← Antarctic Experience cruise guide
water · Antarctic Experience

Scuba Dive Beneath the Antarctic Ice: The Ultimate Blue

Descend beneath Antarctica's frozen surface into an alien underworld of translucent ice shelves, vivid orange sea stars, Weddell seals, and krill clouds — one of the rarest dive experiences on Earth.

What to expect

After a thorough polar dive briefing and dry-suit orientation the day before, you kit up in a 7mm semi-dry or dry suit and enter the 0°C water via a purpose-built entry platform. Visibility can reach 30+ metres in the crystalline Southern Ocean — below you, the underside of the sea ice glows in spectral blues and greens, while Weddell seals spiral past with balletic curiosity. The dive lasts 40–50 minutes; you surface with a perspective on life on Earth that cannot be obtained anywhere else. Post-dive hot showers and a debrief with your dive master complete the experience.

Book it with
Quark Expeditions – Diving Program
USD 1,595–USD 2,995 per person (full dive program add-on per voyage)
Book it →

Good to know

Advanced Open Water certification minimum; cold-water or dry-suit experience is strongly recommended. The dive program must be booked before embarkation and spaces are strictly limited to 8 participants per voyage. Medical questionnaire required at booking. Rental dry suits available onboard.

← Back to the full Antarctic Experience guide

⚓ Your bucket-list concierge

Doing the whole cruise?

Tell us your sailing and we'll send the bucket list for every port — the operator to call, real prices, and an honest verdict on each ship tour.

No spam. The honest plan, even when it says skip the ship’s tour.