Cruises visiting South Shetland Islands

The South Shetlands are the first land most ships reach after the Drake Passage, about 120 km off the Peninsula. The archipelago packs volcanic beaches, steaming calderas and enormous penguin and seal colonies into a single day's sailing.

Highlights include the flooded volcano of Deception Island, chinstrap colonies numbering hundreds of thousands, and southern elephant seals on the beaches. Fly-cruise itineraries start here, at King George Island's airstrip.