When is the Best Time to Visit Antarctica?

Far from being a static, frozen landscape, Antarctica is in fact a dynamic continent with its own unique and ever-changing seasons, making it a perpetually fascinating destination for travelers. 

The best time to visit Antarctica is between November and March—during the continent’s warmest months—when the air is more temperate, the sun shines for longer stretches and the abundant wildlife is at its most active on shore and in the water.  

The best way to visit is on an Antarctic cruise, like those offered by National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, whose smaller, more agile PC5 Category A icebreaker ships can park in magical coves and break through the pack ice to take you to more remote coastlines.  

Here, we look at the highlights by month, to help you plan your trip. 

When is the best time to go to Antarctica?  

The Antarctic high season is roughly five months long, lasting from early November through to late March. This is the summer in Antarctica, when the days stretch to 20-plus hours and daytime high temperatures are a moderate 24°F to 40°F, making this the best time to travel to Antarctica. Contrast this with the forbidding Antarctic winter, when the sun does a vanishing act for four months and temperatures dip as low as -100°F. 

As the seventh continent emerges from its winter slumber, the pack ice begins to melt, forming icebergs and bergy bits that bob on the waves, creating a surreal, floating sculpture garden. The region’s famous wildlife is also most lively, as penguins come ashore to court at rookeries, seals pair up to mate and raise pups and massive whales migrate into the Southern Ocean, offering incredible viewing opportunities.  

All this is best seen on an expedition cruise, especially aboard a smaller ship like the state-of-the-art polar icebreakers in the National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions fleet, which can bring you up close to Antarctica’s wonders in comfort and style.  

What to know about weather in Antarctica

The only time it’s possible for travelers to visit is during summer in Antarctica when the continent’s extreme weather mellows. That timeframe runs from November through April, with high summer coming December through February. 

At these polar latitudes, Antarctica’s seasons are dictated almost entirely by the sun, which has a profound effect on the seasons since it disappears come winter and is omnipresent in summer. 

Despite 98 percent of its terrain being covered by an ice sheet, Antarctica is actually a desert, with a mere two inches of snowfall on average per year, making it our planet’s driest area. It’s also subject to punishing katabatic winds that blow down from the continent’s interior and combine with maritime low-pressure systems to produce gusts that have been recorded at more than 115 mph. 

These hostile conditions, which peak in winter, make summer the best time to visit Antarctica. While the grandeur of Antarctica is on display no matter when you visit, each month provides its own window of weather and wildlife. Here, we’ll explore some of those highlights.

Weather in Antarctica in November 

 November showcases Antarctica at its most scenic. The mean temperature is a relatively mild 30°F, the sea ice is breaking up into giant floes and fresh snow overlays everything, providing incredible opportunities to cross-country ski, snoeshow and hike on the peninsula. On subantarctic islands like the Falklands, blooms of hardy flowers blanket the landscape in a surprising display of color.  

With so many icebergs and bergy bits about, the sea presents a dynamic flux that creates a photographer’s dream —a profusion of whites, blues, greens and aquamarines bobbing in the slushy waters. An icebreaker ship is the only way to approach the continent at this time of year, which is where an expedition cruise company like Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic comes in. 

Antarctic Weather in December

In December, the mean temperature in northern Antarctica is 33.7°F and with the warmer, longer days comes an uptick in wildlife activity.  

Diminishing ice means the seas are increasingly vibrant, with orcas on the hunt and humpback whales returning to the Southern Ocean on their annual migration. Meanwhile on shore, penguin chicks begin to hatch and fur seals are busy with dramatic mating displays that include males duking it out for control of their harems. 

Weather in Antarctica in January

January is Antarctica’s warmest month, with a mean temperature of 34.8°F and an average high of 40°F.  

The warmer conditions and nearly endless sunlight mean you can spend more time exploring, whether that’s sea kayaking amid icebergs, watching the hunter-hunted dance of leopard seals preying on penguins or beholding the newly minted leopard, Weddell and crabeater seal pups at play. 

This is also a great time to hone your nature photography skill—and if you travel with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic you’ll be given ample opportunities. A National Geographic photographer is aboard National Geographic Endurance and National Geographic Resolution to help guests capture their best shots of the continent.

Antarctic Weather in February

February is a good time to cruise, as the pack ice has reached its annual low, providing easy access to the many coves, islands and other features along the coast and letting ships push farther south to explore the coastline.

