We sailed to Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia Island on Oceanwide Expeditions Plancius Jan 19 to Feb 6, 2026 (19 days). It is summertime in the southern hemisphere, and the weather and wind can vary greatly. We did not spend any extra time in Buenos Aires where it is quite warm, so we did not need to pack any warm weather clothing. We focused on casual cool weather clothing and layers that we could hand wash as needed. As usual, we packed a lot of Merino wool, as I wear Merino about 90% of the time routinely, and Steve wears quite a lot of Merino also. My complete packing list is posted at the bottom of this article.
We each packed in a 22″ Travelrpo Maxlite 5 rollaboard carry on. We each also carried a Cotopaxi Allpa backpack, one was a 20 liter and one was a 28 liter. We flew in the Comfort Plus cabin on Delta, and the bags fit perfectly in the overhead bins and under our seats. We flew in the economy cabin on our Aerolineas Argentinas flights and we checked our carry ons for this flight, as we were over the weight limits. As it turned out, no one had their bags weighed and we could have carried ours on also, but it all worked out. Our bags weighed about 25 pounds each, and our backpacks weighed about 12 and 17 pounds (I carry a laptop). We checked them on the way home, as is our usual routine.
You will need a heavy waterproof parka for this trip. Many companies provide the parkas, but Oceanwide Expeditions does not. We purchased our parkas from Lands End and planned to carry them on the airplane, as they are heavy. I left mine in the back seat of my car in the airport parking lot (!), so I had to rent one when we arrived in Ushuaia. We used the company OE recommended. It was easy, cost $90, we picked it up the day before we embarked the ship, and left it on the ship as instructed. In retrospect, we would highly recommend renting the parkas instead of bringing them with you. They get quite dirty and smelly on the Zodiacs, and it was nice not to have to pack my smelly parka home with me, as Steve did, lol.
The ship was a 100 passenger expedition ship, so no need for anything fancy at all. This is definitely not a luxury cruise. There is no need to change clothes for dinner. Attire around the ship was super casual with most folks wearing long sleeved tops, sweaters, jackets or vests, and casual Eddie Bauer or Columbia type hiking pants, leggings, or joggers. I saw two ladies in corduroy pants, and I considered those but opted not to take them, as my Eddie Bauer pants were more lightweight. Everyone wore the same two or three outfits around the ship each day. Most things we took were Eddie Bauer, Columbia, WoolX, Wool&, Unbound Merino, or Lands End.
The weather was quite sunny and warm in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island, with a high of 58 deg F on two days, and around 50 F on several others. The weather and wind are highly variable, so definitely do not expect this. Riding on the Zodiacs was very windy and downright cold on several days. You are required to wear waterproof pants, coat, and boots on all Zodiac rides. The waterproof parkas are very warm and heavy, and we found ourselves wishing we had packed a lightweight waterproof raincoat to wear over our puffer coats on many days. Once we got to shore and started walking around or hiking, we were quite warm and had to attempt to stuff our parkas in our backpack. Hint: this is not possible! So we ended up carrying them around. A puffer and a lightweight raincoat together would have been ideal.
As far as footwear, warm knee high Muckboots are provided by OE, and you will wear these for every landing, so no need for any special boots or hiking shoes for this trip. They recommend you wear closed toe shoes with good traction around the ship as the outside decks can be slippery. Ask Steve how he knows this…don’t worry, he wasn’t hurt. Steve packed a pair of Columbia brand low top hiking shoes and a pair of Birkenstock Zermatt fleece lined slippers. He wore the Columbia shoes on the airplane and both equally around the ship. I packed a pair of Hunter original low top rain boots and wore these on the airplane. I expected to wear them around the ship, but rarely did. I wore my Birkenstock Boston clogs around the ship and they were perfect for me. I have finicky feet and need comfort. I never felt like I needed anything else. We saw some people in hiking boots but they may have ben traveling to Patagonia afterwards. You definitely do not need those for this trip.
