Elephant Island Cruise Port Guide

Elephant Island is not a port where cruise ships dock or passengers disembark. Instead, your visit will be a cruising and viewing experience from onboard your ship. A cruise lecturer will provide commentary and explain points of interest as you view the island.

This uninhabited island is part of the South Shetland Islands. Its sovereignty is claimed by three nations: the United Kingdom, Chile (since 1940, as part of the Antártica Chilena province), and Argentina (since 1943, as part of Argentine Antarctica, Tierra del Fuego Province).

Elephant Island holds significant historical importance, notably as a refuge for Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance expedition. In 1914, Shackleton led 28 men to Antarctica. After their ship, the Endurance, was entrapped and crushed by ice in November 1915, the 28 men sailed three small boats to Elephant Island, arriving on April 17, 1916. From there, Shackleton and five crew members undertook an extraordinary 800-mile journey in one of the small boats to South Georgia Island, reaching it 16 days later after a perilous winter crossing without modern instruments. Despite landing on the wrong side, they traversed the mountainous, glacier-filled island to reach a whaling station. Miraculously, when Shackleton returned to Elephant Island on August 30 after several rescue attempts, all 22 men left behind were still alive. Shackleton is renowned for never losing a man in his years as an explorer. The island itself is a wet, rocky, cold, and small landmass, surrounded by glaciers, high rocky cliffs, and the sea.