Hondius
Oceanwide's 170-guest Polar Class 6 ship, an informal and well-run way to look for polar bears on the Svalbard sea ice.
Small ships to the edges of the map
Antarctica, Svalbard, Greenland and the Galapagos, on ships chosen for how often they put you ashore.
The ships we know well
Each is small enough to land most guests at most stops. Cabins, decks and typical voyages are on each ship's page.
Le Commandant Charcot
Ponant's Polar Class 2 icebreaker, which goes deep into the Weddell Sea ice with Alain Ducasse on the menu.
Sylvia Earle
Aurora Expeditions' 130-guest X-BOW ship, small enough for plenty of landings and set up for kayakers, divers and ski tourers.
Ultramarine
A 199-guest polar ship with two helicopters on board, built to take you beyond the landing sites every other ship shares.
How to choose a ship
Four questions that matter more than the brochure.
Size decides how much you land
In Antarctica, visitor guidelines limit how many people can be ashore at one site at once. On a ship with around 100 to 200 guests, everyone lands at most stops. On larger ships, landings are shared out in turns, or replaced by cruising past.
Choose the month for what you want to see
Early in the season brings pristine snow and courting penguins; high summer brings chicks and the longest days; late season brings whales in numbers. In the Arctic, June to August is the window, with sea ice shaping where a ship can reach.
Crossing or flying
Most Antarctic voyages cross the Drake Passage from Ushuaia, two days each way that can be calm or rough. Fly-cruise voyages skip one or both crossings for a higher price and some risk of weather delays.
What is included
Expedition voyages usually include landings, Zodiac cruising, lectures and most meals; kayaking, camping and some excursions often cost extra and need booking early. Flights to the port and a night before sailing are usually separate.
Sample voyages
Starting points, including flights, hotel nights and transfers either side of the sailing.
Antarctic Peninsula by small expedition ship: 13 nights
A night in Buenos Aires and one in Ushuaia, then 11 nights on a small expedition ship across the Drake Passage to the Antarctic Peninsula, with Zodiac landings among penguin colonies and cruises through the ice.
Around Spitsbergen: a nine-night Arctic voyage for polar bears
A night in Oslo and one in Longyearbyen, then nine nights on an expedition ship circling Spitsbergen in the midnight sun, looking for polar bears along the pack ice, walrus on the beaches and seabird cliffs in Hinlopen Strait.
Where the ships go
Antarctica
The Antarctic Peninsula by small expedition ship from Ushuaia: penguin colonies, blue ice and landings by inflatable boat.
Svalbard
The high Arctic three hours from Oslo: glaciers, walrus and polar bear country, reached on a scheduled flight.
The Arctic
The Northwest Passage by expedition ship: Franklin's route through Arctic Canada, narwhal waters and Inuit communities.
Greenland
Icebergs the size of towns, an ice sheet you can drive to and Inuit communities, four hours from Copenhagen.
Galapagos
Volcanic islands where sea lions, iguanas and boobies ignore you entirely, seen from a small ship with a naturalist guide.
Find the right voyage
Tell us when you can travel and what you most want to see. We will suggest ships and departures that fit, with the flights either side.