Active adventures in Antarctica

The most favorable and lowest prices are available at the start of sales – at least a year before the start of the trip.

The tour starts and ends at the cruise port of Ushuaia.

The transfer is not included in the price, you get to/from the cruise port of Ushuaia on your own.

We recommend arriving in Ushuaia on the morning flight or the day before. 

We recommend return flights in the afternoon, as there may be delays in arrival at the port due to weather conditions.

It is necessary to coordinate the flight time with the organizer when booking a cruise.

No. Most of the expedition cruises take place on ice-class vessels. The icebreaker annually hosts a cruise to the North Pole and individual exclusive expeditions.

When booking a cruise, a copy of the general passport (main page and registration) and copies of the main pages of the passport of all travelers are required to conclude a contract, if you are traveling outside of Russia.

A few months before your trip, we will ask you to fill out medical forms in which you must honestly indicate your state of health, past or existing diseases, medications, allergies, etc. At the same time with the medical form, you must provide a copy of the medical insurance policy that meets all the requirements of your expedition.

If you have booked flights and accommodation before and after the cruise yourself, we will also ask you to provide us with this information.

It depends on which region you plan to travel to.

Antarctica:

• From the end of October to the beginning of December, the continent is completely covered with snow and this is the most active time for penguins — they trample paths to the water, build nests and lay eggs.
• From December to February, the snow recedes, exposing the rocky capes, and the penguins hatch their first chicks. At this time, the probability of sunny days is higher and the Drake Strait is calmer.
• From mid-February to mid-March, whales return to feed, seals come ashore more often, and penguins begin to molt. Antarctica is preparing for long months of darkness.

According to the United Nations International Maritime Organization, sea cruises are the safest type of vacation in the world.

All cruise ships have passed the strictest international certification, the team regularly handles emergency situations, and there is a full set of emergency rescue equipment on board.

What is required of you? It is mandatory to participate in all briefings and exercises (and they are an indispensable attribute of sea travel), to know where your life jacket is located and to be able to use it, to learn the escape route. Strictly follow all the rules, including those related to smoking.

If you are traveling with children, do not lose sight of them.

Vaccinations are not required for the polar regions, but if you are traveling to other regions, check with your manager before booking a cruise.

English is the main language on the vast majority of expedition cruises.

Depending on the chosen expedition and vessel, the average number of people on board varies from 12 to 200 people.

There is no entertainment or animation on expedition cruises. The only exceptions are cruises on several luxury ships, where you can enjoy live music and shows in the evenings.

One of the main differences between expedition cruises is that scientific and educational lectures are given on board by expedition guides, specialists and scientists in various scientific fields.

We use sturdy boats called zodiacs to land.

Since there are no ports in most places along the expedition cruise route, we use zodiacs to land on uninhabited shores.

The ship's crew and the expedition team make every effort to adhere to the planned route, but it is important to understand that the distinctive feature of expedition programs is the flexibility of the route and possible changes due to weather and ice conditions or other unforeseen circumstances.

The description of this route is the general plan of the expedition. The route may change under the influence of external factors: weather, ice conditions, etc.

Sure. However, depending on the tour, the minimum age of children allowed to participate in expedition cruises can start from 3 to 8 years old. Before booking, check the possibility of your child's participation in a particular cruise.

Minor children should be under the constant supervision of their parents. Perhaps for children under the age of 8, we will ask you to fill out a disclaimer. Please note that not all ships have life jackets and baby-size equipment.

Sure. We will be happy to arrange a single room for you.

Depending on the vessel, single occupancy can be provided without additional charges or with a surcharge of 25 to 100%.

On certain cruises where a surcharge is charged for single occupancy, we can provide check-in accommodation.

Air and railway tickets are not included in the price of the tour. You can purchase them yourself or contact us for help.

The cruise starts and ends in Ushuaia, Argentina. Russian citizens have the right to stay in the territory of the Argentine state for 90 days without a visa.

