Are you considering visiting South Georgia Island? As one of the world’s most remote and beautiful destinations, this island nestled in the South Atlantic Ocean offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for unparalleled adventure. There’s a reason why it’s dubbed the Serengeti of the Southern Ocean: with literally millions penguins and seals on show, a visit to South Georgia Island can truly feel like stepping into a nature documentary.
Whether it’s the dramatic landscapes, fascinating history, or biodiversity that’s caught your attention, travelling to South Georgia Island is nothing shy of extraordinary. But before you start packing, there are some things you’ll need to know to help you prepare for your adventure. In this guide to visiting South Georgia Island, we share everything you need to know before exploring this fantastic destination, from when to visit and what to pack, to what to expect from the wildlife encounters when you arrive.
Where is South Georgia Island?
South Georgia Island is a British Overseas Territory that lies deep in the Southern Ocean. While it lies at a latitude of 54° south, roughly equivalent to the coastline of Germany in the northern hemisphere, it has a much colder climate, thanks to the presence of the cold Antarctic circumpolar current known as the Convergence. This Subantarctic climate, and the rich seas that surround it make it the perfect home for penguins, seals and whales.
The nearest land to South Georgia is a long way away: the 100 mile (160 km) long island is around 1100 miles (1800 km) from South America and 1000 miles (1600 km) from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. This means that when you’re in South Georgia, your nearest neighbours might well be the astronauts on the International Space Station.
The full name of the territory is South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands. The latter are a small Subantarctic archipelago located roughly 430 miles southeast of South Georgia Island. They’re home to some of the largest populations of chinstrap penguins anywhere on the planet, but their out of the way location means they’re rarely visited by expedition cruise ships.
Despite its location, it and the South Sandwich Islands – located roughly 430 miles southeast of South Georgia Island – are part of the British Overseas Territory. This means the island has its own government, but Britain is responsible for its defense and foreign affairs. Argentina also claims the territory, which is part of an ongoing dispute over sovereignty, which was a large reason why the Falklands War began in 1982.
The only way to get to South Georgia island is by sea
The key fact to know about how to visit South Georgia Island is that there is only one way to get there: by ship. This is typically a two-day sailing from the Falkland Islands to the Antarctic Peninsula.
South Georgia Island is effectively one giant mountain range that has erupted from the sea, with the inner island covered with glaciers and its coastline crinkled with deep fjords and bays. This accident of geography makes for a spectacular visit, but it also means that there is nowhere flat enough on the island to create a runway for planes.
This epic distance means that expedition cruises that if you want to visit South Georgia Island, itineraries are always combined with Antarctica, and almost always also include the Falkland Islands as well. This makes the trips a lot longer than traditional Antarctic Peninsula cruises, and you’ll have plenty of time to get your sea legs: see our blog about what sea days are like on a South Georgia cruise for more information.
The island’s isolation makes every visit to South Georgia Island a special one: only 15,000 people a year get to visit the island.
The best time to visit South Georgia island depends on your priorities
The season for visiting South Georgia Island runs between the end of October and March. Outside of this period, winter conditions make it too harsh to visit (not forgetting the winter sea ice that shuts the Antarctic Peninsula to everyone but a few hardy scientists).
Travellers who want to visit South Georgia Island in the early Austral summer will find the beaches packed with fur seals to flock on shore to breed. At times, there may be so many of them packing the shore line that it can be impossible to land, meaning you’ll experience them from the water in a zodiac safari. It’s sometimes possible to see battling bull elephant seals, though they do most of their fighting for mates before the start of the visitor season.
Visiting South Georgia Island later in the season (February and March) means that you’ll see plenty (and we’re talking thousands) of cute baby fur seals splashing about in the summer, who look tiny against the elephant seals who have returned to shore for their annual moult. This is also the time when you can expect to see more whales around the islandNot many ships visit South Georgia in December and January, as it’s high season on the Antarctic Peninsula, so ship operators prefer to spend more time there.
We’ve not mentioned penguins in this seasonal guide for a good reason. While Antarctic penguins stick to a strict timetable for eggs and chicks, the king penguins of South Georgia, whose vast colonies are probably the island’s greatest single draw, have a more unusual breeding habit. Pairs produce two chicks every three years on a staggered basis, laying eggs at either end of the season, with the upshot that whenever you are visiting South Georgia Island, you are guaranteed to see king penguin chicks: and in enormous numbers.
The wildlife on South Georgia island is heavily protected
A century ago, South Georgia Island was the epicentre of the Antarctic whaling industry, but today, it is one of the most protected environments on the planet. There are no permanent human residents barring a few scientists, and there is a strictly controlled fishing zone that stretches offshore for 200 miles (320 km) so that conservation interests take precedence over exploitation of natural resources.
