If you’re considering visiting Antarctica and wondering if you should splurge for the South Georgia Island cruise, then you’ve come to the right place. On this page I will do my best to convince you that extending your Antarctica vacation to include the South Georgia Island cruise with the Falkland Islands is the right decision.
When you’ve traveled a lot of the world people inevitably ask you “where is your favorite place?” or “what was your favorite travel experience?”. Tough questions. Internal debate arises, but I usually land on the one place they’ve never even heard of: South Georgia Island.
Once you go on a South Georgia Island cruise, your life will never be the same! South Georgia Island is unarguably one of the most fascinating places on the planet. A rugged, mountainous island covered in glaciers and rocky peaks that rise out of the ocean, littered with penguins and more seals than you can shake a stick at.
It was the highlight of my cruise to Antarctica and this post will attempt to convince you to spend the extra money to add South Georgia and the Falkland Islands to your Antarctic adventure.
Be sure to read my posts about Preparing for the Journey to Antarctica and What to Expect on the Journey to Antarctica for detailed information on how to book the cruise and all sorts of practical and logistical information about cruises to Antarctica and South Georgia Island..
South Georgia Island – What You Need to Know
Where is South Georgia Island?
South Georgia Island is literally in the middle of nowhere in the South Atlantic Ocean. It’s nearly three days by boat from the nearest inhabited place (the Falkland Islands) and about another three days’ cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula.
What Exactly is South Georgia Island?
South Georgia is a medium-sized island that is owned by the United Kingdom. It’s not a country and nobody actually lives there permanently. At any given time there are 15-30 people stationed on the island, mostly conducting research at an old whaling station.
In the early 1900s it served as an important location for whaling but that was closed down a long time ago so the old whaling stations are just ghost towns today. South Georgia is home to penguins, seals, and a ton of other birds. It’s one of the world’s last remaining true wildernesses.
How to get to South Georgia Island
The South Georgia Island cruise from Ushuaia, Argentina is the only way to get there unless you are going there for work. Whether that be photography or fur seal research or something else you still have to take a boat because there are no airports on South Georgia Island.
The island is truly isolated and that’s what makes it so amazing. The cruise will be in combination with a visit to Antarctica.
South Georgia Island Weather
The weather can be pretty brutal on South Georgia. But it’s definitely warmer than Antarctica. The main concern you will have is rain and wind. It can be very windy and this can literally ruin your trip, as you can’t go ashore if it’s too windy.
Always carry a rain jacket and expect temperatures above freezing, but not warm enough where you’ll want to shed your jacket unless the sun is shining.
Isolation
The fact that the island is so isolated has allowed numerous species to thrive with little human intervention. Once the last remaining whalers left in 1965 nature took its course. The island is now home to some 7 million penguins as well as millions of fur and elephant seals. Whales have also made a return, excited that they are not hunted for their oil anymore.
Geography
South Georgia is a long and narrow island. It’s extremely mountainous and has a ton of fjords and peninsulas. The highest peak is 9,626 feet (2934m) and glaciers run off of these peaks into the sea creating beautiful sky blue water. Take away the penguins and seals and it’s still a gorgeous place.
Whaling history
Sadly, the island, for as beautiful as it is, has a dark past. It was one of the biggest players in the international whaling trade for nearly 60 years. Approximately 175,000 whales were killed at the various whaling stations on the island during that time, including the largest animal ever weighed, a giant blue whale.
Today, the main old whaling station of Grytviken has been made into an open air museum for tourists. You can walk around and see all the equipment that was used to pull the whales ashore. It’s a reminder of a past time where nature conservation was an afterthought.
Ernest Shackleton
The story of South Georgia is incomplete without knowing the history of Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton was a famous Antarctic explorer who tried to be the first man to cross Antarctica by land.
He never made it and during one of his journeys his ship sank in pack ice and he and some crew sailed 800 miles across the South Atlantic Ocean, eventually finding refuge on South Georgia until they were rescued.
A year later he died on another expedition and is buried on South Georgia. If you don’t read about the history of Shackleton before the trip you’ll learn all about him on your cruise.
South Georgia penguin species
There are really just three types of penguins you will see on South Georgia: King, Gentoo, and Macaroni. Macaronis are the most prevalent, with an estimated population of 6 million. But your cruise will focus more on the majestic king penguin, the second largest penguin species, with a population of about 1 million on the island.
You’ll also see plenty of gentoo penguins waddling around. For more information about all the species of penguin you’ll encounter on your cruise to South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and Antarctica, refer to my post on what to expect on the cruise.
