test titel faq

Our voyages are "expedition" style cruise. Our emphasis is on wildlife encounters, personal contact with the environs, visiting sites of historical interest and to a lesser extent scientific stations.
Our actual program will vary to take best advantage of local conditions, spontaneous opportunities and wildlife. Experience in Antarctic waters shows us that a flexible program is essential when it comes to dealing with the published itinerary as a guide to some of our best opportunities. No two voyages are the same, there is always an element of the unexpected.
When packing, don't weigh yourself down with too many clothes or too much gear. Select informal, practical attire for your trip that can be worn in layers.
Please download our Expedition Manual with detailed information on clothing lists, what to pack and what to expect on our voyages

Yes, an overriding concern is the protection of the wildlife, environment and cultures in any of the areas we visit. We will ad-dress conservation issues in the on board briefings and the expedition staff will assist you ashore. Most important rules are:
- Do not leave anything but footprints
- Do not take anything but memories

That is hard to say. It depends on the weather and constraints of time and distance. Depending on the voyage, you may spend several days aboard the ship, followed by a series of landings, each several hours long. On some voyages you land two or three times every day. During our time at the high latitudes, we will have almost continuous daylight, which means we may schedule excursions before breakfast, after dinner - or in the middle of the ‘night'. Often the light for photography is best at these times. We would like to show you as much as possible but leave it up to you to skip an excursion.

On the motor vessels we have an international crew. Ships language is English and on some departures bi-lingual. All staff (Guides/Lecturers, Purser, Chef, Expedition leaders) speak English, and most of the time other languages as well.

You must be in good general health and you should be able to walk several hours per day. The expedition is ship-based and physically not very demanding. Although we spend as much time as possible ashore, you are welcome to remain aboard the ship if you like.
To join most excursions, you must be able to get up and down the steep gangway from the ship to the water level to board the Zodiacs. Staff will assist you in and out of the boats. This will become progressively easier with practice. Ashore it can be slippery and rocky. You are travelling in remote areas without access to sophisticated medical facilities, so you must not join this expedition if you have a life-threatening condition, or need daily medical treatment.

Yes, the power supply is 220 volts, 50 cycles. The wall plugs accommodate two thick round pins like those found in most European countries. You may need a transformer and international adapter for your particular equipment.

Passengers on a typical voyage range from their 30s to their 80s - with a majority usually from 45 - 65 (a little bit younger on our sailing vessel). Our expeditions attract independent-minded travellers from around the world. They are characterised by a strong interest in exploring remote regions. The camaraderie and spirit that develops aboard is an important part of the expedition experience. Many departures have several nationalities on board.

Many people ask us if they will get sea-sick. This depends very much on the individual. Our experience is that a small percentage of people get sick on any trip and most of these people are fine after a day or so at sea. If you feel that you are particularly susceptible to sea-sickness then it is a good idea to talk to your local doctor. Bring enough motion sickness tablets, or plasters with you and be sure you have eaten enough and feel rested. Our ships physician will be there for emergencies and to treat sick passengers.

In the Polar areas the weather is always an unknown factor and is usually very changeable. Temperatures can be cold, though not perhaps as cold as you might expect. On calm sunny days it can feel quite warm. But wet, windy weather must also be expected.

The maximum depth we allow our divers to dive is 20 meter/ 60 feet. Many of the dive sites have slopes or faces that go much deeper than the 20 meter/60 feet max limit for the divers. Divers must act responsibly and show self discipline.

A lot of pack ice often means clear visibility underneath and flat water.
Little pack ice often means a lot of plankton bloom because there is more daylight and more swells.
The ice and weather conditions are different every year, making it very unpredictable. Hence, it is quite difficult to gage visibility.

Currents are specifically mentioned as a possible problem at some of the sites. Currents however could be present anywhere at any time, we simply haven't dived these sites often enough. We will always check out the current before we go diving.
We will not do drift dives. Drifting pack ice is a real hazard. If it comes in while divers are underwater then it can be very hard to see people if they surface in the middle of it. Icebergs should be either hard aground or floating in water well clear of brash or pack ice.

This is up to the individual diver and based on if you are used to dive with a full mask or not. Many divers chose to dive without a full mask. Vaseline is a great help in protecting your face against the cold and freezing waters.

You can use a minimum of 7mm wetsuit gloves. Otherwise we would recommend dry-suit gloves.

We dive with two separate outlets (DIN and Yoke connection), so in case of a free flow (freezing) of one of your regulators you have the second regulator as a back up.

Yes, we have adapters on board which we can put in the valve to connect with an ISO regulator. The DIN connection will fit without the adapter.