One of the great attractions for visitors to South Georgia Island is that the wildlife is not just super-abundant but that they have no natural fear of people. This can lead to some amazing wildlife encounters, but also situations where wildlife doesn’t respect any boundaries. This has led to important guidelines for responsible wildlife watching.
When you are visiting South Georgia Island, your expedition guides will explain the dos and don’ts, but the key rule to keep in mind is to never approach closer than five metres (15 feet) to any wildlife. If wildlife approaches you, you must quietly retreat to a safe distance. Wildlife always has the right of way, and when walking on a beach, you must never put yourself between an animal and the sea, in case it wants to retreat to safety. This is especially important when there are lots of seals about – but your guides will make sure you quickly and easily get the hang of things.
Before you travel, we’ll provide detailed guidance on how to responsibly watch wildlife on your visit to South Georgia Island.
South Georgia is where Ernest Shackleton is buried
For many people a visit to South Georgia Island is the chance to connect with the life and story of one of history’s greatest polar explorers: Sir Ernest Shackleton. No one person dominates this story of South Georgia like Shackleton, and there are plenty of opportunities here to follow in his footsteps.
Shackleton’s story on South Georgia is the epic of his Endurance expedition: his failed attempt to cross Antarctica on foot that turned into one of the world’s greatest survival stories when the ship was crushed and sank in the Weddell Sea. There followed months of camping on the ice, a desperate run in open boats to Elephant Island, then the extraordinary voyage in the tiny James Caird boat over 800 miles (1300 km) to South Georgia Island to raise the alarm. After landing on the western side of the island, Shackleton and two men then walked for 36 hours across the unmapped mountains of the interior to reach safety in Stromness Harbour.
On 5 January 1922, Shackleton died in Grytviken in South Georgia Island during his final expedition to Antarctica. Visiting the grave of the man they called ‘The Boss’ is an essential experience when visiting South Georgia Island, toasting him with a dram of whisky in the old whaler’s cemetery, where he rests with his body facing forever South to Antarctica.
South Georgia has important biosecurity procedures in place
Just like Antarctica, when you travel to South Georgia Island, you’ll be instructed on the important but simple biosecurity steps you’ll take to help preserve the island’s wildlife and ecosystems – rules that are even more important today as Avian Flu spreads across the globe.
These strict biosecurity procedures for every visit to South Georgia Island include detailed checks of all clothing and bags you’ll be taking ashore so that you’re not accidentally bringing in any organic materials that could harm the environment, including invasive bugs. The expedition team on board your shop will help you through this process to make sure you’re ready to go – and local government officials in Grytviken or elsewhere will check that procedures are seamless.
In addition, before and after any excursion you’ll dip your boots in a disinfectant solution to rid them of any potential harmful microbes. If you’ve been walking near penguin rookeries, you’ll be extra pleased with this step that scrubs off any guano you might have picked up!
One reason why South Georgia Island takes its biosecurity so seriously is that historically it has seen the damage wreaked on its ecosystems by invasive species, during the period when it was a base for the Antarctic whaling industry. Rats and mice were eating the eggs of many birds, bringing certain species to the brink of extinction, but thanks to an extraordinary five-year eradication project, the island is now pest-free and its endangered birds are now flourishing again – and the local authorities aim to keep it that way. Thankfully, the biosecurity procedures on every South Georgia trip are easy to follow, so every visitor can play their part in protecting the island for future generations.
The climate on South Georgia island is wet and windy
Thanks to its location, South Georgia Island has what’s known as a polar maritime climate. This means its climate is dominated by the frigid South Ocean which envelopes it. As a result, its weather and conditions are harsh and extreme. All year round, the island tends to be very windy, and during the austral summer.
Typically, the average temperature when you visit South Georgia Island in the austral summer is around 45F (7C). While you might be lucky and have sunny wind-free days that raise the temperature considerably, the island’s unique geography with its mountains and glaciers means that freezing katabitic winds can suddenly blow down from the interior, giving the air a real nite and more. The general unpredictability of the weather around South Georgia Island is one reason why adventure activities like kayaking that are common in the Antarctic Peninsula are more restricted here.
As such, you’ll want to pack accordingly when you’re visiting South Georgia Island. High-quality windproof and waterproof clothing is a must, along with thermal base layers to keep you wrapped up. Waterproof rubber boats (‘muck boots’) are provided by the ship operators, but before you travel Swoop will provide you with a detailed packing list as well as pre-departure webinars to make sure you have everything you need to enjoy your trip in comfort.
With luck, this guide will have got you ready to consider your South Georgia trip with confidence. Follow these tips, and with a little back up from Swoop, you’ll be well prepared to make the most of your once in a lifetime trip to this spectacular island as part of a South Georgia and Antarctica expedition cruise.
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