For the Zodiac rides and shore landings, you will see recommendations for a base layer and a mid layer to wear under your waterproofs. I wore WoolX Stella leggings for my bottom layer and a WoolX turtleneck for my top, followed by my Viking Windigo brand waterproof pants from Amazon and my waterproof parka. I was plenty warm on the bottom without a base layer and mid layer. The waterproof pants trap the heat and don’t really breathe, so I didn’t need another layer. The one day I decided to wear a base and mid layer on the bottom, I was way too hot on shore and was sweaty when we got back. Your own cold tolerance will determine what is comfortable for you, but I was glad I had both layers available. I did often wear either my WoolX Zoey hoodie or my lightweight Lands End puffer under my parka, as a layer to have when taking off the parka.
Steve used a similar strategy, with WoolX long johns and lightweight EB pants, or just fleece lined EB pants on the bottom, and a merino wool tee and hoodie on the top, plus his waterproofs. Since our small ship was under 100 passengers, we had the fortunate pleasure of twice per day Zodiac landings. If you have a similar schedule, you will need two sets of layers to wear under your waterproofs. In the event you get hot and sweaty, or splashed down your neck on the Zodiac (speaking from experience), you will have dry clothes for the afternoon landing. We also took two warm hats each, and warm buffs for wind protection. I wore a ball cap for the sun visor as I have super sensitive eyes. We also took waterproof convertible mittens and decided these were the absolute stars of the entire trip. They had magnets to hold them when exposing your fingers to take photos, and they were so comfortable, I rarely took them off. We took lightweight merino gloves as well. One of the best tips I can give you is to make sure you don’t trap your parka hood in your life vest when putting it on. The vests are quite snug. I got pretty wet on a Zodiac when I couldn’t access my hood to put it on, so I only made that mistake once.
Do not forget the sunscreen. The sun reflecting off the water and the snow is quite bright, and you will definitely need sunscreen and sunglasses. We actually forgot to apply it on our first outing and came back a little sunburnt, so we did not make that mistake again. You might also want a waterproof backpack or bag to take on the Zodiacs, especially if you have expensive camera equipment. We only used our iPhones, but often carried one of our backpacks or our dry bag for miscellaneous items such as water bottles, extra gloves, etc., or a place to put hats and coats. Speaking of phones, definitely use a lanyard for your phone. The Zodiacs are bumpy, and you don’t want to drop your phone over the edge of the Zodiac or the ship.
As far as miscellaneous items, we always take magnetic hooks on cruises, and we especially needed them this time. They proved invaluable for holding our curtains to the wall each night. As the ship would pitch and roll, the curtains would swing out or swing side to side and let the sunlight in when we were attempting to sleep. Every. 30. Seconds. Good luck sleeping on your side as you’re rolling back and forth. Some people found this soothing. I simply did not, but it was definitely a first world problem. We also took carabiner clips to clip our gloves onto our coats. We ended up using them to clip the curtains closed at night. Also definitely take a swimsuit for the polar plunge. Our ship did the polar plunge from the shore instead of jumping off the ship, so we also took lightweight water shoes to protect our feet from the rocky beach. I ended up chickening out, but Steve did it. He said the water was super cold, and he was only under for a few seconds, but when he got out it didn’t feel as cold as he expected. I think he was just glad to be out of the cold water so he didn’t notice the cold air!
Finally, be sure to pack a small air freshener. We had to keep our parkas and our boots in our cabins on the Plancius, as it’s such a small ship and there is not enough room in the boot room. Even though you wash your boots when returning to the ship, the smell of penguin guano in the summertime tends to permeate your parka and the smell was a bit overpowering on a couple of days. We had to prop our door open and get an air freshener from our cabin steward.
