Antarctica Local Timezones

TRAVEL ADVICE

Visa Requirements

No visas or passport are required for travel to Antarctica as no one owns the Antarctic..

Travel Health

As Antarctica has an extreme environment the cold is a serious health hazard. Visitors..

Local Currency

Antarctica is not a country and therefore has no single entity that is sovereign. It is..

Weather

The only time to visit Antarctica is during summer from November to March due to sea ice..

Local Customs

There are no permanent human residents in Antarctica although many scientists journey..

Languages

The native languages of the nations operating bases are used however English is commonly..

Transport Options

There are no airports in Antarctica capable of accepting ordinary commercial airliners...

Travel Tips

The best way to visit Antarctica is on a cruise ship where expert guides lead visitors..

Local Food

The food eaten on bases in Antarctica is mostly frozen, dried or tinned due to the..

Local Timezones

Antarctica Standard Time is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Antarctica does not operate..

Dutyfree Limits

There is no duty free shopping in Antarctica however nearly all cruise ships offer duty..

Local Timezones

Antarctica Standard Time is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Antarctica does not operate Daylight-Saving Time. Bases and stations around Antarctica tend to keep either the time relating to their home territory or the supply line that feeds them.

All the electric clocks are usually wrong due to the generators running at 60.1hertz makes all of the clocks run fast. So every couple of days, they have to go around and set them back 5 minutes or so.

Electricity in Antarctica is usually provided by diesel powered generators at each base. Recently some bases have installed windmills to generate supplementary electricity which works well as Antarctica is one of the windiest places on earth however problems have occurred when there are strong winds which damage the windmills. The generators generally run at 60.1 hertz.

Aboard ships to Antarctica electricity runs on the same system as the vessel’s country of origin. Passengers should enquire before departure about whether it is necessary to bring a transformer or adaptors. It is recommended to bring a spare set of batteries as the colder temperatures of the polar region drain batteries faster than normal.