Seals
Fur and elephant seals are rampant on South Georgia Island. But that wasn’t always the case. In fact, after 100 years of killing fur seals for their fur, the species was completely wiped out on the island in the early 1900s (humans really are the worst). Fur seals were thought to be extinct.
It wasn’t until a colony was discovered on a small island nearby that they were able to make a comeback. And they sure did make one hell of a comeback. There are parts of the island where you literally have to step over baby fur seals because there are so many. There are estimated to be about 2 million fur seals these days and an additional 0.5 million elephant seals.
Four Days on a South Georgia Island Cruise
Your South Georgia Island cruise will most likely spend 4 full days around South Georgia. This means you will have 8 chances to land on this magical island. I say “chances” because there is no guarantee you will be able to land.
In order to come ashore you have to get into small inflatable rafts called zodiacs. The zodiacs carry about 8-10 people each and can land on the beach. There are no docks or cruise ports on South Georgia, so your cruise ship can’t really get close to the shore.
South Georgia can get pretty windy, and if it’s windy that means the water is choppy and it’s too dangerous to bring the zodiacs ashore. Rain won’t stop you from landing. Just the wind. But be prepared to miss out on approximately half of your landings due to the wind.
Yes, it sucks. But it’s just the way it is. And just one landing on the island will make it all worth it. With four days of possibilities (2 chances per day for a total of 8 chances) you’re bound to get some good weather.
We had one day of perfect weather and the rest of the days were cloudy. Twice we were prevented from landing by heavy winds and once we couldn’t land because there were too many seals on the beach. Yes, that’s right. Too many seals!
Elsehul Bay
At the far western tip of South Georgia Island lies Elsehul Bay. It’s not the most beautiful part of the island, but it’s known for its massive colony of macaroni penguins and it will probably be your first stop on your South Georgia Island cruise. Even with 6 million macaronis on the island, there are really only two areas where they live and this is one of them.
Unfortunately for us, the weather was god-awful. It was our first day at South Georgia and everyone was super excited. This is what we paid for! But the weather gods had other plans. The wind was too high and the water too choppy.
We were loaded into the zodiacs but couldn’t land ashore due to the dangerous conditions so we had to settle for watching the little macaroni penguins swim through the water from the boat. We were so soaked from the waves crashing in the zodiac that we might as well have been swimming in there with them!
Bay of Isles
A little further west is the Bay of Isles, known for its king penguin colony. The weather had improved for us. The wind had died down and the clouds had thinned a little. Everyone was excited to finally get to set foot on South Georgia island and see the penguins up close and personal.
But alas, as in the morning, it wasn’t meant to be. But this time it wasn’t due to the weather. There were just too many fur seals on the beach. Can you believe it? The beach literally had too many seals to safely land a small boat.
These guys were just everywhere. Everyone was disappointed. But at the same time no one wanted to get bit by a seal and end the trip. Not being able to land is always a risk on your South Georgia Island cruise. We got unlucky the first day, but better days were yet to come.
Fortuna Bay
We had the most amazing morning ever at Fortuna Bay. And I mean that literally. This place is probably my favorite travel memory ever. Most of the photos in this post are from this bay. We had a beautiful blue-skied morning. It was even warm enough to go without a coat. Everything about the weather was just perfect.
No words I write can describe how beautiful this place is. Baby fur seals were scattered across the beach. I had to step over them as I walked, there were just so many. King penguins wandered the shore, usually in groups but sometimes alone. They had a confident grace with them that I’d never seen in any animal before. They were simply kings.
We walked quite a lot around the bay, observing the penguins and taking in the beautiful scenery of the mountains coming out of the sea. As we got to the top of a small hill we saw a valley full of king penguins, maybe 50,000 or so. They weren’t too closely packed, but it was still a pretty big penguin city.
We spent about four hours on land and those were some of the most thrilling and rewarding hours of my life. I hope you get a day as clear and beautiful as we did at Fortuna Bay.
Grytviken
The dark whaling history of South Georgia is evident at the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken. Here you will see sunken boats rusting away in the ocean, abandoned whale processing plants, and even a beautifully restored cathedral.
You’ll also see the chains that they used to pull whales out of the water. These very chains caught the largest mammal ever recorded on earth. It was a humbling thing to see but I’m glad that humans no longer kill whales for raw materials.
The whaling station is an open air museum, but there is also a small indoor museum where you can learn about the history of Grytviken. You can also learn about Shackleton’s journey and see a replica of his little boat he survived on. It’s tiny. I never would have made it. Lastly, there is a small gift shop and a research station, though you can’t access inside the research station.
On top of the evidence of human settlement, there are, naturally, elephant seals and king penguins wandering around Grytviken. There’s nothing like watching two elephant seals battle it out in front of a sunken whaling ship!
