The best time to visit Elephant Island – or anywhere in Antarctica – is during the summer months in January and February. This is when the sea ice melts enough to allow access to polar ships. Generally, you can’t travel to Elephant Island in winter as the weather conditions are too treacherous to travel to the island safely. Even in the hottest months, most of the island is still covered in snow.If you’re travelling to Elephant Island for wildlife, the best time to go depends on what you’d like to see. Southern elephant seals frequent the shores of the island and you have a good chance of seeing large numbers of them in November – the end of the breeding season. The island is also home to a colony of chinstrap penguins and migratory gentoos. Breeding and egg-hatching season runs from November/December until March, so if you want to see gorgeous fluffy chicks, this is the time to do it.