Traveling To Antarctica: Why It’s Only Done In Summer
A trip to Antarctica is only possible in the summer, when cruising season to the continent is open. Antarctica may be the coldest and driest continent in the world but you will be amazed by how beautiful its landscape is. Barely touched by humans, Antarctica is also called home by seals, penguins, whales, and migratory birds looking for grounds to feed, breed, and nest. Even though you can only travel to Antarctica in summer, it will be worth the wait.
Again, traveling to Antarctica is only done during summer because that’s the only time that cruising season is available. Antarctica cruises are limited to the summer months due to a number of reasons. One of them is that during winter, weather is not friendly enough for cruises. Another reason is that because ice floats are too hard in the winter, cruise ships find it impossible to break past them.
Daylight is highly limited in the continent too when it’s winter. In fact, the sun doesn’t shine at all! This makes it impossible for cruise passengers to see Antarctica’s beauty and unique wildlife, even if cruising is allowed in the winter. Besides, any Antarctica travel guide will tell you that you can only see seals, penguins, whales, and migratory birds along the continent’s shores in the summer which is between November and March.
And so, the best time to travel to Antarctica would be in the summer. Ice floats are passable and the sun is extremely generous with its daylight, shining on the continent for more than 20 hours each day. You can also take beautiful Antarctica pictures when it’s summer since all the animals are visible and can be seen from the cruise ship. The weather is more permitting for cruises too if it’s summer. But expect to pay thousands of dollars even for the shortest trip to Antarctica.