St. Andrew’s Bay
You might recognize St. Andrew’s Bay from National Geographic documentaries. This bay contains the largest king penguin colony in the world so for many people this is the highlight of the South Georgia Island cruise. About 500,000 beautiful king penguins call St. Andrew’s Bay home.
From atop a small hill, not a long hike from the beach, you see the colony of penguins. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in my life. They are just all standing there, shoulder to shoulder, hollering away. The photo below is the only way I can describe it to you. It was absolutely incredible.
Away from the densely populated penguin colony, you’ll find plenty of king penguins roaming around, out for walks or whatever they do. You’ll also find a solid amount of elephant seals. Here, for the first time, we saw some of the big boys.
Elephant seals can weigh up to 4000kg (8800 pounds). I don’t think I saw anyone quite that massive, but there were some big dudes at St. Andrew’s. The large males have giant snouts that they swing at their competitors as they fight.
The fights are over who gets to mate with the ladies. But our guides told us that by December all the fights for the females are already over and the biggest, most dominant males had already won. After they win they swim out to sea for the summer, leaving the ladies behind. I guess the fights we were seeing were just practice for next year!
Godthul Bay
Godthul Bay is another bay loaded with king penguins and elephant seals. If the seals at St. Andrew’s were big, these guys were bigger.
We witnessed numerous fights at this bay. The snouts on some of these guys looked like they weighed 20kg alone! We also witnessed some elephant seal mating, which can only be described as nonconsensual. It was pretty damn rape-like.
At Godthul we got to see a good number of adolescent king penguins. When king penguins are born they actually have a thick brown fur. This fur stays with them for quite a while, until they are about fully grown, at which point they start to shed the fur revealing the beautiful black, white, and yellow feathers you know.
It doesn’t come off all at once though. So there can be some pretty funny haircuts on these young penguins. My favorite was this guy with a mullet. He looked like he was ready for a NASCAR race!
Gold Harbour
For many people, Gold Harbour is the best place on the island. Some of the elephant seals here are simply massive. And another giant king penguin colony roams the shores. For us, this was Christmas morning. The crew provided everyone with a Christmas hat and the penguins found these hats amusing. One of them even tried to take mine!
You are not allowed to touch the penguins. They are slow as hell and if you wanted to you could literally just grab one and pick it up. But you can’t do that! However, there’s no law that says a penguin can’t make contact with you.
We got to experience this first hand at Gold Harbour when a young penguin – still with most of his brown fur – was curious about my gloves. He came up to me and I held out my hand. He looked at it for a while before biting down on my glove with his beak. It didn’t hurt. I felt honored!
We had an amazing Christmas morning at Good Harbour. No Christmas present could ever compare to a morning full of elephant seals and king penguins on beautiful South Georgia Island!
One Last Failed Landing
For us, seeing macaroni penguins was just not meant to be. The last stop on our South Georgia Island cruise was supposed to be another massive macaroni penguin colony. But the weather turned sour and the wind made the water too choppy to land.
So we never really got to see macaroni penguins up close. For me this was okay though. I was more interested in king penguins and elephant seals and I got to see A TON of them. No regrets here.
South Georgia Island – FAQs
Does anyone live on South Georgia Island?
No one lives permanently on South Georgia Island. At any given time there are between 15 and 30 humans living there for research purposes.
How long does it take to get to South Georgia Island?
South Georgia island is a solid 4-day sail from Ushuaia, Argentina and about 2-2.5 days from the Falkland Islands. Should anything go wrong on the island, the Falklands have the nearest hospital and emergency services.
Are there any land predators on South Georgia Island?
There are no land predators on South Georgia Island. The only animals are birds and sea mammals like seals and whales. If there were land predators, the penguins would go extinct, as they are slow as sloths on land.
Who controls South Georgia Island?
South Georgia Island and the nearby Sandwich Islands are British overseas territories. So they are officially part of Great Britain. This is possible as the islands are well north of the Antarctic Treaty latitude of 60 degrees south. All islands south of 60 degrees cannot be claimed by any individual county.
What is special about South Georgia Island?
South Georgia Island is known for being the permanent home of about 8 million penguins and zero humans. It’s the main breeding ground for king penguins, the second largest, and arguably most beautiful, species of penguin. South Georgia is also known for massive glaciers and rugged mountains.
Final Word
South Georgia Island is probably the most amazing place I’ve ever been. The entire island is beautiful. Penguins roam freely and seals rule the beaches. It’s one of the last true wild places on the planet.
It will likely be the most memorable travel experience of your life. If you are lucky enough to visit South Georgia you will be forever grateful. I know I am!
