Sea Kayaking in Antarctica
Setting off by kayak in Antarctica means entering a world where time seems suspended: ancient glaciers, ice-clad mountains, and a silence broken only by the breath of whales or the splash of penguins. This is not just a trip, but a full immersion in the planet’s last great wilderness.
Key information
Trip length: 11 to 13 days depending on the departure
Embarkation & return port: Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego (Argentina)
Expedition ships: Plancius, Ortelius or Hondius — vessels purpose-built for polar waters: robust, safe and surprisingly comfortable.
Kayak program: two outings per day are scheduled (morning and afternoon), each about 1h30 to 2h. You’ll paddle in single or double kayaks, depending on your preference and equipment availability. As always in Antarctica, weather and ice set the pace — but every outing is designed to give you a deep, unhurried immersion in this extraordinary environment.
Next departure: 7–19 January 2026
Crossing the Drake — the gateway to another world
The journey begins in Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city. Aboard the ship, we set a direct course south.
Two days at sea take you across the Drake Passage, the legendary corridor separating South America from the White Continent. It can be lively, or sometimes surprisingly calm — either way, it’s an adventure in its own right. This is where you leave the known world behind and ready yourself for the unknown.
First steps in Antarctica
After the Drake, the South Shetland Islands mark your arrival: Half Moon Island, Deception Island, Elephant Point… each with its own character — volcanic beaches, elephant seal colonies, dark cliffs crowned with glaciers. Here, kayaking becomes a privileged way to enter the landscape.
The kayaking experience
Each day, when conditions allow, two outings are planned.
Kayak excursions last about 1h30 to 2h, designed for exploration and observation. You embark from a Zodiac and, with the very first strokes, you’re inside a world out of time.
The rhythm is deliberately gentle, built to savour:
Glide between brash ice as if through a gallery of natural sculptures. Watch wildlife up close — inquisitive penguins, seals sprawled on the floes, whales surfacing a few metres away. Hear the glaciers crack and sometimes calve with a deep rumble. Let the shifting light repaint the landscape hour by hour.
Iconic places by kayak
A few emblematic sites on these expeditions:
Cuverville Island: trace the base of dark, sheer cliffs while thousands of gentoo penguins animate the slopes and shore.
Port Charcot: paddle with the currents through an ice-choked channel, often to the soundtrack of humpback blows.
Petermann Island: thread your way through a true maze of icebergs and drift ice, with laid-back seals and seabirds overhead.
Paradise Bay: glide beneath towering glacier fronts in a near-perfect silence, broken only by the crackle of ice.
Deception Island: slip through Neptune’s Bellows into the flooded caldera of an active volcano — one of Antarctica’s most singular, spectacular sites.
Each day combines kayak outings, Zodiac cruises and shore landings — time to walk among penguin colonies and take in the views from headlands.
A guided expedition, led with passion
I’m both your kayak guide and the person behind Voyage Kayak. That means you’re accompanied by someone who knows these waters and guides you on the water. Oceanwide’s ships (Plancius, Ortelius, Hondius) provide a comfortable base — but the experience at water level remains intimate and authentic.
Highlights
✅ 11–13 day expeditions from Ushuaia.
✅ Two kayak outings per day (conditions permitting), 1h30–2h.
✅ Small groups; single or double kayaks adapted to polar conditions.
✅ Close-up wildlife viewing (penguins, seals, whales).
✅ Access to some of the White Continent’s most iconic sites.
✅ Led by an experienced, passionate guide.
An unforgettable journey
At the end of the voyage, you’ll turn north again to recross the Drake. Two more days at sea to let the images settle: the translucent blues of icebergs, the powerful breath of whales, the tireless ballet of penguins.
Antarctica isn’t merely visited. It’s lived — and it leaves an indelible mark.
