Eight days across Antarctica's rarest landscapes
Eight days in Antarctica across two ultra luxury camps, reached by chartered Airbus from Cape Town and split between two extraordinary camps on the ice. Whichaway sits among exposed rock, freshwater lakes and glacier; Echo Base rests beneath Wolf's Fang Mountain, with heated pods, hot showers, fine dining, saunas, wellness domes and a full-time physical therapist at camp. The journey includes the Blue Rivers, the South Pole, an overnight at Dixie's Camp on the High Polar Plateau, guided ice adventures, the Ice Bar and time to experience Antarctica with unusual depth.
This is the fullest Antarctic camp journey in the collection, designed for guests who want more than a single base or a single landmark. The first days are spent at Whichaway, where heated pods, hot showers, the Compass Lounge, sauna, Polar plunge, wellness dome and full-time physical therapist make camp life feel almost improbable against the rock, lakes and glacier outside. From there, the journey reaches the Blue Rivers and the South Pole before continuing to Echo Base, a more futuristic camp beneath Wolf's Fang Mountain, with The Cosmos as its dining room, library and bar.
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Whichaway is set in one of Antarctica's rare ice-free oases, surrounded by exposed rock, freshwater lakes and glacier. Guests stay in warm private pods with en-suite bathrooms, hot showers and Wi-Fi, with the Compass Lounge, sauna, Polar plunge and wellness spaces close by.
Echo Base sits on a vast glacier beneath Wolf's Fang Mountain. Its heated pods have floor-to-ceiling windows, while The Cosmos brings together the library, dining room and bar in a space designed for long views, quiet evenings and serious comfort.
The journey goes far beyond camp. Guests hike to the Blue Rivers, fly across the ice to the South Pole, sleep at Dixie's Camp at 83° South and explore ice caves, nunataks and glacier routes with specialist guides.
8 Days • Whichaway Camp and Echo Base, Antarctica
Guests who want the most complete Antarctic camp experience: two distinct bases, the Blue Rivers, the South Pole, polar aviation, guided ice activity, fine dining, recovery, and rare access far beyond the cruise routes.
The journey includes both Whichaway Camp and Echo Base. Whichaway is set among exposed rock, freshwater lakes and glacier, with heated pods, hot showers, Wi-Fi, the Compass Lounge, sauna, Polar plunge and wellness spaces. Echo Base sits on a vast Antarctic glacier beneath Wolf’s Fang Mountain, with heated pods, floor-to-ceiling windows, en-suite bathrooms, Wi-Fi and The Cosmos, its central library, dining room and bar.
The experience begins in Cape Town with a mandatory safety briefing and polar clothing check. Guests then fly approximately five and a half hours south by chartered Airbus, crossing 4,220 kilometres before landing on the blue-ice runway at Wolf’s Fang.
Antarctic accommodation across Whichaway Camp and Echo Base, return charter flights between Cape Town and Antarctica, meals, drinks, specialist polar guiding, South Pole expedition, overnight at Dixie’s Camp, Blue Rivers hike, selected ice activities, saunas, Polar plunge where available, wellness domes, full-time physical therapist, Ice Bar, ice cinema access where timing allows, safety briefing and kit check.
Private group arrangements, preferred spirits, special dining preferences, celebration details, photography support, extended Cape Town arrangements, Southern Africa safari add-ons, private aviation assistance and bespoke pre or post-Antarctica travel.
Moderate, with activities adapted to guest ability and conditions. The South Pole journey includes long flights, high altitude on the polar plateau and an overnight at a remote field camp. Blue Rivers and glacier activities require comfort walking on ice with guides and specialist equipment.
Both camps have heated private pods with en-suite bathrooms, running water, hot showers and Wi-Fi. At Whichaway, glass conservatories face rock, lakes and glacier; at Echo, floor-to-ceiling windows frame the ice field and Wolf's Fang Mountain.
At Whichaway, the Compass Lounge brings reception, dining and sitting areas into one warm gathering space. After the Blue Rivers, glacier routes or time outside, it becomes the place for drinks, dinner, guide briefings and the quiet pleasure of warmth on the ice.
At Echo, The Cosmos houses the library, dining room and bar. Expansive windows look across the glacier, while a striking Anthony James art installation gives the room a level of design rarely found in any wilderness setting.
