Hal
Australia
Customer
Rating
8
Customer Rating On return from their adventure we ask customers: “On a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the highest, how likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend or colleague?”
Hal's Trip Date:
8th Dec - 19th Dec 2024
What was your most memorable moment?
Zodiac riding not far from (legal distance) of a humpback whale feeding along the edge of the sea ice.
Which of the following best describes your adventure?
Great holiday
On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you would recommend Swoop to a friend or colleague?
8 out of 10
On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate your trip: Antarctic Peninsula Explorer?
10 out of 10
Tell us about the Snow shoeing & Hiking
Definitely recommend. Travellers need to be relatively fit because snow shoeing goes up the hills on purpose for views - though not to scare people off - if you can do a 5k hike, you can snowshoe. I didn't do Alpine Hiking - but observing their daily trip choices would indicated you have to be very fit and somewhat courageous.
Something Else?
We were overwhelmed by the emails from Swoop and/or Aurora - to the point that we switched off and didn't read, and awaited Swoop agent to prompt/contact us for whatever was needed. Just too busy with work and life to read twice to fully digest long emails. Maybe looking at what emails were sent to us between oct 2023 to Dec 2024 from both companies would be an interesting exercise to see volume including duplication, or at least from Swoop to see volume. Also too many topics within one email (a rule of one topic in one email with clear Subject Heading for future searching would be easier + email trails are complex if there's multiple topics in the first email).
Do you have any tips or advice for other people planning a trip to Antarctica?
Take wool thermal and middle layers - polyester/microfibre thermal layer + cotton fleece middle layer didn't feel as warm - we had one of each by chance, so could make the comparison. Take a thin pair and a thick pair of wool socks to wear together. Get 'stiff' waterproof outer pants (I'm assuming stiff waterproof coat is provided by the ship). This is not made clear in any Swoop / Aurora lists. There are 'flexible' waterproof outer pants, including quite expensive ones, but stiff ones are better. Neck gaiter better than scarf. Scarf gets caught, or unwraps itself on Zodiac and might fly away. And definitely take two sets of clothes (except the outer waterproof coat and pants, beanie, neck gaiter), one for the morning and one for the afternoon - thermal layer, middle layer, double socks, double gloves.
Do you have any recommendations for Swoop, or feedback about the team?
See above.
Would you consider another trip to Antarctica with Swoop?
No
Would you be interested in travelling to Patagonia with Swoop?
No
Would you be interested in travelling to The Arctic with Swoop?
No
