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Arctic and Antarctic Basecamp Cruises – Choose Your Own Adventure
There’s an astonishing variety of activities to choose from when planning an Arctic trip or Antarctic cruise, which can be a bit overwhelming. How do you choose just one voyage over another when you want to experience everything? Happily, you don’t have to give up one activity for another. Basecamp cruises have you covered.
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A Diving Dream Fulfilled
Last January, Mark Hatter achieved a dream he’d been training for over two years. Booking his berth aboard the m/v Ortelius and making the long flight to Ushuaia, Argentina, he and two of his friends sailed down the famous Drake Passage, bound for Earth’s southernmost continent. But their Antarctica trip was not just about shoreline walks and photographing penguins.
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Cruising Solo: The Benefits of Single-Passenger Polar Travel
Traveling is often done with family, friends, or romantic partners. However, the benefits of solo travel, especially in polar regions, deserve more attention.
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10 Weather-Fueled Facts about Antarctica
Most of us have at least a vague notion of what makes the North and South Poles so brutally, bone-chillingly cold: They receive less sunlight than the rest of the planet, what sunlight they do receive arrives at an angle, and they’re usually buried under endless mounds of ice and snow. This holds especially true for the South Pole and its centerpiece, Antarctica. Fewer people know, however, what drives Antarctic weather, or what results from it. Here are ten weather-related facts about the most southern continent that will put your polar meteorology ahead of the curve.
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Shackleton’s Long-Lost Endurance Discovered in Antarctica
A discovery expedition launched by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust achieved a long-awaited mission when it located Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship Endurance last Saturday (March 5).
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The Best Arctic and Antarctic Trips for Families
Polar expedition cruises are often enjoyed by couples and an increasing number of solo travelers, but they can also be a fantastic adventure for families. If you have the budget to bring the whole family along, there are various polar trips that will make everyone equally excited about the ice.
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A visit to the fascinating island of Jan Mayen
After exploring the remote island of Fair Isle, our Atlantic Odyssey voyage once more turned its attentions northwards and left the outer extremities of the UK behind. Our destination was Jan Mayen, a volcanic island situated on the mid-Atlantic ridge just north of 71° (about 550 kilometers north of Iceland and 450 kilometers east of Greenland).
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Adélie Penguins: the Little People of the Antarctic
Described as “an object of endless pleasure and amusement” by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, survivor of Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole, the Adélie penguin stands with the regal and iconic emperor penguin as one of only two penguin species found on mainland Antarctica.
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Arctic Seals
Owing to the large landmasses that populate the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic boasts the most diverse wildlife among the planet’s polar regions. Some of the most captivating Arctic animals are the marine mammals found just offshore.
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Highlights from the First Arctic Voyage of Hondius
Our new ship Hondius completed its first Arctic expedition cruise on June 14, 2019. This being a new ship, the maiden voyage was not without its hiccups. But despite these, passenger response to the expedition was overwhelmingly positive.
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Birds of the South: 33 Antarctic Birds and Seabirds
Of the many compelling reasons people travel to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic, bird life is among the most beloved.
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Arctic Icon: 10 Facts about the Polar Bear
Polar bears are to the Arctic what penguins are to Antarctica.
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Eight Antarctic Misconceptions
Antarctica has given rise to some pretty far-fetched rumors.
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The bio-richness of the Ross Sea
The Ross Sea is one of the most stunning and untouched marine areas globally. This sea, which remains frozen for most of the year, spans 3.6 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) along the Antarctic coast south of New Zealand. Its waters harbor a biologically diverse ecosystem of species that have flourished, unchanged, for millennia.
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How Arctic Wildlife Differs from Antarctic
While the north and south poles share certain characteristics, they are also remarkably distinct. Both regions are cold and dry, yet each has its own unique terrain and climate. The Antarctic is particularly harsh and inhospitable, with only two native vascular plant species, whereas the Arctic tundra supports a wider range of fauna due to its relatively warmer temperatures and greater plant diversity. Here are some of the animals you can find in the Arctic compared to the Antarctic.
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Five Reasons to Love St. Helena
Being one of the most remote islands on Earth gives St. Helena a unique allure. Named after a Roman empress and the mother of Constantine the Great, this island also holds the distinction of being Napoleon’s final place of exile, making it a fascinating topic of conversation.
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Arctic Flowers, Trees, and Other Plant Life
When many people think of the Arctic, they probably imagine a stark white wasteland devoid of anything except snow, glaciers, and the occasional far-wandering polar bear.
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Life in a Penguin Colony
Captain Pieter J. Lenie Base, also known as Base Copacabana or simply Copa Base, is situated on King George Island off the western shores of the Antarctic Peninsula. This American research station has been home to scientists studying Adélie, gentoo, and chinstrap penguins for over three decades, aiming to understand how to best conserve these cherished species.
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Five Reasons Why Snowshoeing is a Perfect Polar Activity
One of the most beloved polar sports is also one of the oldest. Snowshoeing has been the preferred means of foot travel in the Arctic since antiquity, and in the years since Antarctica was discovered, it has been highly popular among researchers and polar tourists alike.
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A Look Into the International Research Stations of Antarctica
In 1902, William S. Bruce, along with a team of naturalists, explorers, and sailors, embarked on the first Scottish expedition to Antarctica’s South Pole aboard the Scotia. The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE) aimed to establish the continent's first meteorological station and explore its largely undocumented biological, topographic, and meteorological features.