Each summer, meltwater forms vivid blue channels across the ice sheet. From the air they appear almost unreal; on foot they become physical, with ridged ice, running water, aquamarine light and the low sound of water moving through the continent.
The South Pole journey crosses Antarctica by specialist aircraft. Guests refuel at Dixie's Camp, continue to 90° South, visit the Geographic and Ceremonial Poles, stamp their passport and return to the plateau for the night.
Dixie's Camp is a remote field camp at 83° South, used as a refuelling and overnight point. The night is spare but extraordinary: canvas shelter, warm food, high altitude and a white horizon in every direction.
Guided days can include glacier hikes, ice climbing, abseiling, fat biking, ziplining, ice caves and nunatak climbs. Routes are selected around weather, safety and guest ability, with IFMGA-certified mountain guides leading the more technical terrain.
Adventure is matched with recovery. Both camps have saunas and dedicated wellness domes, Whichaway adds the Polar plunge, and a full-time physical therapist is stationed at camp for massages and treatments after time outside.
Meals are prepared by gourmet chefs using ingredients flown in from leading South African producers. Dining is family-style, generous and personal, with Cape wines, custom blends and preferred spirits arranged in advance for each guest.
Before or after major flight movements, guests may have time for the Ice Bar, the boutique or the ice cinema. These details give the logistics of departure and return a sense of occasion, rather than reducing them to waiting time.
The journey depends on aircraft suited to Antarctica's distance and terrain, including long-range polar aircraft and ski-equipped aircraft for remote landings. Experienced polar pilots, engineers and ground teams support each movement across the ice.
The operation is designed around strict environmental standards. Consumables are repackaged before arrival, waste is removed from Antarctica, travel is fully offset, and activity is planned to minimise impact on the continent.
The first stage at Whichaway gives Antarctica texture. The setting is not only white space: there is exposed rock, freshwater lake water, glacier, sauna heat, the Polar plunge and the walk towards the Blue Rivers. Camp comfort is not decorative here. It lets guests spend longer outside, recover properly and return to the ice with energy.
The South Pole gives the journey its central expedition. A specialist aircraft crosses the Antarctic interior, stopping at Dixie's Camp before continuing to 90° South. Fewer than 500 people reach the Pole in a year, and the overnight on the High Polar Plateau gives the day a seriousness that a simple turnaround flight could not.
Echo Base changes the final days. The pods look out across the glacier towards Wolf's Fang Mountain, and The Cosmos becomes the place to sit with a drink after ice caves, nunatak routes or time with the guides. The result is not just a longer Antarctic trip, but a more complete one.
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This is a sample Antarctic itinerary. Exact routing, aircraft, activity order and timings may change due to weather, ice conditions, aviation operations and safety guidance. Flexibility is essential, and the sequence is adjusted around the best operating windows.
Fly from Cape Town to the blue-ice runway at Wolf's Fang by chartered Airbus. After landing, transfer to Whichaway Camp and settle into your heated pod among exposed rock, glacier and freshwater lakes. The first evening is for orientation, dinner and the first strange hours of continuous Antarctic daylight.
Begin at Whichaway, with the day tailored to conditions and energy levels. Join your guides for the hike towards the Blue Rivers, crossing ice ridges and approaching channels of meltwater that glow in turquoise and deep sapphire. Picnic near the water before returning to camp for warmth, dinner and recovery.
This day is shaped around the group. Guests can try abseiling, ice climbing, a guided hike, yoga in the wellness dome or a massage with the in-camp physical therapist. In the evening, guides brief the group on the South Pole journey ahead.
Board the Basler aircraft and fly across the Antarctic interior towards the High Polar Plateau. After refuelling at Dixie's Camp, continue to the South Pole and stand at 90° South. Visit the Geographic and Ceremonial Poles, take photographs, stamp your passport and return to Dixie's Camp for the night.
Wake under canvas on the High Polar Plateau, then fly back across the continent. Instead of returning to the same base, continue to Echo Base, your second Antarctic camp. Settle into its futuristic pods, take a sauna, book a massage or sit with a drink in The Cosmos as Wolf's Fang fills the windows.