The average high in February is 39°F and the average low is 28°F, making this a pleasant time for your Antarctica cruise. Spend time out on deck watching for seabirds and whales and go ashore to explore historic destinations, like Ernest Shackelton’s legendary trekking route across South Georgia island to save his men after their ship, the Endurance, became icebound in 1915.

Weather in Antarctica in March

March marks the end of the warmest months, with the mean temperature falling to 28°F and the average high only 34°F. As the days shorten, the sun drops deeper below the horizon, providing otherworldly pink, orange and yellow sunrises and sunsets over the rugged coast and inland ice.

As the southern climes move toward winter, the baleen whales devour their final feasts before swimming back north, and the sea may already be starting to congeal as the grease ice, which has the appearance of an oil slick, forms on its cooling surface.

Antarctic Weather in April 

By April it’s too cold, dark and ice-locked to visit Antarctica, with average lows on the peninsula of 15°F and only six hours of daylight along the northern coast. By this time, the South Pole has plunged into a constant nautical twilight of dark-blue skies.

The seventh continent is well into winter now and only the scientists and researchers are left, hunkered down in outposts that will remain unreachable for months.

Weather the Rest of the Year  

In winter, Antarctica is locked in by months of darkness, frostbite-inducing winds, impenetrable pack ice and temperatures far too cold for humans. For example, at the South Pole during the peak winter month of July, the mean temperature is -74.7 °F, while on the relatively milder Antarctica Peninsula, it’s a more moderate 13 °F—but still quite cold!

What to Know Before you Join an Expedition Cruise to Antarctica 

Don’t be put off by thinking Antarctica is “too cold.” As you can see from the above month-by-month breakdown, during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, the temperatures are reasonable, especially if you’re dressed accordingly.

On a Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic cruise, you’ll be traveling in comfort and style, enjoying deluxe cabins and first-rate amenities, from gourmet meals to saunas and infinity hot tubs. And during hiking, kayaking and wildlife-viewing excursions on Zodiacs, you’ll be shielded from the elements in our high-performance polar parkas, complimentary for guests aboard our Antarctic voyages.

Also, be aware that it takes some travel to get here, beginning with a flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina or Santiago, Chile. From there, it’s on to Ushuaia, Argentina, at the southern tip of South America, followed by a two-hour flight to Antarctica or a two-day journey aboard your expedition cruise ship across the 600-mile Drake Passage.
 
Learn more about How to Travel to Antarctica.

What is the Warmest Month in Antarctica?

The warmest month is January, when average temperatures in its warmest area—the Antarctic Peninsula’s northern terminus—are 30°F for the lows and 40°F for the highs.

When is it Summer in Antarctica?

Antarctica experiences austral (or south) summer which runs from December through February.

What is the Best Time to Visit Antarctica for Wildlife?

If you want to see breeding elephant seals and slapstick penguin-courtship rituals, the best month to visit is November, when it's mating season for the giant seals and chinstrap, gentoo and Adélie penguins are gathering at their rookeries. December, which sees tens of thousands of king penguins forming nesting pairs on South Georgia island, is a great penguin-viewing time as well.

In January, you can watch fluffy newborn penguin chicks waddling around as they figure out how to navigate both land and sea, as well as spot the charismatic leopard seal, an agile predator. Meanwhile, seabirds like the skua, albatross, petrel, gull, cormorant, shag and sheathbill follow expedition cruise ships throughout the season, feasting on fish, plankton and mollusks and creating incredible photo ops.

For whale aficionados, February and March are a great time to see sperm, humpback, minke, southern right whales and, if you’re lucky, blue whales and fin whales as they feast on krill and sometimes approach ships out of curiosity.

What are Daylight Hours in Antarctica?  

Depending on your location, you might experience 24-hour daylight around the summer solstice. Along the northern shores and on the peninsula, where expedition cruises sail, you can expect 20+-hour days in high summer, with shorter days on either side of the season.

With its polar latitudes, Antarctica has a notoriously extreme climate, but summer is surprisingly mild, with conditions similar to those found during winter in the northern United States. And while all of the months in the high season are spectactular, each offers a unique window into Antarctica’s dynamic ecosystems so choosing the right departure may come down to which wonders you want to witness most.

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