Antarctic Centre: Immersive Christchurch Experience

Experience the wonders of Antarctica in Christchurch at the International Antarctic Center. Brave storms, meet penguins, and immerse yourself in the beauty of this icy continent.

Duration: 5 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • International Antarctic Centre - The International Antarctic Centre transports a slice of this astounding continent to Christchurch, with a range of immersive experiences that allow everyday visitors to see, touch, feel and fall in love with Antarctica.
    Brave an Antarctic storm, go off-road in a Hägglund, befriend a husky, mingle with the penguins,…
What's Included
  • Admission to the International Antarctic Center
What's Not Included
  • Excess luggage charges (where applicable)
Additional Information

The International Antarctic Centre brings a part of the awe-inspiring Antarctic right to Christchurch, offering a variety of engaging experiences which enable regular visitors to explore and adore Antarctica. Dare to endure an Antarctic tempest, adventure off-road in a Hägglund, hobnob with penguins, soak in the four-dimensional depiction of Antarctica…

Location
International Antarctic Centre
38 Orchard Road, International Antarctic Centre
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.4
(403 Ratings)
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Roam08992053293
Jun 26, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed - Thoroughly enjoyed. Spent a good couple of hours there, with a 4 year old! Storm experience and 4D movie were some of the highlights.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Christinerz143he
Jun 16, 2025
Fun, engaging, educational - This is such fun! Loads of stuff to do and experience plus the usual interesting facts and figures. Do not miss the hilarious storm room.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
295geoffreyl
Jun 9, 2025
Second Time As Good as the First - This was our second visit in five year and the experience was just as good as the first. Highlights were the huskies and Scott's hut.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Vacation02560506217
May 16, 2025
Amazing experience! - What an amazing experience. The exhilarating Hagglund drive, the storm experience, the penguins, 4D show and the huskies - difficult to pick a favourite. Have never known 2 hours to pass so quickly. Certainly a highlight of our Christchurch stay.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Genesiak2022
May 15, 2025
Slay slay slay all day - What a fab day out !! Me and my brother visited Christchurch for the week and I’m so glad we ended the trip here Loaddds to do, friendly staff , a goofy old time We went on a Wednesday so it was pretty quiet , which meant I went back to see the penguins 3x We were up to date with when each activity was starting , one member of staff went out of her way to check if we’d seen the 4D film before she started it Big shout out to Steve for the silly fun - bumpy - ride in Opal And Joe - who was sooo friendly and yapped with me for ages about dogs, guardians and culture Very slay team - thanks sm x
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Meremale60
May 9, 2025
Very Educational - It's definitely worth the visit. Learning about the history and living in Antarctica was very inspiring. The Antarctica experience room makes you take your hat off to the people who work down there. The Haggland ride, another experience of their live down there, no creature comforts in these vehicles. Worth the visit, even mores if you have children
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jcowey
Jun 14, 2025
An exciting experience of the wildest continent - Our large family (aged 2 to 66) greatly enjoyed the event. The children were very interested in the Little Blue Penguins, and spent a good part of the time watching them. The Antarctic experience on the ice was vivid, especially once the blizzard began. We all enjoyed the 3D movie, including the sudden-move chairs - and learned many new things. This is my second time, and I enjoyed it as much as the first time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Daytrip49611914107
May 16, 2025
A nice visit in Christchurch - Cute penguins and 3 wonderful Husky to finish the visit. Also, great storm experience and 4D show. It is a nice way to start or finish your day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sd2606
May 10, 2025
Interesting Antarctic Centre - Interesting Antarctic Centre It s an expensive experience for a whole family so we have put off going there for sometime until our children were aged 6 and 4 so that they could full appreciate everything there.   But once there we found that the 4 year old still wasn’t able to ride the Hagglund so we should have delayed our trip for another year or so.   It is a good set up once there, it is just the price that puts a bit of chill on things.   We felt for the price there could have been a bit more though, maybe some more animals or something. There were a lot of screens and things read rather than animals or kids to get involved in.   We wont rush back, once you have been once you know what it is all about.   Unless they introduce new live exhbits.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Coreym1426
May 14, 2025
Meh - Still an 'okay day out', but it is in a desperate need for a face lift. It is a spenny experience for what you would expect to be a flawless exhibit ... which it was 20 years ago. The Antarctic Centre has been coasting on the success from that era, mixed with the guaranteed visitors from the location to the airport, that they truly haven't put any real effort in. Signs missing, ripped off foam tape on the walls, old footage in whatever we had before HD, 4d theatre seats that haven't been wiped down in an age (you can see the water stains dripping down from the back of the seats), a penguin enclosure that is as sad as some of the backstories of the penguins that are housed there. It is a shame because the staff are lovely, the true gems in the polished tired turd that is the Antarctic Centre. Close it down for a day and send and army of cleaners and repair teams through to scrape old Velcro and tape off the walls, fix up the broken panels, refresh your tired looking barrier ropes, funky ceiling panels, etc. Then look at all the things that remind you of the cassette tape era and start to replace them - old info graphics, old looking media, old countdown clocks. Then figure out what is the next thing to add to the exhibit ... because it looks like you have run out of ideas.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $45
up to 9 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).