It is handy to bring a waterproof bag to use while you are preparing your dive equipment on deck. In the zodiac it is best not to bring too much except your necessary dive equipment.

Around freezing point, a little below.

Longyearbyen is the starting point for the voyages to the North and Around Spitsbergen.
To get to Longyearbyen you will have to fly via Oslo and Tromso. We can assist you with booking seats on these flights.
Keflavik (Iceland) is the starting point for the voyages to Greenland. Many big cities have direct flights to Keflavik.

The starting point of your voyage to Antarctica is Ushuaia, the southern most city in South America.
We can assist you in planning your travel schedule to Buenos Aires and from there onward to Ushuaia.
Most airlines fly from every big city in Europe and the US direct or with one stop over to Buenos Aires.
From there direct flights fly within 5 to 6 hours to Ushuaia.

Besides a basic (thick neoprene) long-john wetsuit, neoprene kayak mittens, a kayak splash skirt and a life-jacket no other clothing items are on board and so they have to be taken with you. They will not be for sale in Ushuaia.

These items are sold in diving shops, kayak shops and surfing shops. No specialized kayak gear is necessary though, surf gloves and booties will do.

To take part in the kayak excursions, passengers are required to have a vital physical health and fitness and basic kayak experience. Basic skills should include normal handling of a kayak in moderate weather conditions. It is not necessary to be able to do kayak rolls, but you have to feel comfortable in a kayak. Kayak participants with a clear lack of these abilities can be disqualified for further kayaking on our kayak excursions because of safety reasons. If you have any questions about the required skills please contact our office.

Kayak excursions normally lasts for three to four hours. We leave after breakfast or lunch and are back on board of the ship for the next meal. The kayak excursions run parallel to the normal expedition program.

On every cruise with a kayak option we schedule a minimum of 4 kayak events. However, it must be said that the Polar Regions are unpredictable where it comes to the weather. This might lead to less or even no kayak excursions as kayaking can and will only take place in safe weather conditions.

As we are not allowed to eat nor leave any toilet waste behind on Antarctica (Antarctic Treaty/ IAATO regulations) our time on land is limited. We plan to go ashore immediately after breakfast or lunch and we will be back for the next meal. That means that there is only about 3 to 4 hours time for the hikes. When possible one longer walk of about 6 hours will be made at Deception Island.

In general the hikes are not too difficult for someone that has a vital state of health. You need to be able to do a 4 to 5 hour walk in fairly rugged terrain with some up and downhill walking. No other special skills are required.

Please note that we are going into fairly unknown terrain. There can be rocks, snow, mud or a frozen hard surface to walk on. We sometimes can only tell more about the difficulties of the hike when we are there at the spot, just before the landing. The weather can also make a walk easy or difficult.

Normally the walking speed is fairly slow. The lack of a footpath and lose rocks and snow demand a slow speed. Everyone wants to enjoy the views and take pictures so that makes the walking also fairly slow. There will be frequent stops.

Yes, normally we split up into 2 smaller groups. Then there will be an easy and a more difficult option. We carry three guides on board of the ship so every group will have at least one guide. The more difficult option normally takes 2 guides on the walk.

Passengers can of course stay on board during a walk but they cannot stay behind on the beach.  All the guides are needed for the hikes and passengers are according to the regulations not allowed to stay behind without being accompanied by a guide. 

Eating snacks on shore is not allowed (Antarctic Treaty/ IAATO regulations) to prevent the spreading of diseases and seeds of alien plant species.

No toilet visit possible on land (Antarctic Treaty/ IAATO regulations). If someone knows he/ she has a frequent need for a toilet then this person has to take a bottle (e.g. a Nalgene bottle with a wide opening, sold in outdoor shops or other field toilet options) with him/ her. Please note that Oceanwide Expeditions is not providing any field toilet. One of the important things is not to drink too much before the walk. Then during the walk only drink when feeling thirsty.

Normally rubber boots will stay on the landing/ pick-up beach together with the life-jackets. Sometimes they might be taken in the zodiac and delivered to the landing place. So the rubber boots do not have to be carried in the back-pack.

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-hyphenate:none; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:AR-SA;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt 70.85pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The sailing range of this expedition is limited to the north-west coast of the Spitsbergen archipelago. As we want to make several longer hikes we do not want too spend much time travelling around with the ship. We like to spend as much time ashore as possible. We can also expect pack-ice around this time of year and pack-ice can further limit our sailing range.

The snowshoes are not supplied by Oceanwide Expeditions but have to be taken on board by yourself. Sometimes the booking agency provides the snowshoes, otherwise you have to buy them yourself. Inform at your agency if they provide the snowshoes.

