Antarctica is a travel destination in Antarctic. January and December are its two best months to visit, ranked on 1991–2020 climate averages.
Top places to visit in Antarctica
McMurdo Station (landmark) — The largest research settlement on the continent — the United States Antarctic Programme's logistics hub operates three airstrips and hosts up to 1,200 scientists and support staff during the austral summer; a self-contained town on the volcanic rock of Ross Island.
South Pole — Amundsen–Scott Station (landmark) — Geographic bottom of the Earth at 90 °S — the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station sits atop the 2,835 m Antarctic Plateau; scientists study climate history using ice cores while visitors can stand at the Ceremonial and Geographic poles marked by a striped barber pole on the ice.
Mount Erebus (natural) — The southernmost active volcano on Earth and the most continuously active in Antarctica — the 3,794 m peak on Ross Island contains a persistent lava lake inside its summit crater, visible from McMurdo; ice fumaroles around the rim build ethereal ice towers sculpted by escaping volcanic gas.
Lemaire Channel (natural) — Narrow, glacier-walled passage between Booth Island and the Antarctic Peninsula — often called the 'Kodak Gap' for its mirror-flat reflections of 900 m ice cliffs; humpback whales, crabeater seals, and Adélie penguins share the channel with expedition cruise ships.
Ross Ice Shelf (natural) — The world's largest ice shelf at roughly 500,000 km² — the floating tongue of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet averages 30 m above the sea surface and is the source of the massive tabular icebergs that drift into the Ross Sea; a critical indicator of global ice-sheet stability.
Paradise Harbour (natural) — One of the most breathtaking anchorages on the Antarctic Peninsula — a wide sheltered bay ringed by glaciers calving directly into calm water; gentoo penguins nest on the shorelines and minke whales surface among the brash ice, making this a highlight of every Peninsula cruise.
Dry Valleys (McMurdo) (natural) — The largest ice-free region on the continent — three deep valleys carved by glaciers and kept barren by katabatic winds host hypersaline lakes, permanent ice-covered Lake Vanda, and the Onyx River, Antarctica's longest flowing stream; NASA uses the extreme environment as an analogue for Mars.
Vinson Massif (natural) — Highest mountain in Antarctica at 4,892 m and the highest of the Seven Summits — a remote peak in the Ellsworth Mountains reachable only by ski-equipped plane from Punta Arenas; the clear polar air at the summit offers views stretching hundreds of kilometres across the white plateau.
Deception Island (natural) — Active caldera volcano whose collapsed rim forms a natural harbour — ships enter through Neptune's Bellows, a narrow crack in the crater wall, and anchor in the warm geothermal shallows where visitors can bathe; the ruins of a Scottish whaling station and a British research base add a layer of haunting history.
Weddell Sea (natural) — Vast, ice-choked sea regarded as having the clearest water in the world — the Weddell Sea produces the densest Antarctic Bottom Water that drives global ocean circulation; home to emperor penguin colonies, Weddell seals, and the site of Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance expedition.