Explore the terrain around Echo with your guides. The day can include an ice cave, ice climbing, glacier travel or a nunatak route chosen around the weather. The camp's location gives this stage a different visual language: sharper rock, open glacier and a horizon with almost no sign of human presence.
Take on a guided hike or climb led by certified high-mountain guides. The route may follow ridges, rock spires or a nunatak rising through the ice cap, with views across one of the least altered landscapes on Earth. Return to Echo for a final dinner in the interior.
Return to the blue-ice runway for the flight north. Depending on departure timing, there may be time to visit the Ice Bar, browse the boutique or watch a film in the ice cinema before boarding. Fly back to Cape Town after a journey that has crossed two camps, blue rivers, the polar plateau and 90° South.
Fly from Cape Town to the blue-ice runway at Wolf's Fang by chartered Airbus. After landing, transfer to Whichaway Camp and settle into your heated pod among exposed rock, glacier and freshwater lakes. The first evening is for orientation, dinner and the first strange hours of continuous Antarctic daylight.
Begin at Whichaway, with the day tailored to conditions and energy levels. Join your guides for the hike towards the Blue Rivers, crossing ice ridges and approaching channels of meltwater that glow in turquoise and deep sapphire. Picnic near the water before returning to camp for warmth, dinner and recovery.
This day is shaped around the group. Guests can try abseiling, ice climbing, a guided hike, yoga in the wellness dome or a massage with the in-camp physical therapist. In the evening, guides brief the group on the South Pole journey ahead.
Board the Basler aircraft and fly across the Antarctic interior towards the High Polar Plateau. After refuelling at Dixie's Camp, continue to the South Pole and stand at 90° South. Visit the Geographic and Ceremonial Poles, take photographs, stamp your passport and return to Dixie's Camp for the night.
Wake under canvas on the High Polar Plateau, then fly back across the continent. Instead of returning to the same base, continue to Echo Base, your second Antarctic camp. Settle into its futuristic pods, take a sauna, book a massage or sit with a drink in The Cosmos as Wolf's Fang fills the windows.
Explore the terrain around Echo with your guides. The day can include an ice cave, ice climbing, glacier travel or a nunatak route chosen around the weather. The camp's location gives this stage a different visual language: sharper rock, open glacier and a horizon with almost no sign of human presence.
Take on a guided hike or climb led by certified high-mountain guides. The route may follow ridges, rock spires or a nunatak rising through the ice cap, with views across one of the least altered landscapes on Earth. Return to Echo for a final dinner in the interior.
Return to the blue-ice runway for the flight north. Depending on departure timing, there may be time to visit the Ice Bar, browse the boutique or watch a film in the ice cinema before boarding. Fly back to Cape Town after a journey that has crossed two camps, blue rivers, the polar plateau and 90° South.
Fly from Cape Town to the blue-ice runway at Wolf's Fang by chartered Airbus. After landing, transfer to Whichaway Camp and settle into your heated pod among exposed rock, glacier and freshwater lakes. The first evening is for orientation, dinner and the first strange hours of continuous Antarctic daylight.
Begin at Whichaway, with the day tailored to conditions and energy levels. Join your guides for the hike towards the Blue Rivers, crossing ice ridges and approaching channels of meltwater that glow in turquoise and deep sapphire. Picnic near the water before returning to camp for warmth, dinner and recovery.
This day is shaped around the group. Guests can try abseiling, ice climbing, a guided hike, yoga in the wellness dome or a massage with the in-camp physical therapist. In the evening, guides brief the group on the South Pole journey ahead.
Board the Basler aircraft and fly across the Antarctic interior towards the High Polar Plateau. After refuelling at Dixie's Camp, continue to the South Pole and stand at 90° South. Visit the Geographic and Ceremonial Poles, take photographs, stamp your passport and return to Dixie's Camp for the night.
Wake under canvas on the High Polar Plateau, then fly back across the continent. Instead of returning to the same base, continue to Echo Base, your second Antarctic camp. Settle into its futuristic pods, take a sauna, book a massage or sit with a drink in The Cosmos as Wolf's Fang fills the windows.
