Antarctic Peninsula travel, tours and holiday packages

A short guide about Antarctic Peninsula

Often described by visitors as one of the most beautiful places on earth - the Antarctic Peninsula is a glaciated mountain region that extends about 1900km north towards South America. It is sometimes harsh and wild and at other times a truly serene place. Most of the Antarctic Peninsula’s north east coast is fringed by the Larsen Ice Shelf and surrounded by islands - including the South Shetlands and the Palmer Archipelago. The tip of the Antarctica Peninsula is the farthest point from the South Pole and it is here travellers will find the continent's only flowering plants.

As a mountainous continuation of the Andes - the Antarctic Peninsula contains peaks that rise up to 3000m, and on the opposite side of the South Pole - heading towards the Southern Ocean -these volcanic peaks continue to rise a further 3350m. The jagged mountain peaks are clad in glaciers that compete for your attention with their awesome flow into the sea - they sometimes spill ice slabs from a high altitude of hundreds of feet or more - to fall spectacularly into the ocean below.

Besides the magnificent scenery of mountains and ice, you can expect to see a wide variety of native wildlife. The birds to look out for are Blue-Eyed Shags, Sea Gulls, Cape Petrels, Skuas, Snowy Sheathbills and Antarctic Terns. The marine mammals you are likely to see include the Weddell crab-eater and the Leopard Seal, you may even be lucky enough to spot Orcas, Humpback and Mink Whales at close range! Experience your first landing on the White Continent at Neko Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula and another at Port Lockroy on Gaudier Island.

Want to visit the Antarctic Peninsula? Well as you browse through the travel and land holiday packages that Tourabout has catalogued for your convenience - you will begin to understand that this really is the trip of a life time. Most tours of the Antarctic Peninsula will begin from South America, and from here you travel through the Drake Passage and visit the most popular tourist destinations - such as Deception Island, the Weddell Sea, and the Larson Ice Shelf. For the best tours to this amazing place create a shortlist of your holiday style and click on the supplier of your choice for more detail.