Swedens polar specialist since 1999 +46 31-333 17 30 info@polar-quest.com

Reviews from our travellers

We think our trips are something special - but the best part is hearing it from those who have actually travelled with us. Here we have collected stories and impressions from our travellers. Let yourself be inspired by their experiences!

Expeditions with M/S Stockholm in Svalbard

  • Dave Berrington, United Kingdom - May 2025

    We have recently returned from our Arctic expedition around Svalbard on the MS Stockholm, a small classic ship (12 passengers) with an ice-strengthened hull. The 2 guides and the crew were excellent, the food (buffet breakfast and lunch, and 3-course dinner) was varied and so good and catered for both vegetarian and vegan passengers. We reached the Arctic pack ice to the north (80 47”) which was stunning and surreal, then visited many gorgeous fjords down the west of the archipelago. With 2 zodiacs, our daily excursions were comfortable, safe and very respectful to the wildlife we encountered. We were equipped with weather-proof suits which were great to keep us dry and warm on the zodiacs though bringing our own thermal rubber boots (Muckboots) was useful. We were so fortunate with the wildlife - many walrus and seals, arctic fox (gorgeous), Minki and Baluga whales, Reindeer and 4 Polar bear sightings! Between the stunning scenery, the wildlife, the fantastic guides and crew, and a ship with huge character, this was an unforgettable experience.

  • John Stanford, United Kingdom - June 2025

    The cruise was very well organised. The guides were very knowledgeable about the wildlife, geology and landscapes and clearly explained the intentions for the following day, whilst also explaining the need for flexibility. They were also very supportive with equipment, getting on and off Zodiacs and on landings. The crew of MS Stockholm was very helpful with advice and support. The food was absolutely first class. Ms Stockholm is a very attractive ship of great character, Its size promotes a team ethos and allows more flexibility than a larger ship.

  • Britt-Marie Chrona, Sweden - May 2025

    I have long had a trip to Svalbard on my bucket list, but it was conditional, I wanted to go with a smaller group. The trip in May met my expectations. Crew and guides were top ten. What a nature experience we got to be part of. One of the travellers had also previously been on a trip with Stockholm and that says a lot.

  • Rowan Forster, United Kingdom - May 2025

    Visiting Svalbard itself is the most important aspect, but second to that is the unique experience of the M/S Stockholm and crew, as well as the expertise of the guides.

  • Birgitta Kimber, Sweden - June 2025

    The highlights of our trip were the amazing crew who were so helpful and the incredibly good food, as well as the beautiful ship. And of course the experience of seeing all the wildlife in their natural habitat.

  • Anders Norlander, Sweden - June 2025

    Knowledgeable and dedicated guides. A lovely ship with skilled crew. Great food. The whole trip was very successful and actually an experience of a lifetime. It is possible to pour praise and in summary it was “as good as it gets”.

Expeditions with M/S Sjøveien in Svalbard

© Ronald Visser

  • Jayleen, Australia - June 2025

    This was the most incredible trip I have ever been on. PolarQuest delivered beyond my expectations. The ship was well maintained, small yet spacious. There was so much food, which was unexpected and the quality was impeccable. The crew were exceptional and looked after all of us without fault, every single one of them were kind, always smiling and happy. Made the trip a really homey and comfortable environment. The Expedition guides went above and beyond every single day to ensure we saw as much as possible. They were super friendly, kind, caring, funny and always looking out for our safety. They were incredibly knowledgeable and answered all our questions. The presentations each evening were really informative and appreciated. The guides really made the whole experience so special, with so many ‘WOW’ moments! We saw all the animals I wanted to see including walruses, arctic foxes and 4 polar bears. The only negative is that I was greedy and wanted to see more polar bears, hahaha! Thank you so much for everything. This trip was more amazing than I ever could imagined and will cherish those memories forever.

  • Gisela Thorildsson, Sweden - August 2024

    PolarQuest never disappoint with their trips. This trip to Svalbard with Sjövejen was a hit like the trips I did with PolarQuest to Galapagos and Northern Lights and Orcas in Northern Norway. Knowledgeable guides, good food and fantastic experiences you carry with you for life. A big thanks to the guides on this trip. Incredibly knowledgeable and committed.

  • Ingemar Larsson, Sweden - June 2025

    Svalbard must be experienced and we are very pleased with the arrangement and the knowledgeable guides. Very nice ship and staff.