Explore the terrain around Echo with your guides. The day can include an ice cave, ice climbing, glacier travel or a nunatak route chosen around the weather. The camp's location gives this stage a different visual language: sharper rock, open glacier and a horizon with almost no sign of human presence.
Take on a guided hike or climb led by certified high-mountain guides. The route may follow ridges, rock spires or a nunatak rising through the ice cap, with views across one of the least altered landscapes on Earth. Return to Echo for a final dinner in the interior.
Return to the blue-ice runway for the flight north. Depending on departure timing, there may be time to visit the Ice Bar, browse the boutique or watch a film in the ice cinema before boarding. Fly back to Cape Town after a journey that has crossed two camps, blue rivers, the polar plateau and 90° South.
Fly from Cape Town to the blue-ice runway at Wolf's Fang by chartered Airbus. After landing, transfer to Whichaway Camp and settle into your heated pod among exposed rock, glacier and freshwater lakes. The first evening is for orientation, dinner and the first strange hours of continuous Antarctic daylight.
Begin at Whichaway, with the day tailored to conditions and energy levels. Join your guides for the hike towards the Blue Rivers, crossing ice ridges and approaching channels of meltwater that glow in turquoise and deep sapphire. Picnic near the water before returning to camp for warmth, dinner and recovery.
This day is shaped around the group. Guests can try abseiling, ice climbing, a guided hike, yoga in the wellness dome or a massage with the in-camp physical therapist. In the evening, guides brief the group on the South Pole journey ahead.
Board the Basler aircraft and fly across the Antarctic interior towards the High Polar Plateau. After refuelling at Dixie's Camp, continue to the South Pole and stand at 90° South. Visit the Geographic and Ceremonial Poles, take photographs, stamp your passport and return to Dixie's Camp for the night.
Wake under canvas on the High Polar Plateau, then fly back across the continent. Instead of returning to the same base, continue to Echo Base, your second Antarctic camp. Settle into its futuristic pods, take a sauna, book a massage or sit with a drink in The Cosmos as Wolf's Fang fills the windows.
Explore the terrain around Echo with your guides. The day can include an ice cave, ice climbing, glacier travel or a nunatak route chosen around the weather. The camp's location gives this stage a different visual language: sharper rock, open glacier and a horizon with almost no sign of human presence.
Take on a guided hike or climb led by certified high-mountain guides. The route may follow ridges, rock spires or a nunatak rising through the ice cap, with views across one of the least altered landscapes on Earth. Return to Echo for a final dinner in the interior.
Return to the blue-ice runway for the flight north. Depending on departure timing, there may be time to visit the Ice Bar, browse the boutique or watch a film in the ice cinema before boarding. Fly back to Cape Town after a journey that has crossed two camps, blue rivers, the polar plateau and 90° South.
Fly from Cape Town to the blue-ice runway at Wolf's Fang by chartered Airbus. After landing, transfer to Whichaway Camp and settle into your heated pod among exposed rock, glacier and freshwater lakes. The first evening is for orientation, dinner and the first strange hours of continuous Antarctic daylight.
Begin at Whichaway, with the day tailored to conditions and energy levels. Join your guides for the hike towards the Blue Rivers, crossing ice ridges and approaching channels of meltwater that glow in turquoise and deep sapphire. Picnic near the water before returning to camp for warmth, dinner and recovery.
This day is shaped around the group. Guests can try abseiling, ice climbing, a guided hike, yoga in the wellness dome or a massage with the in-camp physical therapist. In the evening, guides brief the group on the South Pole journey ahead.
Board the Basler aircraft and fly across the Antarctic interior towards the High Polar Plateau. After refuelling at Dixie's Camp, continue to the South Pole and stand at 90° South. Visit the Geographic and Ceremonial Poles, take photographs, stamp your passport and return to Dixie's Camp for the night.
Wake under canvas on the High Polar Plateau, then fly back across the continent. Instead of returning to the same base, continue to Echo Base, your second Antarctic camp. Settle into its futuristic pods, take a sauna, book a massage or sit with a drink in The Cosmos as Wolf's Fang fills the windows.
Explore the terrain around Echo with your guides. The day can include an ice cave, ice climbing, glacier travel or a nunatak route chosen around the weather. The camp's location gives this stage a different visual language: sharper rock, open glacier and a horizon with almost no sign of human presence.
