When to go to South Shetland Islands

Tailor-made holidays

Flexible, custom-made holidays to Latin America created to match your exact requirements: our tailor-made itineraries are as unique as the clients for whom they are designed.

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Late October - November

The snow-blanketed fields and glacial islands are pristine and untouched at the beginning of the season. Chinstrap, gentoo, macaroni and Adélie penguins along with many other species of sea bird begin courting and building their nests. Elephant and fur seals also court and carve out their territories.

0°C Average max daytime temperature

-6°C Average min nighttime temperature

10 days per season rainfall

None humidity

Chinstrap Penguin

December - January

Temperatures are at their warmest in January, reaching 1.5°C. Daylight hours are endless, with the sun never setting around the summer solstice in December. Chinstrap, gentoo, macaroni and Adélie penguin chicks begin to hatch and elephant, fur, leopard and crab-eater seal pups are born.

3°C Average max daytime temperature

-2°C Average min nighttime temperature

11 days per season rainfall

None humidity

Crab Eater Seal

February and March

Daylight hours are very long and temperatures hover around zero. These are the best months to spot humpback, minke and orca (killer) whales offshore. Chinstrap, gentoo, macaroni and Adélie penguin chicks begin to fledge. Green algae blooms across the sparkling snowfields.

1°C Average max daytime temperature

-4°C Average min nighttime temperature

10 days per season rainfall

None humidity

Orca Antarctica

April - September

This is off season- we do not operate expeditions as days are short and dark during the winter.

-5°C Average max daytime temperature

-13°C Average min nighttime temperature

10 days per season rainfall

None humidity

Deception Island

Papagaio

Your edit for Latin American inspiration

Our exciting range of articles on Latin America explore everything from iconic destinations and lesser-known cultural gems to delicious traditional recipes. You’ll also find exclusive travel tips, first-hand client reviews and the chance to get your personal questions answered by our travel experts.

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Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Chris
    Chris Rendell-Dunn - Travel Expert

    Anglo-Peruvian Chris grew up in Lima and spent much of his adult life in between London and Cusco as a tour leader, before settling permanently in our London-based Tailor-made and Group Tours sales team.

  • Maggie
    Maggie Wilson - Travel Expert

    Maggie visited Latin America on her first backpacking trip when she was 19. Since then, she has taken every opportunity to travel, and has managed to explore a lot of the region in subsequent trips.

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Paul Winrow Giffin
    Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

    After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

  • Hannah
    Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

    Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

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