ANTARCTICA TOURISM OFFICE International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators 320 Thames Street Suite 264 Newport, RI 02840 T: +1 401 841 9700 iaato.org
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
POPULATION: 1,000-5,000 (depending on season) CAPITAL: N/A VISA REQUIREMENTS: None for tourists HEALTH REQUIREMENTS: None CURRENCY: No offi cial currency. U.S. dollars and British sterling accepted TIME: GMT +5 ELECTRICITY: Mainly diesel powered generators at bases DRIVING: Rare due to extreme conditions LANGUAGE: No offi cial language. English is widely
spoken, as well as languages spoken by those conducting scientifi c research RELIGION: N/A COUNTRY DIALLING CODE: +672
CLIMATE Antarctica’s climate is the coldest on Earth. There is little precipitation and temperatures remain freezing all year round, with average temperatures ranging between -10F and -30F
GETTING THERE
SAILING: The most common means of reaching the Antarctic Peninsula is by cruise ship, and there are typically fi ve launching points — Hobart, Australia; Bluff or Littleton, New Zealand; Cape Town in South Africa; and Ushuaia in Argentina FLIGHTS: Limited fl ights directly into Antarctica
TOP ATTRACTIONS
Deception Bay Lemaire Channel Port Lockroy Post Offi ce Drake Passage Antarctic Convergence
E Port Stanley
Falkland Islands
Punta Arenas
Cape Horn
Shetland Islands
South
Palmer (U.S.A.)
Rothera (U.K.)
W eddell Sea
South Orkney Islands
Orcadas (ARGENTINA)
SANAE IV (SOUTH AFRICA)
Neumayer (GERMANY)
Halley (U.K.)
Belgrano II (ARGENTINA)
Zhongshan (CHINA)
A N T A R C T I C A
South Pole
Amundsen–Scott (U.S.)
Vostock (RUSSIA)
p
Progress (RUSSIA)
Davis (AUSTRALIA)
South Geomagnetic Pole
Concordia (FRANCE & ITALY))
Scott (N.Z.)
Ross Sea
AFRICA
SOUTH AMERICA
ANTARCTICA Zealand New Australia Emperor penguins, Snow Hill Island C