Take on a guided hike or climb led by certified high-mountain guides. The route may follow ridges, rock spires or a nunatak rising through the ice cap, with views across one of the least altered landscapes on Earth. Return to Echo for a final dinner in the interior.
Return to the blue-ice runway for the flight north. Depending on departure timing, there may be time to visit the Ice Bar, browse the boutique or watch a film in the ice cinema before boarding. Fly back to Cape Town after a journey that has crossed two camps, blue rivers, the polar plateau and 90° South.
Antarctica is often imagined as a single white emptiness. The Long Stay shows how wrong that is. Whichaway reveals an ice-free oasis of rock, lake and glacier. Echo Base reveals a more severe world of white plateau, dark mountain and architecture that looks built for another planet.
The Blue Rivers add something stranger still. In summer, meltwater runs through the ice in channels of blue so vivid they appear almost unreal until you hear the water moving. The South Pole offers the opposite feeling: a fixed coordinate, 90° South, reached by very few people each year and still carrying the weight of the great polar journeys.
The reason to stay longer is not only to add more activities. It is to let the continent become specific. After eight days, Antarctica is no longer just scale and cold. It is the warmth of The Cosmos after a glacier route, the silence outside a pod, the sound of water in the Blue Rivers, the emptiness around Dixie's Camp and the knowledge that you have crossed parts of the planet most people will only ever see from far above.
Starting from USD 110,500 per person
Select your preferred dates and number of guests to check availability. Our team will confirm camp availability, flight planning, pre-departure requirements and the final itinerary ahead of travel.
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English is used throughout the experience. The journey operates from Cape Town, South Africa, where the local currency is the South African rand.
Cape Town operates on South Africa Standard Time, UTC+2. Antarctica has no single official time zone, and operational timing is managed according to camp and aviation schedules.
The journey operates during the Antarctic summer, when continuous daylight and comparatively milder conditions allow camp and aviation operations. The Blue Rivers are a summer phenomenon formed by glacial meltwater across the ice.
Visa requirements depend on nationality and the route into South Africa. Antarctica itself has no standard tourist visa process, but guests must comply with operator, aviation, insurance and pre-departure documentation requirements.
The experience begins in Cape Town with a mandatory safety briefing and polar clothing check. Guests then board a chartered Airbus flight to Antarctica, landing on the blue-ice runway at Wolf's Fang before transferring to camp.
Technical polar clothing is required, and guest kit is checked before departure. Expect insulated layers, expedition outerwear, gloves, hats, eye protection, specialist boots and practical clothing for camp.
Weather controls the sequence of the journey. Flights to the South Pole, camp transfers and daily activities may shift to protect safety and maximise the chance of completing the major experiences.
Antarctica is remote, cold, windy and operationally complex. The journey is supported by specialist guides, medical staff, polar pilots, satellite communications, tracking systems, search and rescue procedures and evacuation capability back to Cape Town if required.
A selection of other experiences in Antarctica, chosen with the same care as everything else on this platform.
Discover Experiences
A seven-night private buyout of Whichaway Camp, reserved exclusively for up to 12 guests. Set among exposed rock, freshwater lakes and glacier, the camp brings heated polar pods, hot showers, fine dining, sauna, Polar plunge, a wellness dome and a full-time physical therapist into one of the least accessible places on Earth. In the December to January window, the week can include the South Pole, reached by fewer than 500 people a year, alongside Emperor penguins, glacier hikes, the blue rivers and ice caves.
Six nights at Whichaway Camp, reached by a chartered Airbus from Cape Town to the Antarctic interior. The journey brings together two encounters almost no traveller will ever experience: the South Pole, visited by fewer than 500 people a year, and an Emperor penguin colony gathered on the sea ice. Between them are private polar pods with hot showers, fine dining, a sauna, Polar plunge, daily treatment with a full-time physical therapist, glacier exploration and an overnight at Dixie's Camp on the High Polar Plateau.
Seven nights aboard the 30-guest expedition yacht Aqua Lares, privately chartered through Svalbard - glacier fjords, pack ice, walrus shores, bird cliffs and midnight sun, with three Owner's Suites, a sauna and indoor and outdoor Jacuzzis on board.
