Antarctica > 🇬🇸South Georgia
Should You Hire a Car in South Georgia? This can be broken down into two similar questions - do you need a car in South Georgia (in other words, will your holiday be ruined without one), and is it worth hiring a car in South Georgia - i.e. is a car better value than using public transport? We'll weigh up both questions and give you a response generated by Chat GPT, together with our own curated opinion before finally giving a yes or no verdict at the end.
Should you rent a car in South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands?
❌ Absolutely not — and you can’t anyway.
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (SGSSI) are some of the remotest, wildest, and least inhabited places on Earth 🌍❄️. There are no towns, no roads, no rental cars, no taxis, no buses, and no independent travel infrastructure of any kind.
The only people who live there are a handful of rotating scientists and station staff at King Edward Point — and they get around on foot, boat, or snowmobile, not cars.
🧭 How you actually get around
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You arrive by ship — usually an expedition cruise 🛳️.
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Landings use zodiacs (small inflatable boats) 🚤.
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Movement onshore is on foot across beaches, tussock, or snow 🥾.
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Some routes are restricted to protect wildlife (fur seals, elephant seals, penguin colonies).
There is no practical or permitted way for a visitor to drive anything with wheels.
🐧 Why you visit South Georgia
It’s not for transport — it’s for nature.
Most travellers come for:
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The massive king penguin rookeries 🐧🐧🐧
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Shackleton history at Grytviken ⚓
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Whaling heritage sites
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Dramatic fjords, glaciers and mountains ⛰️
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Wildlife photography opportunities 🐋📸
All of these are reached by guided shore excursions, not independent travel.
❄️ The South Sandwich Islands
These volcanic islands are even more inaccessible, uninhabited, and rarely visited.
Visits usually involve ship-only viewing, as landings are uncommon due to:
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Extreme weather
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Steep volcanic terrain
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Protected status
Again: no roads, no settlements, no possibility of driving.
Verdict: Should you rent a car in South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands?
👉 ❌ No — there are no cars and no roads.
You explore entirely by ship and on foot.
It’s one of the purest wilderness destinations on Earth