If you are not a citizen of the Russian Federation, please check if you need a visa to Argentina.

The level of physical fitness for expedition cruises is not important. 

Anyone who can climb up and down the ladder of a ship will pass through any landing in the wildest places without difficulty. On the contrary, those who want to get some exercise will be offered longer walks over rough terrain.

But it is worth remembering that you will find yourself in hard-to-reach places and the nearest hospital may be thousands of kilometers away from you, so if you suffer from chronic diseases, consult with your doctor before traveling.

The main factor in choosing clothes on board a ship is convenience.

Clothes can be casual and informal.

A fixed daily schedule is never offered for expedition programs, as most routes run in remote, inaccessible, and poorly explored regions with extreme climatic conditions.

The suggested programs serve as an approximate guideline of what you can see or visit during your trip, but visiting certain places or meeting certain animals cannot be guaranteed.

The program for the day, the schedule of drop-offs, lectures, and the restaurant's opening hours for the next day will be available the night before each day. 

Please remember that during polar expeditions, changes in the program and route occur every day, so we may have to adjust the program during the day. The captain or the expedition leader will inform you about any new changes via speakerphone.

During the cruise, the captain and the expedition leader will constantly monitor the weather and ice conditions to create as many opportunities as possible for you to enjoy landings and zodiac cruises.

We strongly recommend that you take out medical insurance (insurance coverage should include, among other things, urgent evacuation from remote areas of the globe). We strongly recommend purchasing insurance policies that include travel cancellation insurance and baggage insurance.

All expedition participants, without exception, are required to have medical insurance covering search and rescue operations and shipboard evacuation from hard-to-reach regions. The amount of coverage depends on the region of travel and ranges from $50,000 to $500,000.

When booking, our managers will provide you with detailed information about the insurance requirements for your travel region and, if necessary, will arrange a medical insurance policy for you.

A medical room with basic first aid equipment is available on board. The doctor is available at any time, including accompanying travelers on landings. There is a fee for consultations and medical procedures performed on board the ship, which is not covered by medical insurance.

We may encounter unrest at sea on any expedition. Choose a suitable remedy for motion sickness in advance and take it with you: pills, Band-aids, motion sickness bracelets.

Most preventive medications for motion sickness must be taken in advance while you are feeling well.

If you are prone to motion sickness, avoid alcohol, tobacco, excess liquids, and confined spaces.

Of course, but you should notify your manager at the time of booking your trip and fill out a medical questionnaire.

The route of the expedition may change during the cruise, including by the decision of the expedition leader for the safety of participants (no compensation is paid to passengers if the route and schedule are changed).

Expedition sea cruises are a type of vacation, not research projects. The main purpose of expedition cruises is to visit remote and hard-to-reach places, without giving up an acceptable level of comfort, to learn and see in person what most people can only see in travel TV shows.

Expedition cruises can be sea and river cruises. The main goal of such expeditions is to land as much as possible on wild shores where there is no infrastructure. Therefore, small vessels capable of visiting areas completely inaccessible to classic cruise ships are used for expedition cruises.

Expedition cruises are designed for a small number of participants: from 12 to 200 people. The small number of passengers contributes to closer contact with nature, friendly communication between passengers, flexibility in daily schedules, as well as maintaining the stability of fragile ecosystems.

Any cruise is led by an expedition leader, an experienced traveler or scientist, and several naturalist guides. The expedition staff is chosen not only for their extensive knowledge of the region, but mainly for their willingness and ability to share their experience with passengers.

First of all, the participants in our expedition programs are curious people who, as a rule, have already visited many countries.

Individual travelers, families, and friendly companies travel with us. They are all united by a love of comfort and adventure, a desire for vivid impressions and a desire to expand their life experience.

The average age of our travelers is 30-50 years old, although we do not set an age limit. People who had just turned 3 years old and those over 80 traveled with us.