What is an Antarctica Fly Cruise? Four Essentials to Know

It took us only two hours to fly from Chile’s Punta Arenas to Antarctica’s King George Island, where we joined our Antarctica cruise. A mere 120 minutes to travel from South America to the most remote place on Earth.

That ease of transport alone persuaded us to choose the Antarctica Fly Cruise voyage on Silversea’s Silver Endeavour instead of flying to Argentina’s Ushuaia and spending two days each way sailing across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic peninsula.

The Antarctica Fly Cruise voyage is still a relatively unknown option, one that offers an efficient experience that’s also full of wonder and awe. “Flying into Antarctica’s St. George Island was among my top experiences ever in aviation,” said Teijo Niemela, editor of CruiseBusiness.com, who’s also an aviation buff. “It’s a rite of passage that few travelers have ever done. And you are immediately thrust into the Antarctic experience once you arrive.”  

Faster than flying from New York to Miami, Antarctica Fly Cruise features a private jet charter, only for Silversea guests, that includes warm, Chilean service, one of the most delicious, home-cooked and regional meals we’ve ever eaten on an airplane, and spacious (domestic) first-class seating. And there is, Niemela says, “a magnificent arrival, where you descend over ice- and snow-covered mountain ranges onto the gravel tarmac of King George Island, at the only airport in Antarctica.”

What do you need to know about an Antarctica Fly Cruise? Here are our essential impressions.

The flight

You board one of three Antarctic Airways (DAP) plane models – BAe 146-200, Avro RJ 85 or RJ 100 – at Chile’s airport in Punta Arenas; your luggage is seamlessly loaded onboard, and Silversea’s outdoor gear and garb, which you’ve ordered in advance and sized the night before, is brought onboard and delivered to your seat. You take a minimal carry-on with you.

About 30 minutes before landing on King George Island, flight attendants deliver parkas, landing pants (which will keep you dry throughout the week of excursions) and rubber boots.

The seating is a spacious two-three configuration with extra legroom. And, as we’ve described in this story about Antarctica’s Fly Cruise, the Chilean flight crew’s hospitality onboard was superb. And we loved our meal of Chilean comfort food – a nourishing beef and vegetable stew.

This is a bit unusual but also very cool: Because you’re landing on the tarmac of an Antarctic airfield, you need to be dressed in your outdoor clothing.

The landing

The landing is powerful. As you descend, views of craggy ice and snow-covered mountains appear, and you know you’re somewhere that’s the kind of different you’ve never experienced. And you then land on an island in one of the most remote places on Earth. You feel a bit like an adventurer.

“Over four decades of traveling, no experience has ever come close to the awe-inspiring and humbling Antarctica Fly Cruise,” says travel journalist Chris Dwyer, who experienced the itinerary in winter 2025. “Leaving behind the green expanse of Patagonia, you really get a sense of drama as Antarctica nears, especially as icebergs begin to dot the seas below.

“The final descent genuinely brought tears to our eyes as the planet’s least-visited destination revealed itself in all its otherworldly glory.”

First impressions of Antarctica

You walk down some steps and off the plane already wearing your Antarctica parka and rubber boots and landing pants (which will keep you dry throughout the cruise as you enter and exit Zodiacs).

after a short transfer by minibus, you arrive at the shore. Silversea Endeavour looms magnificently at anchor in the bay at Grange Bay. You climb onto a Zodiac and sail a short (and smooth) distance to Silver Endeavour. The ship is designed for just this type of itinerary, so there’s an easy-to-enter gangway that leads into the heated mudrooms where you remove your outerwear and they’re cleaned and sanitized before your butler returns them to your suite.

Your expedition has begun.

Returning to Patagonia

Essentially, the return to Patagonia, where you’ll connect to your homeward flight from Santiago, is the same experience in reverse; this time, you board the plane wearing, for the last time, your Antarctica outerwear, and shuck it off in flight.

Catch a glimpse of the takeoff, just as magical as the landing on Antarctica.