30 Photos Of Antarctica That Show Why It’s The Coolest Place On Earth

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From incredible and unexpected landscapes, magical icebergs and powerful glaciers to vast skies, up-close wildlife encounters and a beauty so pristine it makes your eyes water, Antarctica is a land beyond compare.

But don’t just take our word for it. We’ve trawled through our trip pics and pulled together 30 photos of Antarctica that show why this incredible destination should be at the top of your bucket list, and why it’s hands down the coolest place on Earth.

It took us about three years to make the decision to travel to Antarctica, and all of three seconds to fall in love in with it.

For all its mystery, Antarctica needs no introduction. It’s the world’s fifth largest continent, the highest, driest, windiest and, not surprisingly, the coldest place on the planet.

Like many, we grew up with a sense of Antarctica shaped by documentaries and nature magazines: a vast, untouched wilderness of snow and ice; a final frontier for extreme expeditions and explorers pushing the limits of human endurance.

These days though, you don’t need to be a modern-day Shackleton to experience the wild beauty of Antarctica.

It’s still an epic journey to get there, from the cost of the cruise to the 2-day crossing of the Drake Passage. But the truth is, you don’t need much more than a sense of adventure…and plenty of base layers.

Need convincing? Here are 30 photos to inspire you.

30 Photos Of Antarctica: Looking out over Paradise Harbour towards a large island and an expedition ship in Antarctica.
Antarctica reminds you what it’s like to feel small. Our expedition ship looks like a toy boat in this spectacular panorama from the icy slope above Brown Station on the Antarctic continent.
Two Gentoo penguin chicks snuggle for warmth overlooking the bay at Petermann Island, a classic image of Antarctica.
There are penguins everywhere! Beautiful Petermann Island is home to around 3,000 breeding pairs of Gentoo penguins in season, which means lots of ridiculously cute, fuzzy penguin chicks!
A huge iceberg with a massive natural archway is just one of the icy wonders that make for amazing photos of Antarctica.
The icebergs are legendary. From slushy bays full of ‘bergy bits’ to frozen islands the size of multi-storey buildings, Antarctica’s bergs make for fantastical backdrops.
The 1915 wreck of the whaling factory ship Governoren rests on its side at Foyn Harbour in Antarctica.
You’ll see the story of Antarctica’s expeditionary and whaling past in abandoned wrecks and huts all over. Here, the 1915 wreck of the whaling ship Governoren rests in an icy cove at Foyn Harbour.
A photographer in a yellow parka kneels on the snow to capture a scene in Antarctica.
It’s a photographer’s dream. Some prefer the early season, when the penguins are first arriving and the snow is still pristine white, but whenever you visit, you’ll find the biggest challenge is putting your camera down. Then sorting through the 10,000 photos of Antarctica that you’ve taken.
Penguins make for compelling photos of Antarctica. Here a chinstrap penguin sits in front of a historic whaling boat at Half Moon Bay in Antarctica.
In fact, the opportunities for wildlife photography in Antarctica are endless.
An Antarctic fur seal rests on a rock at Mikkelson Harbour in Antarctica.
Especially with posers like this. The majority of Antarctic fur seals breed on South Georgia Island, but we encountered plenty of the pinnipeds on our zodiac cruises and shore landings around the Antarctic peninsula.
A single gentoo penguin sits on a rock overlooking water, with a beautiful panorama of snow and ice rising in the background.
In Antarctica, the serenity is real. Even when there are hundreds of penguins behind you making a loud fuss. This solitary little guy has the right idea though.
A lone penguin sits on rocks with soaring snow-covered mountains in the background.
And this one.
A zodiac cruises through slushy Paradise Bay towards an epic glacier in one of our favourite photos of Antarctica.
You will run out of adjectives and you’ll definitely feel like none of your photos of Antarctica do it justice. Few places on Earth can compare with the pristine beauty of the frozen continent.
Dozens of gentoo penguins gather on rocks at the water's edge in Cierva Cove, Antarctica.
Depending on when in the season you visit Antarctica, you’ll see dozens, maybe thousands of penguins doing what penguins do. Like waiting for another penguin to get in the water first.
