the Cape and the Winelands at one end of the trip.
The Antarctic season is short and operator-led. Flights run from November to early February, and the calendar is fixed years ahead. We work backwards from the date you want and plan everything else around it.
What this country does best
A long flight south from Cape Town. The aircraft touches down on a runway carved into the ice itself. No Drake Passage, no sea days, no transit through South America. You arrive in the polar circle with the door already open.
A small aircraft flies you from the main lodge to Atka Bay, where the emperor penguin colony stands on the sea ice. Most people who see this in their lives see it on film. Here you walk it.
A Basler aircraft flies you over the high mountains to 90°S. You stand at the Pole itself, stamp your passport, and overnight on the polar plateau at a remote interior lodge before flying back. Almost nobody reaches the Pole. You will.
Ship-based Antarctica is a coastline trip. The fly-in route puts you in the interior. The ice goes on for miles and the silence is total. Hikes above the ice, abseiling on a nunatak, panoramic ridge trails with mountain guides. The continent at its most uncompromised.
When to be here
The season is short and operator-led. Flights from Cape Town to the interior run from mid-November to early February. Outside that window, the continent is closed. Inside it, four chapters open in sequence.
For the opening
Mid – late November
The opening window. Emperor chicks are still small and close to the adult birds, the polar light is at its sharpest, and the blue ice tunnels are open for exploration. The ice runway is at its firmest of the season. A quieter pair of departures before the peak weeks fill in.
For the Pole
December – early January
The signature window. The flight to 90°S, a stand at the Pole, and a visit to the emperor colony at Atka Bay. The most-booked weeks of the season and the ones that book out furthest ahead. Best for first-time travellers who want the full Pole experience in one trip.
For the late season
Mid – late January
The warmest end of the calendar opens Antarctica's rarely seen blue rivers, deep melt channels carved through the ice. A quieter window for the Pole, and the only departure of the scientist-led Discovery Week at Explorer Camp. Strongest fit for travellers who want the Pole without the December rush.
For the closing chapter
Late January – early February
The longest itinerary of the season. Both Whichaway Camp and Echo Base, the South Pole, and the blue rivers in a single trip. The last departure of each season. The quietest window on the ice and the strongest fit for travellers who want a longer chapter on the continent.
A signature Antarctic trip
A representative starting point, not the only shape. A 5.A charter from Cape Town to a blue-ice runway, six nights at Echo Camp, and a day flight out to the emperor penguin colony at Atka Bay. We also build longer journeys that add the South Pole and the high polar plateau. This is the one we send first.
View sample itinerary →Is Antarctica right for you
Most journeys are not one country
Cape Town is the natural pairing, and the only one that fits the operating window. The flights we use leave from Cape Town, and the weather decides when you go. The buffer days at each end become a few nights at the foot of Table Mountain, then a few more in the Winelands. The change of register from polar silence to vineyards and ocean is part of what makes the trip work.
A short safari leg in the eastern lowveld is straightforward to add, when the calendar allows. We will recommend the right reserve for the right month, and we will be honest if the timing does not line up.
Questions we hear most
Mid-November to early February. The 2026 to 2027 season opens on 19 November and the last departures return on 3 February 2027. The same shape repeats in the 2027 to 2028 season. Outside that window, the weather and the light shut the operation down.
The fly-in expeditions themselves run from a single day to eight days on the ice. We add two buffer days in Cape Town before and after, because every flight is weather-dependent. A workable total is a fortnight, which gives you the expedition and a proper South African leg at each end.
The flight from Cape Town replaces two days at sea each way and skips the Drake Passage entirely. Ships reach the South Shetlands and the Peninsula from South America. The fly-in route reaches the interior, the South Pole, and the high polar plateau, which no ship can access.
The colony at Atka Bay is reachable through the full season, but the experience changes. November and early December bring small chicks close to the adult birds. December and early January show fully grown chicks and the most active colony. By late January the colony is breaking up. We will match your dates to what you want to see.
Yes. The signature itinerary runs through December and the first half of January and includes both. Both visits depend on flying weather. We build the buffer to protect for that.
The long-haul flight from Cape Town to the ice, the interior flights to the colony and the Pole, the lodge and its full staff, all meals and drinks on the continent, the South Pole flight itself, and the guiding team on the ice. International flights into Cape Town and the South African leg are quoted separately.
The calendar is set years ahead and the season books out early. December and the first half of January are the busiest weeks. We can usually find space in the shoulders of the season at shorter notice. The earlier we know your dates, the more flexibility we have.
"
Antarctica is the one chapter we plan that changes people. The fly-in route opens the interior in a way no ship can match. The silence on the polar plateau is its own argument. When the date is right, it is worth every mile to get there.
Vikki Jackson · Co-founder, Marula Hill
From the journal
Plan it properly
Tell us roughly what you are thinking. We come back within a working day, often sooner.
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