Quark Expeditions

This was such a great experience! The arctic is its own beautiful playground and then add in the wildlife- it was a once in a lifetime trip. The crew of the Ocean Adventurer went above and beyond in working to have us see as much of the wildlife as possible. There were dolphins, beluga whales, reindeer, puffins, arctic foxes and polar bears! The kayaking was like nothing I've ever done. Paddling with the icebergs was amazing. The expedition team was so knowledgeable and just as excited as we were when there was something to see! The hotel staff were friendly and made an effort to get to know you. The food was delicious and plenty of options every meal. Nothing but rave reviews for them. I'm ready to make the trip back for more!!

I sailed with the Quark expedition team on the Ocean Nova in mid-June 2018. The vessel, its Captain, and its operational staff was excellent and maneuvered us to whereever needed to get the best possible experiences. The On board “Hotel” staff was superb providing consistently excellent food and drink choices. The combination of Arctic adventure and world-class fine dining made for an exceptional experience. And, I give the highest possible ratings for the Quark expedition team. Everyone on the team had skills and experiences that qualified them as exceptional guides. We had a New York Times best selling author as our avian specialist, a PhD Geologist with exceptional communication skills to explain Arctic oceanographic processes, glaciology, and the magnificant land forms we observered and explored. We had a PhD mammalogist with humorous and captivating delivery to tell us about the marine mammals we would be looking for and to interpret what we saw. And we had a true expert on Svalbard history to explain the human component of the Svalbard system and how the human history has interacted with both the geophysical and biological components. We even heard a captivating and humorous, talk about the various plankton species (the foundation of the food chain) that careful observers were seeing in the ocean waters. The teams that led Zodiac and Kayak outings were incredibly experienced and skilled, and assured that all passengers, regardless of ability or past experience had safe and pleasant experiences getting in and out of small boats. All members of the team were experienced with the Svalbard system and knew where to look for the various species of wildlife—and they had amazing spotting ability. Our expedition leader was always watching weather and sea ice conditions and had the skill and experience to be sure we took advantage of every opportunity to optimize our observations. Finally, we observed all the major species I expected to see, and we saw first-hand how human caused climate change is dramatically impacting them and this incredible place. I believe everyone on board went home with experiences and observations they never will forget, and with better understandings of why maintaining Svalbard and other Arctic environments is important to the rest of life on earth—including us. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. Steven. C. Amstrup

Excellent trip, we’ll organized. The expedition staff was knowledgeable and helpful.

Quark did itself proud with this trip: great organization, superb expedition crew, excellent lectures, a wonderful "hotel" with over-the-top cuisine and friendly staff. And to all that you added magnificent scenery -- e.g., I never got tired of standing on deck viewing the sea ice -- and wildlife (5 polar bears! walruses! birds!) and helicopter rides and fun activities at 90°!! Truly the trip of a lifetime -- THANK YOU!!

Best thing about the trip was the expedition team. ALL of them were enthusiastic, approachable, friendly, helpful, etc.