  • Finn Johnsson & Michaela Wikström, Sweden - May 2024

    The crew, the guides, the choice of places to visit, the international atmosphere and the small number of passengers.

  • Christina Malmer, Sweden - June 2024

    A fantastic experience of nature and wildlife in Svalbard. This is the second time I visit Svalbard, last time at the end of April 2022 when there was a lot of snow and ice, no birds and we could not make any landings. Now a completely different experience of nature. We also had good guides who really made the trip a wonderful experience. Good cabin and toilet. Friendly crew, and charming captain.

  • Pehr & Lena Tham, Sweden - June 2024

    An outstanding nature experience, a fine crew and two very good guides.

  • Cecilia & Björn Zethraeus, Sweden - June 2024

    It was perfect to go with Sjöveien, we had a fantastic trip with a nice cabin, good food, nice fellow travellers and above all fantastic guides. They were so happy, positive, knowledgeable and enthusiastic and showed us lots of wildlife and beautiful nature experiences.

  • Peter & Annika Meinhardt, Sweden - July 2024

    Our guides were the single most important reason. We only realised on the spot how central the guides are. Through good planning and fantastic execution, they account for a huge part of the trip's contentment. The crew of the Sjöveien also contributed positively to the overall experience.

Expeditions with M/S Quest in Svalbard

© Jett Britnell

  • Rajesh Joshi, India - June 2025

    Why would I recommend this trip to others? First and foremost - safety, hygiene and cleanliness..second, the fantastic team of the experienced guides. Third, flexibility to reach maximum possible places to enjoy nature and wildlife. Fourth, excellent variety of quality of cuisine. Fifth, informative interaction with onboard experts like photographers, geologists, nature and wildlife experts.

  • Magnus Karlsson, Sweden - May 2025

    Simply put - I have already decided to come back! I am impressed with the level of knowledge and commitment of the guides. My impression is that they do the utmost to ensure that everyone gets to experience as much as possible. This without compromising on safety and respect for wildlife. The ability and knowledge to improvise was also great. Especially important early in the season. The service on board was great. Always a cheerful welcome and a little humour. The food was excellent and good. Easy to be spoilt!

  • Vanessa Courts, United Kingdom - June 2025

    The care and effort put in by the staff to make the trip a memorable one was so apparent. The passion they generated from their mission was contagious. It’s an experience I’ll never forget. Been home almost a week and I’m still smiling.

  • Ivor Cary Armistead, Austrailia - May 2025

    It was a wonderful experience - the location, the weather, the staff and crew all combined to make the cruise very special.

  • Peter Stark, Australia - June 2025

    Where to start?! The whole experience was beyond our expectations and the outstanding Expedition Leader and Guides worked with the ships crew to provide an experience and environment we ll never forget!

  • Kevin Blackband, United Kingdom - May 2025

    Another, well organised trip with PolarQuest. Excellent friendly guides, great staff on board and fantastic food!

  • Gunilla Lilja, Sweden - May 2025

    Good info before the trip, learnt new things about nature. Good information and help during the trip. Just the right size of group, everyone talked to everyone. Helpful staff on the boat, good food.

  • Anitha Idéhn Wallenberg, Sweden - May 2025

    This is my fifth trip with PolarQuest, and all the trips I have done have been top 10! Will certainly be more!

  • Anders Öhrn, Sweden - May 2025

    It is a unique experience and the whole arrangement was very professional from crew to guides.

  • Patric Johansson, Sweden - May 2025

    Knowledgeable guides with great social skills. Well thought out itinerary and flexible management due to current weather.

  • Anders Widesjö, Sweden - May 2025

    High quality. Skilled and talented guides who contributed a lot to the great atmosphere on board. Service and treatment from the crew, kitchen, cabin service, ship's crew were of the highest standard. The food served was varied and very good.

  • Liz Ivarsson, Sweden - May 2025

    We had an absolutely fantastic trip with top guides and expedition leader! We got to see as much wildlife and nature we wanted and we learnt a lot from the guides. In addition, we got a lot of history. Super good combination! We were also really lucky with the weather! The organisation of the trip was very good with good food and service on the boat. We have absolutely nothing to complain about!

  • Helena Persson, Sweden - May 2025

    We had long dreamed of travelling to Svalbard and this expedition came to fulfil all our expectations! We got to experience magically beautiful winter landscapes, go ashore on ice floes in the middle of the pack ice, wonderful zodiac tours, polar dives and see wildlife both near and far. The five knowledgeable and dedicated guides really went out of their way to make sure we had a great experience. Praise also to the very friendly and helpful crew. Thank you for an unforgettable expedition!

