"A journey of a lifetime to the Antarctic post five days in Buenos Aires"

A journey of a lifetime to the Antarctic with Ponant and second time lucky due to Covid. Polar Routes, and in particular James Townsend, were outstanding; patient, professional and exceptionally helpful throughout the booking period and during the cruise with advice on a well worth five day stay in Buenos Aires pre the trip. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend and will be using them again. Ponant, the cruise company, also highly recommended and I doubt one can better the combination of Polar Routes and Ponant. To a person, in both companies, totally exceptional and I’m very particular.

"A truly magnificent experience from Polar Routes"

Polar Routes provided a truly magnificent trip to South America and Antarctica for us in January 2023. Originally planned for pre-covid times it was three years in the waiting and making. Nothing was too much trouble, with great advice and guidance from James as we navigated changes in covid rules, restrictions and changes in flights. We had the most fabulous and memorable trip to Rio de Janeiro, Iguassu Falls, Buenos Aires, Santiago and a stunning expedition cruise to Antarctica. Finally, due to a medical emergency at the end, they pulled out the stops to make flight changes and assist us at the very last minute before we returned home. I cannot praise the service and attention we have received more highly. Thank You!

"The warmth, diligence and professionalism"

The warmth, courtesy, professionalism, diligence of the staff at the Destinations show in Feb 2023 and subsequently even more so by Ms Kasey Green was outstanding. Potential customers, if you choose this company, you will not be disappointed. First class!

"Antarctica a magical place"

I booked my recent Antarctica trip with Polar Routes nearly 3 and a half years ago. During this time due to Covid the trip was cancelled twice. Polar Routes have been excellent at keeping me informed about what was happening and what to do during these difficult times. When I finally got to Antarctica it was as magical as I’d imagined.

"We had amazing time exploring…"

We had amazing time exploring Antarctica with Ponant. Lucy Yeoman from Polar routes was excellent in guiding us plan the expedition and was very patient with us as we had several questions. It is no doubt polar routes is the best in arranging expeditions. Thanks a lot. 😊

"Penguins Galore"

Going on my dream trip to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica was made very simple by the team at Polar Routes. When choosing which expedition company to travel with - a number of options were presented and the teams knowledge invaluable in helping make the right choices for me. Booked pre covid, then delayed - we kept in touch and worked through the challenges the situation threw at us. When it came to travel - the Polar Routes travel app was excellent and the envy of some of my fellow travellers, everything was seamless. I am already saving for my next adventure

"Antarctic expedition cruise (inc Falklands, S Georgia"

James at Polar Routes looked after my whole booking from start to finish recommending Hapag Lloyd for my Antarctic expedition cruise. I was a single traveller and he found me a deal without a single supplement which made a big difference. James then sourced flights - and patiently rearranged them when I had worries about allowing enough time. (You should veer on the side of caution allowing probably an extra day when booking flights pre antarctic cruise - some guests only just made the cruise, but their bags didn't due a mega storm on arrival in S America)
The cruise itself was just amazing. It exceeded all my expectations. The Hanseatic Inspiration was luxurious and super comfortable with delicious food options. The landings and zodiac cruises (2 a day for all passengers) were very safely coordinated and when conditions were wrong, the crew went out of their way to find safe alternatives. The experts on board were good enough and the managing of the dual language worked well - at times we felt a bit forgotton, but it was never a problem. There were 173 guests and 175 crew on board so we were well looked after. Only about 30 of the guests were on the English language option. Virtually all the crew spoke English including the cabin staff.
The dress code was generally informal and so although it was a luxury cruise, formal attire was not needed - a couple of smarter items was sufficient.

The Hanseatic Inspiration was a very stable ship and we had a number of days of GF7 with up to 4m waves and whilst it was a tad uncomfortable, I was never unwell so dont let fear of bad weather put you off (I am not generally a good sailor)

Hapag Lloyd took their responsibilites as members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators extremely seriously to ensure as little damage as possible is done to this fascintating but fragile ecosystem. Major concern at the moment is the potential impact should bird flu cross into the southern hemisphere.
I would thoroughly recommend the expedition size cruise (less than 200 people) as only 100 people are allowed on Antartica at any one time, so the bigger cruise ships wont have as many landing opportunties.

"Exceptional in all aspects"

Best company I’ve ever booked with ! I’ve just returned from a trip to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antartica with Quark Expeditions, truly wonderful. We could have booked through different companies but chose Polar Routes because of Lucy’s vast polar knowledge, enthusiasm and outstanding customer care. Thank goodness we did ! …..Lucy was brilliant in rebooking (more than once ! ) our trip through difficult Covid times. Everything was dealt with so professionally and Lucy was just a joy to speak to, it was great to have that personal touch. I had complete confidence that everything would be sorted and that proved to be the case. I was so impressed I’ve booked another trip, through Lucy, to the Artic in June ! If you’re thinking of travelling to the polar regions, do it ! …… I can highly recommend booking through Polar Routes

"Exceptionally good service."

Exceptionally friendly and helpful service, expert advice, very professional, and good attention to detail. Excellent knowledge on the various products and services offered. Good and prompt communication throughout the process, and excellent handling of all the covid delays. Undoubtedly the best travel company I have dealt with. It was a pleasure to deal with them. Thank you Lucy and James.

"A very bespoke trip was handled superbly"

I asked for a very bespoke trip involving travel around South America, including Easter Island, and Antarctica. The expert knowledge and personal attention were outstanding. Despite continued changes from airlines, completely out of Polar Routes control, everything was worked out to keep the complex itinerary in order. The trip turned out to be out of this world with all arrangements going like clockwork. I highly recommend this company and wouldn't hesitate to use again.