Category: Stories & Inspiration

I have now sailed into Wilhelmina Bay on two separate voyages, and kayaked there once. Along with Cuverville Island, it’s my favourite place on the Antarctic peninsular. If the sun is shining, Wilhelmina, literally sparkles, huge mountains rise from a crystal sea, and the icebergs are the size of houses, with shapes, moulded by time […]

“No matter how well travelled anyone was, we all had the same sense of childlike wonder in Antarctica. It exceeded all expectations: the scale, serenity and beauty of the continent makes an indelible mark on the soul.” Swoop Antarctica customer Declan took the trip of a lifetime on Swoop’s Antarctic Basecamp Adventure in December 2016. […]

Polar plunges are quite literally the coolest thing you can do in Antarctica. On my last voyage 48 out of 92 people jumped into the icy water; that’s quite a lot. I’m going to take some credit for that enthusiasm. I was ready for the jump well ahead of time, walking around the lounge of […]

John, one of Swoop’s polar specialists, shares his top tips for getting the most out of your apps when in Antarctica: There is no denying the usefulness of apps on our smart devices. Whilst I’m sure we would all agree that too much screen time in Antarctica would be a bad thing, there are a […]

My home city of Bristol is also amongst other things, home to Swoop Antarctica, graffiti artist Banksy, and the UK’s biggest street art festival, UpFest. I’m not really a huge fan of tours, and to be honest I’m not all that bothered about street art, which until very recently, I considered vandalism. So, on my […]

Heading back to Antarctica for my second voyage in under a year is nothing short of an absolute privilege. This time I won’t be going alone, my partner, Agnes, will be joining me on what will be her first voyage to the Great White Continent. She is very excited, and I think that’s fantastic. To […]

I recently returned to the Arctic for the first time in four years. It was a cathartic moment: feeling the cold chill on my face and the fresh smell of ice burn my nostrils. All so very familiar, except this time I was travelling as a tourist, not going home. Northern Finland had been my home […]

Deep inside the Arctic Circle only 500 miles from the North Pole, yet easily accessible from Europe and with more polar bears than humans, Svalbard beckons the adventurer. Never one to turn down a challenge, Swoop’s very own Lauren headed to Svalbard to see what it has to offer and know more about the third region […]