  • Åsa Wallin, Sweden - May 2025

    Very well organised trip, excellent guides, knowledgeable. Good that the guides had different areas of expertise so they complemented each other well. Good lectures. Fantastic food cooked and served by skilled and friendly staff. All crew and guides nice and service orientated. Interesting to hear all knowledge and stories from the guides. They were also good at spoting wildlife from afar!!! In other words, a fantastic experience throughout the week that I will carry with me for the rest of my life! The barbeque was a surprising fun element and got everyone to let loose and dance!

  • Mats Lundberg, Sweden - May 2025

    Small nice ship with nice crew, good food. The organisation was very good and the guides very knowledgeable and eager for us to have experiences, the expedition leader incredibly nice and sharp, this enhanced everything with all the stories about both wildlife, nature and Svalbard's history.

  • Anders Lundgren, Sweden - May 2025

    Everything was so good. The staff, the guides, the boat, the food, the environment, the briefing etc. Can't think of anything negative. Of course it costs a lot, but you get so much for your money. Will definitely go with PolarQuest again and then with one of the 12-passenger ships.

  • Per-Arne Boström, Sweden - June 2025

    The best I have ever done, very nice staff, guides who are incredibly knowledgeable. As I said, if you have the opportunity, book this trip!

  • Eva Runestam, Sweden - June 2025

    I have wanted to do this trip for a long time and I must say that it was just as good as I could have imagined. The guides were amazing. Their commitment and the way they shared their knowledge and experience is really something I will carry with me. The whole team with the expedition leader and the four guides were a lovely bunch who complemented each other well in terms of knowledge. They had a great sense of humour combined with a safety mindset that made you feel safe at all times. In addition, I would like to mention the wonderful staff who provided the good food, cleaning and all other services on board. Always happy and service-oriented with a twinkle in the eye. Top marks! I also think that the ship M/S Quest is just right in terms of the number of passengers.

  • Gunilla Lindgren, Sweden - June 2025

    Very happy with the whole arrangement. Very knowledgeable and nice guides who answered all questions you had. Nice that they had their different areas of knowledge. The ship was good and nice and accommodating staff. Nice food with good variety. Plus we got to see the wildlife we wanted and ice / glaciers etc. Very fun also that we came all the way up to the pack ice.

The expedition "Whales & Northern lights in Northern Norway" with M/S Stockholm

© Peter Pousard

  • Helene Darrieutort & Florence Garoscio, France - November 2023

    We would recommend this trip because of the spirit of PolarQuest. I mean the organisation (both the administration and on board) are so professional and attentive. They care a lot about everything. Because we were so lucky about the nature (orcas,whales, northern lights). Because we had so lovely guides who knew how to do where and when, and take decision, so it’s a talent to be a guide like that. They communicated passion and happiness! The crew was perfect with very good quiet ambiance. And finally because it’s like a little sweden family that we had during few days and it was so nice.

  • Lauren Boyd, Wildlife Worldwide, United Kingdom - October 2024

    Just a note to say that our tour leader and the group had the most incredible time aboard the Stockholm! He said that the ship, crew, expedition team, and itinerary was a dream! He said they had some insane wildlife encounters and has shared lots of content on his social media stories.

  • Russell Brimelow & Philippa Marshall, United Kingdom - November 2023

    Absolutely wonderful trip. Atmospheric boat and everyone working on it was great.

  • Carina Lüppert, Sweden - November 2023

    My expectations were exceeded as we saw so many whales up close! Liked the flexible arrangement. Lovely ship, M/S Stockholm, with fantastic crew, all meals were great. The guides so knowledgeable and dedicated.

  • Marianne Hörding, Sweden - November 2023

    PolarQuest has a unfailing ability to always look for the unique and different and not to take the easy way out with places where all other tourists are! We have never been disappointed in our now nine trips with PolarQuest and are ambassador to anyone who wants to know which travel agency to go with. Not the cheapest but the best! As always, you get what you pay for, but with PolarQuest you get a little more!

  • Harriet Berghult, Sweden - Oktober 2023

    Fantastic experiences, Orcas in masses, humpback whales that put on a show, fantastic northern lights etc. And to go on such a fantastic ship as M/S Stockholm. In addition, super guides, super staff and fantastic food, plenty of good, cosy, in short such a nice experience, thanks to everyone at M/S Stockholm.

