Why Quark? The Most Adventure Activities
Set foot where few ever will, and do what few ever dream.

Every voyage starts on a ship, but the real adventure happens off-ship. In the polar wilds, we camp, kayak, mountain bike, hike and fly by helicopter to remote locations. We paddleboard on icy waters, and rise above the polar landscape in hot air balloons. With the most adventure options available, how you experience the Polar Regions is entirely up to you.

Immersive Experiences
Guests can be assured of a truly immersive experience. Kayaking, for instance, brings you closer to the ocean surface, while camping brings you closer to nature and the polar terrain. There’s no shortage of ways to immerse you in the Arctic or Antarctic environment. In fact, Quark Expeditions offers the most off-ship activities in the Polar Regions!

Levels for all explorers
Our adventure options and off-ship activities are geared to all ages and level of fitness—and interests. You get to choose the outing that best suits you. Our hiking options, for instance, accommodate those looking for a leisurely stroll to take photographs to more advanced hikes for guests who want to pump up their heart rate. In our Greenland Adventure voyage, you can choose an energetic outing on helicopter-supported mountain biking, or opt for the overnight camping where you get to sit idly by a fjord and soak up the ambiance of South Greenland.

Helicopter innovations and more!
Innovation is in our DNA. Quark Expeditions was the first to offer SUP boarding and hot air ballooning in the Polar Regions. And now we’ve introduced helicopters—for more than just flightseeing. Guests choose from the largest selection of helicopter-supported activities in the Polar Regions, including alpine kayaking, Alpine Heli-trekking and Ice Sheet landings, to name a few.

Why Quark? Small Ships
Join the Greatest Fleet on the Frozen Seas

When it comes to polar expeditions, you’re only as good as where your ships can take you. And our diverse fleet of small polar vessels, which includes icebreakers and expedition ships, can take you to places larger ships can’t navigate. Equally key is our fleet of Zodiac boats, which let us make landfall where others are not able. Trust us: when you travel all the way to the edge of the world, you’ll want to reach out and touch it too.

Our small expedition ships can take us places
Those larger, unwieldy ships can’t navigate. Smaller polar vessels can take you to remote, tiny villages and settlements, often through narrow fjords and channels. This ability to get off-the-beaten path and avoid overcrowded shore landings means you have a much more authentic polar experience. Most indigenous settlements, for example, simply cannot accommodate huge numbers of visitors from those larger expedition vessels. Because of our relatively smaller numbers of guests, there’s no endless waiting to embark and disembark. (Who wants to do that while on their dream polar trip?) Our smaller ships are much more intimate and friendly, enabling guests to quickly get on first-name basis with the expedition crew, onboard staff and fellow passengers. Small polar vessels resonate with the explorer in all of us!

Diverse Fleet
Our vessels offer you a wide range of choice in terms of capacity (138 to 199); price points ($8,000 to $40,000); cabins (solo, couple or group) and even style of ship. For instance, you may be attracted to the modern & elegant touches on Ocean Explorer, or the world-class spa on World Explorer. Then, of course, there’s Ultramarine which is Equipped with two twin-engine helicopters.

Ultramarine: Unrivalled base for polar exploration
Equipped with two twin-engine helicopters, 20-quick launching Zodiacs, superb onboard amenities (including a sauna with floor-to-ceiling windows), advanced sustainability systems, and the largest portfolio of off-ship adventure options in the industry, the technologically-advanced Ultramarine has forever changed the way we explore the Arctic and Antarctic.

Our Sustainability Initiatives

Our Polar Promise
Quark Expeditions is profoundly committed to operating in an environmentally responsible way. Protecting the places we visit is necessary to ensure we can continue to introduce travelers to the spectacular beauty of the polar wilderness. Through Polar Promise, our comprehensive sustainability strategy framework, we’ve incorporated existing sustainability initiatives into a cohesive plan to identify where we can do better or do more.

“Quark Expeditions recognizes its responsibility to do more to protect these magnificent places,” says Andrew White, President of Quark Expeditions. “We want to go beyond reducing our footprint. We want to work with other leaders in the industry and with our guests to address the complex and challenging issues facing the polar regions.”

Sustainability Framework
Our Polar Promise framework is made up of four pillars. Each addresses a different aspect of our business, our operations—and ultimately your journey.

Principles
Good governance practices are fundamental to building a robust framework for Quark Expeditions’ sustainability initiatives. By anchoring our operations in principles informed by leading impact assessments, we ensure that our sustainability initiatives are strategic, actionable, and measurable. This foundation is essential to align every team member with our sustainability goals so that together, we can drive meaningful environmental and social outcomes.

Goal: By 2025, Quark Expeditions will establish sustainable governance practices informed by leading impact assessments.

Planet
Environmental stewardship is at the heart of Quark Expeditions’ operations. We are working to reduce our carbon emissions per passenger by 20% through fleet upgrades, operational efficiencies, and technology investments. We are also collaborating with our supply chain partners to measure, report, and reduce our collective environmental impact. Additionally, we are committed to reducing, reusing, or recycling 100% of waste on Quark Expeditions-owned vessels.

Goal: By 2025, Quark Expeditions will reduce carbon emissions per passenger by 20% from 2019, and the Quark Expeditions-owned fleet will be zero waste to landfill.

Partnerships
We believe in the power of collaboration to drive meaningful change. By working together with employees, guests, local communities, and other organizations that work in the polar regions, we strive to create a positive impact that goes beyond what we could do alone. From supporting community development projects to engaging with polar science and conservation, our collective efforts help us ensure that our operations are beneficial for all involved.

Goal: By 2025, Quark Expeditions will continue to lead change through community engagement and by supporting scientific, conservation and sustainable development in polar communities.

Positive Impact
Many organizations place carbon offsets at the center of their sustainability strategies. At Quark, we believe that this is a short-sighted approach to running a sustainable operation. To have an enduring positive impact, it is necessary to achieve tangible reductions in our carbon footprint, but also to inspire our guests to make changes in their own lives and advocate for broader changes in their communities.

By 2025, 5% of guests join the Polar Ambassadors program, which seeks to further activate impactful environmental action following their return home.