Deception Island, Antarctica

Deception Island is an island in South Shetland off the Antarctic Peninsula, which has one of the safest harbours in Antarctica. A recently active volcano in 1967 and 1969 caused serious damage to the local scientific stations. The only current research bases are run by Argentina and Spain.

Over half the island is covered in glaciers; its centre is a huge flooded caldera which forms a large bay called Port Foster. Attractions include swimming at Pendulum Cove, giant icebergs, penguins, seals, whales, pack ice, sea birds and more.

Things to see and do

* Chinstrap Penguin Rookeries
* Swimming at Pendulum Cove
* Guided hikes to old whaling station at Whaler's Cove
* Zodiac excursions & Sea Kayaking
* Whale watching

General Information

Cruise Season - Nov - April
Currency - British Pound (BGP)
Language - English
Land Area - 98.5km²
Electricity - 2 vertical square pins and one perpendicular below British style
Time - GMT minus three hours
International Country Telephone Code - +44

Port Location - Departure for cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula is from the port of Ushuaia, Argentina. Visitors to Deception island land at Whalers Bay (Conservation Strategy available here), Pendulum Cove, Baily Head and Telefon Bay.

Transport Links - There are daily Aerolineas Argentinas and LAN flights from Buenos Aires. LAN Chile, through its LAN Express services, flies daily from Santiago de Chile, stopping over in Puerto Montt and Punta Arenas.

Buses from/to all destinations (apart from Puerto Natales) all stop at Rio Gallegos. It can be cheaper to just buy a ticket to Rio Gallegos and purchase an onward ticket from there. The ride to Rio Gallegos involves crossing into Chile and takes around 12 hours.