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Seven Tips to Get the Most out of Your Expedition Cruise
Polar cruises are easy to enjoy, but there’s an art to getting the most out of them.
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Antarctica Cities (and Five Other Things That Don’t Exist There)
Why write about what you won't find in Antarctica? Most travel blogs highlight what a destination offers, but many polar tourists visit Antarctica to experience a new world and escape their old one.
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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.
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Where the Polar Bears Roam
Going to the Arctic without clapping eyes on a wild polar bear can be reasonably compared to visiting Africa without seeing a giraffe or a zebra or, most analogously, a lion.
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Polar Marine Visitors: the Whales of Antarctica and the Arctic
Whales are the world’s largest mammals, found in the Arctic and Antarctica. This article covers some of the major species you may see on voyages to these remarkable areas.
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Ice streams and lakes under the Greenland Ice Sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a dynamic mass of dense, flowing, and deforming ice. Snow deposited on the central parts of the ice sheet is gradually compressed into ice that slowly moves towards the ice margin. At the ice margin, the ice is removed by melting or by breaking off into icebergs.
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11 Seals You May See in Antarctica or the Arctic
1. Weddell seals – These seals are known for their calm demeanor and spend most of their lives beneath the Antarctic ice. Although they need to come up for air, they can remain underwater for up to 45 minutes. Weddell seals can dive to depths of 610 meters (2,000 feet) in search of food. These vocal animals usually have one pup annually and can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) and weigh 544 kg (1,200 lbs).
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Eight Ultimate Antarctica Adventures
Antarctica has adventure in its bones. Long before most travelers even reach the continent, they have to cross the Drake Passage, an oft-tumultuous waterway considered by many a hallmark of high adventure in itself. Once you do reach the Antarctic shores, the variations of landscape and wildlife are as multiform as the activities you can pursue there. While not all of these activities can or should be shoehorned into a single article, this piece will give you a survey of the top eight. Like everything in the polar regions, these activities are subject to weather conditions – and your own threshold for adventure.
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Five Birds You Might See on Your Greenland Cruise
A Greenland expedition cruise offers birdwatchers a unique opportunity to capture stunning avian photographs. With over 230 bird species, Greenland boasts both spectacular landscapes and diverse winged wildlife.
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Scoresby Sund: the Greatest Greenland Adventure
In a land of expansive mountains, colossal glaciers, and majestic shorelines, few places are as expansive, colossal, or majestic as Scoresby Sund.
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Arctic Foxes: Constant Gardeners of the Arctic
Given how widespread their habitat is, it is little wonder that Arctic foxes are one of the animals we most often see during our Greenland and Svalbard expeditions. The Arctic fox is a circumpolar species whose feeding grounds include North America, Eurasia, even Iceland, ranging from nearly the North Pole all the way down to the sub-Arctic islands.
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Navigating by touch through the sea ice
Ships are meant to glide effortlessly through calm waters, but our Greenland expedition vessel Ortelius is shuddering and wiggling as it navigates through the calm yet frozen waters between Svalbard and the islands. We’re on the North Atlantic Odyssey, a journey that starts in continental Europe and concludes near the North Pole in Svalbard. Onboard are 115 enthusiastic passengers. Most of them are currently on the outer decks, cameras in hand, captivated by the sea ice.
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Port Pastimes: 7 Fun Things to Do in Longyearbyen
Waiting in port for an Arctic expedition cruise to begin might seem a little like waiting for water to boil or coffee to brew or a Seinfeld reunion to materialize: Time seems to defy its own laws, life slows to a crawl, and you begin to wonder if it’s really going to be worth it.
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17 Reasons to Cruise the Falklands
Maybe you’ve already marveled at the colossal penguin colonies of South Georgia, sailed among the plunging seals of the Antarctic Peninsula, and watched whales in the Weddell Sea lunge among titanic tabular icebergs.
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Under the Greenland Ice Sheet
Anyone who ventures to the right part of the globe can encounter vast amounts of ice, but a Greenland cruise offers something truly unique: ice sculptures hidden beneath the northern ice sheet. Scientists once thought these sculptures were rocky hills buried in ice, similar to the Ghost Mountains in Antarctica. However, it turns out that Mother Nature has crafted one of the most exclusive art exhibits in the world. These sculptures are not visible from the surface, but some scientists have managed to get a sneak peek using radar equipment.
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Polar bear feast
The polar bear was relishing his meal; the snow and his face were turning red from the blood. As we observed him eating, our own stomachs began to grumble. It was time for lunch.
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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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The Eight Great Penguin Species of Antarctica
There are 17 species of penguin on the planet, but the eight you’ll most likely recognize live in Antarctica, its nearby islands, and the sub-Antarctic archipelagos of South Georgia and the Falklands. These are the core species we tend to see on our expedition cruises.
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Greenlandic Inuit Beliefs
Greenland is the world’s largest island and with the northern tip around 740 kilometres from the North Pole it is the northernmost country on Earth. The island is around 2,670 kilometres long and is about 650 kilometres across at its widest point.
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Explore Antarctica Without Leaving Your Couch
There are numerous ways to embark on an Antarctica expedition from the comfort of your home. Explore these fantastic resources to experience the White Continent without leaving your couch.