Map of Antarctica

Antarctica is the biggest ice sheet in the world, accounting for 90 percent of the world’s ice and 70 percent of its fresh water. If you’re planning to join a cruise to Antarctica, it can often be quite useful and interesting to map out where you’re going to stop off.

Some of the top landmarks visited by cruises to Antarctica include the South Georgia & Sandwich Islands, The South Shetland Islands, Brown Bluff, King George Island, the beautiful Gerlache Strait, The Weddell Sea. It’s also worth bearing in mind that many cruises cross the Drake Passage which lies between the southern tip of Patagonia and the South Shetland Islands. This strait is notorious for its high waves & wind, and it could be a good idea to find a cruise that skirts round it by starting off at the Falkland Islands instead or that flies you directly to King George Island in Antarctica.

Here are a couple of Antarctic cruises that visit some of the landmarks above:

Plus, in addition to these online maps, Stanfords sells two maps of Antarctica that we think would be useful to take with you:

The first is of the Antarctic Peninsula by Zagier y Urruty and costs £11.95. It has a scale of 1:1,500,000 & names many bays, islands, channels & capes. https://www.stanfords.co.uk/Continents/Antarctica/Antarctic-Peninsula_9781879568211.htm

This map of Antarctica by the British Antarctic Survey costs £2.50 and is drawn to a scale of 1:25,000,000. It’s only a pocket size map but it includes hill-shaded relief of the continent as well as key landmarks and information about the flaura and fauna of Antarctica. https://www.stanfords.co.uk/Continents/Antarctica/Antarctica_XL00000111596.htm