Quark Expeditions

We’ve always led the way in commercial polar expedition. Our founders Lars Wikander and Mike McDowell took the first group of commercial travelers to the North Pole in 1991. Discover a few more of our historic highlights in the timeline below.

Discover a few of our historic highlights in the timeline below

1991: Quark Expeditions takes the first commercial passengers to the North Pole—something no other expedition company had achieved.

1992: Quark Expeditions departs Cape Town for the first passenger voyage to the Far Side of Antarctica, the most remote coastal region of the continent.

1993: For the first time, Quark Expeditions guests retrace the voyage of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance.

1996: Quark Expeditions begins a circumnavigation of Antarctica for commercial passengers, the first-ever voyage of its kind.

2003: Quark Expeditions passengers become the first humans to witness a Total Solar Eclipse in Antarctica.

2004: Quark Expeditions becomes the first operator to confirm the existence and location of the Snow Hill Emperor colony.

2006: Quark Expeditions breaks Roald Amundsen’s record set nearly 100 years ago, attaining the most southernly latitude of any vessel.

2012: Quark Expeditions becomes the first tour operator to successfully offer passenger hot-air ballooning at the North Pole.

2013: Quark Expeditions is named World’s Leading Polar Expedition Operator at the World Travel Awards in Lisbon.

2018: Quark Expeditions is again named World’s Leading Polar Expedition Operator at the World Travel Awards.

2019: Quark Expeditions unveils Polar Promise, the most holistic sustainability policy in the polar expedition industry.

2020: Quark Expeditions is named World’s Leading Specialist Cruise Line at the World’s Leading World Travel Awards.

2021: Quark Expeditions officially takes ownership of Ultramarine after successful sea trials in Croatia, marking one of our greatest polar milestones.