The best way to travel to Antarctica from Cape Town

You read that correctly: you can swap Cape Town’s sunny beaches for the seventh continent’s Deep Field in less than six hours. 

Straight off the bat, it’s probably one of the most epic things you’ll ever do. For me personally, travelling to Antarctica forever shifted how I see the world.

We're incredibly fragile, I'm talking about us, the human race. Not built for these icy conditions in the least. And yet, our ingenuity is the stuff of legends, made even grittier by the research underway in the vast icy expanse at the bottom of the planet.

Admittedly, this expedition from Ultima Antarctic Expeditions is not cheap. Not by a long shot. At around $61,000 for a seven-day all-inclusive expedition, complete with a visit to an emperor penguin colony, it’s one you leap at when invited to experience it.

Of course, there’s also the 24-hour fly-in, fly-out option for a mere $13,500. Consider it the iced espresso-shot version of Antarctica. Either way, it’s a case of six of one, half a dozen of frozen fun.

And doing an IAATO-permitted visit to see curious Emperor Penguins and their fluffly chicks doing their waddle at a newly discovered colony is the epitome of an Antarctica expedition - topped only by a trip to the geographic South Pole.

 

But why does it cost so much?

Because this isn’t your average adventure tour. There are only 250 seats available each summer season (November to February in Antarctica), and every single flight is purpose-driven.  

Departing from Cape Town International, no visa is required for Antarctica, as no single country owns this vitally important polar region, which is essentially Earth's air conditioner, for want of a better green analogy.

You see, these dedicated flights ferry scientists, supplies, and essential equipment to some of Antarctica’s nearly 70 research bases. As guests of Ultima Antarctic Expeditions, we were essentially hitching a ride on a mission that supports genuine scientific research.

While roughly 43,000 people cruised the Antarctic Peninsula during the 2024/2025 season, according to IAATO data, less than 800 ventured into Deep Field Antarctica - the heart of the continent where the scientists work and where this remarkable expedition unfolds.

So, it's not about sightseeing per se on board a private, luxury, chartered plane. And that does make a difference.  

Yes, it’s expensive. But it’s also extraordinarily rare, never mind that it feels like stepping through a wormhole onto another planet.

The flight of a lifetime! 

Forget everything you think you know about flying.  

The Ilyushin-76 is a mixed-use workhorse that can be configured to transport passengers and cargo. The inside is stark and unpressurised, unlike commercial flights that have sealed, pressurised interiors - so it's extremely noisy (but nothing a good set of earphones can't drown out).

There's no toilet, at least not the one I've become accustomed to on board a flight. It's a porta-loo strapped in for comfort and safety. Travelling alongside the research crew, preparing to do vital scientific work, means there is no time for too much airs and graces.

And thankfully, the flight is swift. 

One moment, you’re leaving behind Cape Town’s coastline; the next, you’re landing on a shimmering blue ice runway at the Ultima Airbase.

Stepping off the runway is arresting - with kilometres of ice in every direction.  

There’s no airport terminal, no tarmac bustle - only some basic ground crew accommodation and a canteen used by all the support staff at the airbase.

I couldn't help but swirl around, looking for the words to describe what I was seeing and feeling.

It's not often I am at a loss for words... 

Life on the ice

From the runway, the Ultima Antarctic Expeditions crew whisks you off to their Oasis Camp, tucked inside the Schirmacher Oasis. The name is no exaggeration. These are modern, warm, and comfortable cabins, offering a level of luxury that is unexpected for such a remote destination.

The interiors could make Wes Anderson proud: soft lighting, polar-chic design and a small but mighty team who seem to do everything - from pouring the perfect pinotage, to explaining the finer points of the Antarctic Treaty.

With just 14 guests split between two luxury cabins, this is as intimate as extreme adventure travel gets. It's also run with zero-waste, biosecure precision. Nothing is left behind, not even waste (yes, all our number 'ones' and 'twos' are flown out too). 

And yet, nothing feels forced. There’s a sense of calm capability - the kind that comes from working in one of the harshest places on Earth, with deep respect for it. 

A shift in rhythm

Days here are dictated by the weather - and the light.

One morning, we were hiking across a frozen lake in crampons, only to find ourselves standing inside an ethereal blue ice tunnel. Next, we took a short road trip to a wall of ice taller than a cathedral.

There’s magic in the in-between moments, too. Stepping outside the warm hug that is the Oasis dining cabin, you realise there is no sound - only an extreme quiet, pierced by a brush of wind against your beanie.

Sunset is a dusky pink hue, but with nearly 24 hours of summer sunlight, there is no nighttime, which is quite something to adjust to over the course of a week. It feels like pressing pause on the planet and everyday life as you know it. 

And then, of course, nothing prepares you for a view of the pristine ice shelf slicing through the navy blue ocean during a two-hour flight to an emperor penguin colony.  

It's a scene most fitting for Sting's iconic song, Fragile. There wasn't a dry eye onboard that modified Basler DC-3, well except for the coolest pilots you'll ever meet.

Science meets purpose-driven adventure

What makes Ultima’s experience so special is that the expeditions are built around supporting scientific research, so it's not simply leisure tourism.  

As Ultima CEO, Riaan Aucamp shared, “Guests who join us are indirectly helping to fund the research that keeps Antarctica protected.”

It’s a clever, conscious form of cross-subsidy, he suggests, where luxury and logistics work together to preserve the very environment you’ve come to witness.

And it's getting noticed too.   

While Condé Nast Traveller named Ultima's Oasis Camp among its Top 25 Places to Visit in 2025, they also recently included it in their Bright Ideas in Travel list - for their "low-impact, high-immersion travel in Deep Field Antarctica."

It’s validation for a vision built on doing less, but better.

A reckoning with belonging

Whether you stay 24 hours or a whole week, this journey has a way of rearranging your internal compass. I returned to Cape Town feeling both impossibly small and deeply connected - to science, to nature and to every other living thing.

Because travel has a sneaky way of rewiring what you think you know about everyday life. It's the quiet antidote to narrow-mindedness and a gentle unlearning of certainty.   

It changed how I see the world - and the way I perceive my place in it.

Deep Field Antarctica strips life back to its essence. No noise, no crowds, no clutter - just ice and light, and an unmistakable reckoning with ourselves and how we treat this planet we call home. 

And to think, it’s only a six-hour flight from Cape Town. 

The essentials to know if you go:

• Getting there: Direct flights from Cape Town (approx. 5.5 hrs) through Ultima Antarctic Expeditions
• Season: November–February
• Options: 24-hour fly-in + various Emperor Penguin or South Pole expeditions
• Guests: Max 250 per season
• Cost: From USD 13,500 to 92,000
• Stay: Oasis Camp polar-lux cabins, limited to 14 guests per small-group trip
• Expeditions + Gear: All polar kit and gear provided, expeditions lead by expert guides, all weather-dependent.
• IAATO-compliant: Low-impact, science-backed travel 

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