17 Things You Need to Know Before Visiting Antarctica Travel Tips
8. How Cold is Antarctica? What Will the Weather Be Like in Antarctica? What is a Discovery Cruise?
Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest, and coldest continent, with a record low of -128.6°F (-89.2 °C). Ice covers approximately 98% of the continent.
You will experience much milder temps since you’re visiting Antarctica in the summer and will be along the peninsula instead of interior Antarctica. During the tourist season, November-March, the temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula are around 34°F (0 °C) and can even be up to 50°F (10 °C). Our friends in Canada and the Midwest had colder temps than we did on our trip.
Antarctica has a very dynamic environment, so it’s essential to be flexible and roll with the punches. Discovery cruises have no set itinerary, and plans may change each day depending on the weather.
Luckily, our discovery leader and captain on the Scenic Eclipse II were great at pivoting to find suitable microclimates to give us the best experience possible each day. I don’t know if we had a unicorn of a trip, but each day, we thought it could not get any more epic, and then the following day exceeded our expectations.