A note about motion sickness
The Drake Passage is notorious for a rough ride, but we had rough seas from Ushuaia to the Falklands, from the Falklands to South Georgia Island, and from SGI to the peninsula. Basically, more rough seas than not for the entire trip. You will definitely want to talk to your doctor about meds or other options for motion sickness, but we packed Scopolamine patches, meclizine, and Zofran after talking to ours. (There were Scopolamine patches available on board.) The Scop patches were very effective for Steve, but they gave me a terribly dry mouth and I took mine off after three days and never used any more. We saw a few folks wearing the wristbands, and there are several different kinds of those available. We also read recommendations to chew ginger gum or ginger candy, but we did not need this so didn’t try it. YMMV.
A note about meds
I am in no way giving medical advice, but I’m an RN, so tend to pack extra meds when we travel, especially to remote places or for longer trips. Yes, you can generally get what you need wherever you go around the world, but my philosophy is that when you need it, you need it now, and meds are a simple thing to pack that don’t take up much room. You will never convince me otherwise. This was a very remote trip, and while there was an amazing doctor on board (we loved eating dinner with Dr Laura and her dad!), the ship did not have a helipad, and the only way to get help in the event of a true emergency was to turn the ship around and head back to Ushuaia, which would have taken three days minimum. I know my body and I know what I need, so I packed antibiotics in case of a respiratory illness, prednisone for my chronic back issue, Flexeril (muscle relaxer), and Paxlovid. I talked to my doctor about all of this and I have also carried these on the past two trips we have taken to Egypt and remote places in Africa. I have a chronic pain condition, so I always carry Tramadol. I put it, as well as all my meds, into a small zip lock pill bag. I peel the label from the bottle and put it on the bag. Depending on our destination, I also carry a letter from my doctor stating my need for that particular medication, as it is banned in some countries. Always check the rules and regulations for your destination for any meds you plan to take.
Notes about the packing list
I feel like I packed pretty well for this trip overall. I was glad I had two sets of base layers for the Zodiacs and would highly recommend that. I did also wear the leggings around the ship a time or two. I could have omitted the black Wool& Summit pants. While I did wear them, I didn’t really need them with the Brynn pants. I also did not need the two Unbound Merino tee shirts. One was enough, as I tended to wear turtlenecks or sweaters around the ship. I was also glad to have the two WoolX jackets, as I wore the teal hoodie on the Zodiacs, and the black Finley around the ship many times. I really love the inside pockets on those two jackets. The only other thing we really wished we had packed was a lightweight waterproof rain coat to wear in place of our heavy parkas at times.
Because we do not check our bags when we travel to our destination, I decant my liquids into smaller containers. I like contact lens cases and lip gloss tubes for this. Had I taken makeup, my foundation and concealer would have gone in a contact case. I purchased my Cetaphil in a travel size container and refill it every trip. I pack the small toothpaste tubes we get from our dentist twice per year. I even decant my solid deodorant into a smaller container. Those big containers are mostly empty and take up a lot of needless room in my toiletry bag. Read these articles if you would like to learn more about how to pack in a carry on, or how to decrease your liquids and containers for carry on travel.
I pack an airplane pouch for long haul flights. I take it out and put it in the seatback pocket so I have everything I need without having to dig through my backpack. It’s a plastic zipper pouch that can be cleaned with a Clorox wipe. The Loop earplugs are invaluable to me. They are more comfortable than regular ear plugs, and they deaden just enough noise to help me sleep on an overnight flight. We also wear them for concerts to protect our hearing. (I also tend to take a Benadryl to help me sleep.) We love these collapsable coffee cups when we travel. We used them every day to bring coffee back to our room. We ordered our custom Antarctica flag from Etsy for about $20. Many choices available. Lots of people borrowed it for photos.
The Packing List
Summary
We hope you find these tips and advice helpful. We did a ton of research and found a lot of good advice before we went, and I have tried to share a few things we did not find in our research. Have you been to Antarctica on an expedition ship? How did you pack? Please let us know your strategy. We love learning from all of you!
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