Category: Epic Adventures

It’s probably the most iconic voyage in polar history: the small boat journey that Ernest Shackleton and five of his men made in the James Caird to South Georgia in 1916, following the loss of his ship Endurance. But their fight for survival, and to rescue the crew left behind on Elephant Island didn’t end […]

When you ask someone why they want to take a cruise to Antarctica, we can guarantee that seeing penguins is always pretty high on the wishlist. And rightly so. Every Antarctic trip will go big on opportunities to see penguins, and even the most casual observer quickly becomes an expert at picking out a gentoo […]

At Swoop, we spend a lot of time talking about expedition guides as being the rockstars of Antarctic expedition cruising. It’s true they’re the best in the business for helping you experience the White Continent up close, but they’re only part of what makes a cruise here so special. Much of the credit also has […]

The Antarctic Peninsula has a rich history of human exploration and science, much of which can be seen on an expedition cruise through the region. Some locations speak to the dark history of Antarctic whaling, such as the abandoned stations on Deception Island or the wreck of the Governoren. Other places are preserved as heritage […]

The leopard seal is one species that always ranks highly on the wishlist to see for travellers to Antarctica, and an encounter with one on an ice floe is always memorable. In this guide, we explain everything you need to know about leopard seals, and seeing them on an Antarctic expedition cruise.  Introducing the leopard […]

In Antarctica, ice is never just ice. It dominates the landscape, and for much of the year it dominates the sea too. The numbers alone never quite communicate its epic quality.Over 99% of Antarctica is covered in ice, much of it is more than a mile thick, and every polar winter the sea around it […]

One of the most popular activities on cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula is camping out for the night, curled up in a sleeping bag listening to the sounds of the frozen wilderness. It’s a brief taste of the epic isolation that the continent offers. But those looking for the ultimate adventure can take it one […]

Port Lockroy is a historic British research base that sits on tiny Goudier island off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Better-known today as the Penguin Post Office, it is maintained by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT), and is a perennially popular place for Antarctic expedition cruise ships to visit when the weather and […]