"SUBLIME!! Out of this world!!!"

Charlie Mason..Polar Routes Agent..thank you from bottom of my heart for organising my Antartic expedition ..In spite of challenges & several hiccoughs..Intrepid got me there.It was an adventure from the very beginning..the tour of Buenos Aires..I heard the BBQ was brilliant, too busy exploring!!.All hotels were superb...The expedition exceeded all expectations..in particular the camping,polar plunge(swim in my case)the excursions,lectures,wild life.To wake up in Antartica was surreal..unspoilt..pristine glistening..teaming with independent life..words are not adequate to describe the whole experience The experts shared their vision & practices & adhered to contamination prevention making it so easy for us..The cruise ship was wonderful as was all the crew & guides.How hard they all worked on our behalf..Nothing was too much trouble for anyone involved..It has now set the bar high & I met people who repeatedly travel with Intrepid..Had the best night's sleep ever ..If I was younger I would be applying for a job!!!As for the food..have never known such choice and delicious too.The gym,sauna and deck walks were perfect to work off those 3 meals ++a day!! 1 week on & still haven't come down!!

"Trip to Falklands South Georgia and Antarctica"

I wanted to write to you to say thank you for all your help and guidance in setting up my recent trip to Falklands South Georgia and Antarctica. It was an absolutely amazing trip. Your recommendation of G Adventures was spot on as I really enjoyed the small group feel of the ship and the camaraderie of the expedition staff and ship’s crew as well as the flexibility of the small numbers.

All the travel arrangements transfers and hotels all worked fine - thanks for all your efforts there. I arrived in Ushuaia to be informed that we were doing the trip in reverse due to concerns about closures in South Georgia so we went to Falklands and South Georgia first - more than happy with that as wanted to do it that way originally!

We were so lucky with the weather. No landings were cancelled and several times there was a weather system, we were in the eye of it for the critical time we were landing or out in the Zodiacs. We had a day and a half of blue skies in the heart of the peninsula in the Gerlache channel area which was magical.

We had a day each in West and East Falklands with great wildlife in West Falklands - highlight was watching surfing rockhopper coming out of the sea onto the rocks at Saunders Island. On South Georgia the krill is good this year so the penguin colonies were thriving ( avian flu is affecting seals more at moment). - it is mind boggling seeing a million penguins at St Andrew’s Bay. We managed to do the last part of Shackleton’s trek from Fortuna Bay to Stromness ( Stromness closed following day for inspection!). Grytviken is open for museum church etc but graveyard is currently off limits due to some seal deaths. That was only disappointment but we still went beneath it via Zodiac to see Shackleton’s gravestone. More than compensated however for by other bonuses. Went up Drygalski Fjord and managed to get up fairly close to glacier at top - lot of expedition staff had never seen it!

Half way to Antarctica we had the bonus of encountering A23a ( as I am sure you know the largest iceberg in the world currently) on a glorious sunny day and sailed alongside it for a few hours. We then made landfall at Elephant Island and were able to go in Zodiacs to see where Shackleton’s men awaited his return. Timed to perfection in the eye of an depression. Also encountered a feeding frenzy of about 50 whales gorging on krill just off the island. We then went to Deception Island to the volcanic caldera before heading for the Gerlache Channel. Went through the Lemaitre Channel both ways to Booth Island out most southern point. On one day had about 40 orcas around boat and with the sun plenty of sighting of Gentoo penguin chicks. Great sightings of leopard seals lounging on icebergs. Had a last landing in horizontal snow to remind us of what it could have been like! Then even a fairly smooth Drake passage crossing.

Hope I haven’t gone on too much. I had high expectations of the trip but these were surpassed. Thank you for helping to make it such a memorable experience - definitely a trip of a lifetime.

"The search for the emperor penguin"

As a child I was watching the documentary about the emperor penguin. Since then it was always on the cards to go to Antarctica and see them in their own habitat. I was looking on the different websites for the trip down to the South Pole to see them. There were not many travel agents which they would go to the Weddell sea - Snow Hill where their colony can be found. I came across the Polar Routes. Lucy Yeoman was great. Very informative, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. She herself has been in Antarctica before, so she shared her experience with me. I booked the trip back in 2020 just before covid, but I managed finally to go there in 2023. This was the best trip I ever made thanks to Lucy at the Polar Routes and everyone at Oceanwide. Would definitely recommend both companies to everyone who is thinking of going to Antarctica. Lucy was incredible. Always happy to help with anything I needed. It is almost impossible to find a dedicated person to the job nowadays, buy Lucy is the exception. She really does her job extremely well.
I am so grateful to Lucy Yeoman because without her my dream wouldn't come true.