Dawn turns a snow-covered mountain golden while another mountain sits in shadow in Antarctica.
Light and dark take on a whole new meaning this far south.
An old whaling boat sits abandoned on the shore at Mikkelson Harbour, surrounded by whale bones.
Remnants of Antarctica’s whaling past – boats, wood, bones – litter the shores of many bays in Antarctica, like here at Mikkelson Harbour.
Two humpback whales approach an Antarctic expedition ship, one of them spy-hopping to get a better view.
The locals can be just as curious as you. Humpback whales migrate to Antarctica over the austral summer to feed and spy hop at the humans spying on them from boats and kayaks; the best time to see them is February and March.
Seals rest on a rocky shore with sow-capped mountains rising in the background at Half Moon Bay in Antarctica.
Antarctica is packed with snow and ice, sure, but there’s so much more to its landscapes. Rocky islands, pebbly beaches, soaring mountains…and in March, the bright oranges and greens of algae and plant blooms.
An expansive Antarctic panorama of deep blue sea and white snow-capped mountains with an iceberg in the foreground.
Then there’s the blue. So many shades of blue.
A black volcanic crater edged with ice dominates the view over Telefon Bay at Deception Island in Antarctica.
At Deception Island, there are also black sand beaches, volcanic craters and ash-covered glaciers. Expect the unexpected.
A bright blue iceberg is backed by a dark and foreboding sky in one of our favourite berg photos of Antarctica.
Berg and sky watching can become an addictive pastime on an Antarctic cruise.
A crabeater seal watches from a small iceberg in Antarctica.
So can seal spotting. Crabeater seals like this one are often found lounging on floating ice. Though shy, these blubbery pinnipeds are the most populous seal species in the world.
Two chinstrap penguins waddle in unison at Half Moon Bay in Antarctica.
Watching penguins never gets old. This chinstrap duo had us wrapt as they waddled and hopped in perfect unison over the rocks at Half Moon Bay.
In many photos of Antarctica, the sea and sky become one.
The scenery is so epic, photos of Antarctica can take on a paint-by-numbers quality.
A huge iceberg shard rises into a dark sky in Antarctica.
While some of the icebergs look like set-pieces for a frozen outpost in a fantasy land.
A zodiac cruises on a bay beginning to thicken with ice as winter approaches in this image of Antarctica.
And really, there aren’t many places in the world where you get to cruise by zodiac through a giant slushy.
Cruising through narrow straits and navigating around huge icebergs are some of the thrills of an Antarctic expedition. Here, our ship prepares to pass through the Lemaire Channel, a tight squeeze between the two mountains dead ahead.
A zodiac boat cruises in front of the glacier at Paradise Bay in Antartica.
Checking out glaciers by zodiac can also get the heart racing. This beauty at Paradise Bay looks like a vast, benign ice cream cake but shortly after taking this photo, we watched as a huge shard of ice calved from its face and crashed into the water below.
A gentoo penguin chick squawks at a camera on Petermann Island in Antarctica.
Even penguins love a selfie! With few land-based predators, penguins – particularly chicks – are both curious and fearless around humans, sometimes waddling over to investigate cameras and clothes.
Juvenile male fur seals pose territorially on the black sand beach at Whaler's Bay.
These tough guys though – juvenile male fur seals at Whaler’s Bay – were more interested in jousting with each other and glaring us off their black, steamy beach.
The sun rises behind the black silhouetted rocks at the entrance to Deception Bay in Antarctica.
Dawn is definitely worth getting up for in Antarctica, especially here among the jet black rocks of volcanic Deception Island.
Two molting penguin chicks sit on the rocks at Brown Station in this image of Antarctica.
And days don’t get much better than hanging out with penguin chicks and taking in views like this.
30 Photos Of Antarctica: A gentoo penguin chick sits on a rock with white glacier and blue sky in the background.
Ready to start planning your trip to Antarctica? Here’s one last penguin pic, just in case.

Got a question? Drop us a message below. For more posts and pics on Antarctica, including the wildlife you’ll see, how to plan a trip and choosing an Antarctica cruise, head to our Antarctica page. 

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