Good brands are MSR, Tubbs and Atlas. Inform at your local outdoorshop or buy them via internet. We personally prefer the MSR Denaly Evo ascent as they are lightweight and easy to pack.

The snowshoe hiking demands no extra skills besides a normal, vital state of health. You need to be able to do a 6 hour walk in fairly rugged terrain, with some up and downhill walking. No other specials skills are required. Still, when participants are not vital and are not capable to do at least a 4 hour walk they can be disqualified for excursions because of safety reasons and the other participants satisfaction. If you have any questions about the required skills please contact our office.

We offer snowhiking excursions every full day of the expedition. Often we go out for morning, afternoon and/or evening hikes of about 3 to 4 hours. We also plan to do a couple of dayhikes of about 6 hours (walking time). On these day hikes a pack lunch will be taken.

On Spitsbergen there are virtually no hiking paths. Also almost everything will be covered by snow so we have to find our own route. Spitsbergen comprises a wide range of different landscapes; rugged, barren mountains and crevassed glaciers exist besides miles and miles of gentle tundra. As glaciers are normally crevassed and dangerous we will not venture out on any glaciers.

Fairly easy excursions on snowshoes will be made to see wildlife like bird colonies. Besides gentle walks on the wide tundra we will try and climb some accessible mountain peaks to enjoy the fantastic views on the snow covered mountains and frozen fjords. These climbs demand some stamina but are often optional.

On the Noorderlicht there is no possibility to split up passengers in smaller groups as the ship carries only one guide. The maximum number of passengers on the Noorderlicht is small though, only 20. So there are no options for easy or difficult walks.

Still we will try to provide walks for for all (reasonably vital) passengers on board. The first snowshoe hikes that will be made are fairly easy, somewhere on a gentle tundra, to get used to the snowshoes. After several easy walks longer and more difficult hikes will be made in more rugged terrain. Later in the trip the dayhikes are planned. Those that are not fit for the dayhikes have to stay on board. Sometimes optional hikes will be offered, e.g. in the evening.

The expedition team will aim at as many field camp options as possible. One night will be guaranteed. Any extra nights in field camps are weather and site permitting and can only be offered at times the vessel stays overnight close to the shore. When vessel is being relocated to a new position overnight, of course, camping will then be no option for passengers. We are not allowed to  take stoves, fuel or food ashore - with the exception of emergency rations and survival gear, drinking water and medical supplies. The group will be taken ashore after dinner, and return to the ship for breakfast. That means we only have the night hours ashore. Once the group has landed we search for the best camp ground without disturbing close by wildlife. All campers are equipped with a personal waterproof bag which contains a sleeping mattress, polar synthetic sleeping bag with inner liner and bivouac  bag. If conditions allow, campers can sleep in the bivouac bag under the open sky. If the weather is more unpleasant, our back up tents will provide safe shelter. Tents will sleep 3 persons. While field parties are ashore, our staff will be in full radio contact with the ship, and sufficient staff will be ashore to supervise the campers. On departure: everything that is carried ashore must  be returned to the ship. Field staff will ensure that campsites are left clean after each night's camp.

Eating snacks on shore is not allowed (Antarctic Treaty/ IAATO regulations) to prevent the spreading of diseases and seeds of alien plant species.

Toilet visits should be avoided on land (Antarctic Treaty/ IAATO regulations). While campers should be encouraged to use toilet facilities onboard prior to leaving the ship, a portable toilet facility will be available ashore.  All solid waste will be returned to the ship. Every camper should bring an individual  "pee bottle" (ie Nalgene) in order to avoid the use of portable toilet.

We offer near shore camping on the continent and/or Islands (depending on itinerary, weather and site regulations). Groups will stay max 10 hours ashore.

No, everybody can participate in this activity. There are no physical requirements except giving helping hands to field staff. Please note that we are not camping on a camping ground, we are in Antarctica! There can be rocks, snow, mud or a frozen hard surface. We expect from our campers to participate in erecting and preparing the camp site and also breaking camp next morning. All camping equipment, most particularly tent bases and mats, must be cleaned thoroughly after each use ashore. The weather can also make operation difficult.

Around the coasts of Antarctica, temperatures are generally close to freezing in the summer (December-February) months, or even slightly positive in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula. The temperatures in Antarctica vary between about -5 and 8 °C. Together with a strong wind these low temperatures feel like real sub-zero temperatures. This is caused by the wind-chill factor. Warm and efficient clothing (and a flexible attitude) are the best means to overcome these sometimes harsh circumstances.