"Perfect in everyway :D"

Myself and my husband booked with Lucy over 2 years ago. We booked the 21 day Falkland, South Georgia & Antarctica trip. It was just absolutely unbelieve. It was everything we could of imaged and so much more! It really has impacted us massively. Booking through Polar Routes was the best choice we made in booking this trip, because of all the logistics. Everything from start to finish ran smoothly and i can't fault them at all. They have played a massive part in making my 30th birthday trip the most special experience I could have hoped for. Thank you so much Lucy.

"Polar Routes are excellent"

We originally planned to book our cruise direct however at the last minute we decided to book via Polar Routes. So glad we did. As novice cruisers there were a surprising number of decisions to navigate and their help was invaluable. Our agent James was fantastic and his advice on cabin choice gave a significant saving. Booking via a travel agent also provided ATOL protection as no extra cost. If James was out of office there was always someone equally helpful to speak to. An excellent company who I strongly recommend.

"Antarctica and Easter Island holiday"

We have just got back from a trip to Antartica and Easter island . Lucy at Polar routes and Alex at Latin routes the sister company helped us plan the trip and book it.
All our queries and questions were answered promptly and Lucy gave us lots of tips and information on the Antarctic part of the trip . Alex had great suggestions for hotels by the airport in Santiago and Nayara Hangaroa in Easter island which was amazing .
We had a two day delay to fly back to Punta Arenas from King George island and our flights from Punta Arenas to Santiago were changed by them to a later time .
All in all an amazing holiday . We would like to go with them and Quark to the Artic sometime .

"SH Diana Antarctic Peninsular cruise"

We have just returned from our first ever cruise. Kasey Green at Polar Routes guided us through the various booking options, including looking at different flight options, in the end we went with her advice had an extra day in Buenos Aries and saved £1200 UK pounds each due to cheaper flight prices a day earlier. Without her checking flights we would not have known this. Any queries were swiftly answered and all the private transfers and extra hotel bookings Kasey booked worked seamlessly.
The staff and expedition crew on the SH Diana were excellent, nothing was too much trouble. I'm still amazed at the staff's ability to know and address each of us by name after only a couple of days (168 guests) The food with great and the zodiac tours and landings were amazing, as were the daily lectures and briefings.
We are already looking at the the SH Diana cruises for the Arctic circle and will definitely book using Polar Routes again.
In short I cannot find a single fault with either the cruise we took on SH Diana or the help and advice from Kasey Green at Polar Routes and would highly recommend them.

"Brilliant trip to Antarctica"

Kasey gave excellent support before and during our trip to Buenos Aires, Ushuaia and Antarctica. We had several special requests during the planning and a last minute flight change that we requested during the trip and these were arranged with the minimum inconvenience to us. Everything went to plan and we were kept well informed what to expect on a day to day basis. They used Oceanwide as the supplier for the Antarctica cruise, and I cannot praise them enough for the all round service, food and accommodation

"Awesome service"

From the very beginning of my search for 'the perfect Antarctic' holiday for my family I was totally impressed by James and the team at Polar Routes. The simple reason was their professionalism. They listened to what i wanted and then provided options and gentle recommendations based on what was important to me. E.g. in my case I wanted a small ship; I wanted to see as much wildlife as possible and I wanted my family to be safe (particularly over the dreaded Drake Passage).

So, we examined Ponant, and almost immediately I committed. It just felt right and I got the impression that Polar routes would manage all the details well.

I was not disappointed at all, in fact the delivery of the service exceeded expectations. Every email I wrote got an immediate response. I felt like I was special and important.

The Ponant experience itself was incredible. Super luxurious ship; wonderful cabins; every conceivable comfort is catered for; excellent cuisine with multiple choices; service from a crew where everyone in every job function from the skipper all the way through to the kitchen porter authentically wanted you to feel special and welcomed.

Every process was meticulously planned and executed from arrival, safety briefing; meeting the crew; guides; disembarkation; timings etc etc etc. Just magical.

In summary, I wanted to make memories with my family - so we would never forget our Christmas and new year adventure. Ponant and Polar Routes delivered the best experiences imaginable. Thank you James and the team. Thank you Ponant. Stunning - simply stunning.

"Very happy with Charlie Mason and the…"

Very happy with Charlie Mason and the Polar Routes team along with Hurtigruten. My Antarctic experience was overwhelming and everything brilliantly organised. The scenery was majestic, and the wildlife was astounding. I can totally recommend Antarctica, Polar Routes and Hurtigruten