🇦🇶 Half Moon Island, Antarctica — Cruise Port Guide
A crescent of rock in the South Shetlands, and for many ships the first Antarctic landing after the Drake. Chinstraps nest on the crags, fur seals patrol the beach, and the Argentine base sits red against the snow.
Updated September 2026
Quick facts
Getting ashore
When to visit Half Moon Island
Ships run here only in the austral summer, roughly November to March. Daytime air sits around -2 to 3°C with wind chill well below that; December and January bring 20 hours of daylight, February and March bring the whales and better ice.
Good to know
Fur seals occupy the beach later in the season and can charge; guides reroute around them and you must follow. Exposed to swell from the north, so it is dropped from the plan more often than most South Shetland sites.
Things to do in Half Moon Island
Walk to the chinstrap colonies
The main colonies sit on the rocky crags at the far end of the crescent. It is a rough, uneven walk over scree and snow — the first proper test of the boots the ship issued you.
Photograph the wrecked wooden boat
The ribs of an old wooden whaling boat lie on the shingle near the landing, slowly going to pieces. It is one of the most photographed objects in the South Shetlands.
Watch the fur seals
By February the beach fills with young male fur seals practising being bad-tempered. Guides mark a wide route around them, and you should take it.
Visit Cámara Base
When Argentine staff are in residence they sometimes welcome visitors for a few minutes. It is not guaranteed, and depends entirely on who is there that week.
Zodiac cruise the bay
The sheltered inner bay usually holds brash ice and the odd grounded berg, with Livingston Island's glaciers filling the background.
Weather by month
Best time to visit: Nov–Mar; Feb–Mar for whales, Dec–Jan for chicks
| Month | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37° | 30° | 2" |
| Feb | 37° | 30° | 2.1" |
| Mar | 34° | 27° | 2.3" |
| Apr | 29° | 22° | 2.2" |
| May | 24° | 17° | 1.9" |
| Jun | 20° | 13° | 1.7" |
| Jul | 19° | 12° | 1.6" |
| Aug | 20° | 13° | 1.6" |
| Sep | 23° | 16° | 1.7" |
| Oct | 28° | 21° | 1.8" |
| Nov | 32° | 25° | 1.9" |
| Dec | 36° | 29° | 2" |
A little history
The island takes its name from its shape — a two-kilometre crescent curling into a sheltered bay off Livingston Island.
Cámara Base is Argentine, opened in 1953 and now used intermittently in summer. Its red buildings are the only colour on the island.
The South Shetlands were found by accident in 1819 when William Smith, blown off course rounding Cape Horn, sighted land. Sealers stripped the islands within a decade.
Because it sits north of the peninsula proper, Half Moon is often the first and last landing of a voyage — the shakedown where everyone learns the boot-washing routine and how to get out of a Zodiac.