The expedition operator has opened bookings for its 2028 Arctic and 2028/2029 Antarctic seasons, adding photography, cultural and overland experiences.
Quark Expeditions has launched its Arctic 2028 and Antarctic 2028/2029 seasons, the earliest season launch in the company’s 35-year history. The programme includes more than 70 departures across the two polar regions, alongside a new Guided Photography Program, the company’s first Expedition Extensions, a Canadian Arctic voyage through the Northwest Passage and the return of its Tundra to Table culinary experience. The release frames the expansion as a broader effort to give travellers more ways to engage with polar landscapes, wildlife, learning and local culture.
The new offering reflects the range of activities now being built around expedition cruising, where time aboard ship is paired with smaller-scale excursions and specialist programming. Quark’s Guided Photography Program will operate across both seasons, with each excursion limited to 16 participants and led by a dedicated Lead Photo Guide. The programme is structured around priority Zodiac positioning, slower-paced field time, daily workshops and image reviews, and a repeated learn-shoot-share format designed for polar conditions.
Expedition Extensions will be available before or after selected voyages, taking travellers into gateway landscapes and communities beyond the ships. The announced examples include guided exploration of Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, visits to Iguazu Falls, wellness experiences in Finland and journeys through Iceland’s volcanic landscapes. In Antarctica, the 2028/2029 season will cover the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, Patagonia and Snow Hill Island, where access to an Emperor Penguin colony is by helicopter from Ultramarine and remains subject to ice conditions.
The seasons also place research, conservation and cultural exchange alongside sightseeing. Quark said guests on the Antarctic Marine Mammals voyage aboard World Voyager will be able to engage with marine mammal research and citizen-science work focused on whale identification, as well as listen to whale vocalisations through portable hydrophones. Across both seasons, the company will provide 470 cruise nights to research partners and scientists conducting fieldwork, with named partners including Seabird Watch, SmartICE, Penguin Watch and Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds.
In the Arctic, the new Canadian voyage will travel through the Northwest Passage, including visits to Arctic Bay and Lancaster Sound, while the wider 2028 programme spans Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, the Canadian Arctic and Atlantic Canada. Tundra to Table will return for four Arctic voyages aboard Ultramarine, developed with Greenlandic chef collective Igapall to explore Indigenous food traditions and culinary storytelling. Past guests received early access on June 16, 2026, and public bookings opened on June 23, 2026, positioning the launch as an expansion of the expedition format rather than a single new itinerary.