  • Gisela Thorildsson, Sweden - November 2023

    PolarQuest's trips are unique in different ways. My first trip with PolarQuest in October 2023 to the Galapagos Islands cannot be described in words. And this trip to Northern Norway was no worse, completely beyond expectations considering what we saw and experienced. The guides impressed us all. I am super happy and look forward to the Svalbard trip with PolarQuest in 2024 with great anticipation!

  • Carin Berghult, Sweden - October 2023

    Apart from the desire to see whales and the northern lights, the crew and guides were absolutely fantastic and contributed to a familiar and cosy feeling. The chef served food that was amazingly good. The superlatives never end!

  • Lena Näslund, Sweden - October 2023

    Travelled with Polarquest twice now. Both times it has been very well organised trips with knowledgeable guides and very nice crew. Also good and well cooked food.

  • Lena & Anders Luts, Sweden - November 2024

    Expedition feeling, good guides, small group, commitment, nice ship.

  • Lars Ekberg, Sweden - October 2024

    My trip to Northern Norway was a fabulous experience that proves the value of knowledgeable guides (and crew) to give us an unforgettable experience. Given the weather and northern lights forecasts I read the week before the trip, I had rather low expectations. But they were exceeded by far.

  • Liselotte, Sweden - November 2024

    A fantastic experience and completely professionally executed. Feels genuine and exclusive in that you get to be part of something that is not a dozen goods. Superb guides that do everything to give us guests the best possible experience. In addition, a very pleasant and family atmosphere on board the ship, which the whole crew contributed to. Can only recommend!

Expeditions in Greenland

© Sebastian Lehrke

  • Richard Guida, USA - September 2024

    Exceptional care, attentiveness to each individual via small groups, accommodations of the highest standard in adventure travel, unique and extraordinary land and seascapes in regions largely inhospitable to large vessel, excellent meals and service by the seasonal ship crew, informative lectures and expert leadership by the guides and a tightly knit office staff that is available to answer all questions and solve most problems and/or concerns. POLAR QUEST is a very unique company that few larger ones can equal in all aspects of polar adventure

  • Peter & Beth Hergesheimer, USA - September 2024

    Of the two PolarQuest trips we have been on, we have experienced excellent guiding and ship board services. Each trip had an element of exploration, exposure to a natural world new to us, and education. Also we appreciate PolarQuest’s office services. Their personnel are always very polite and responsive. If you have an interest in arctic expedition cruises, PolarQuest is a premier solution.

  • Ulla Randén, Sweden - June 2024

    Fantastic area and culture in West Greenland! What an experience! Very nice and skilful guides! The crew was so friendly and helpful.

  • Anne Livingstone & David Park, South Africa - June 2024

    Great trip in small group. Well organised trip and led by enthusiastic, competent guides. Comfortable ship with an expert crew.

  • Nils & Eva Kinch, Sweden - June 2024

    Good guides. Mighty icebergs. Interesting flora.

  • Ann-Cathrin Hammarström, Sweden - August 2024

    Good information before the trip. Great, knowledgeable guides. Amazing destinations.

  • Lars Ekberg, Sweden - August 2024

    Knowledgeable guides, well-planned and thoughtful excursions. Every day included a workout.

  • Mari-Louise Halldén & Anders Stener, Sweden - August 2024

    A fantastic experience, with skilled and dedicated guides, well-organized, a pleasant ship, and a friendly and accommodating crew. More people should visit places like this to see the amazing environment and understand what we need to protect.

  • Gunnel Ragnhult, Sweden - June 2024

    The stunning nature around Sermilik Fjord, with its towering mountains and countless icebergs, as well as the exciting and varied hikes. I enjoyed every second of the journey. Skilled and dedicated guides. The trip far exceeded my expectations. It was amazing to experience true wilderness.

  • Johan Linder & Katharina Manntz, Sweden - July 2024

    Professional guides and excellent planning, with the ability to adapt the trip to changing weather and ice conditions. Additionally, always great food and a friendly crew.

  • Bill Wheatley, Australia - September 2024

    Great small party trip. Well organised and run by enthusiastic capable guides on a comfortable ship with an expert crew

Expeditions with Ocean Nova in Antarctica

© Yuki Davidoff

  • Helena & Dan Delleborn, Sweden - November 2023

    Everything worked perfectly! Very good guides, good itinerary, exciting lectures and very good food on a very nice ship!

  • Annika Johansson, Sweden - November 2023

    The whole arrangement was very well organised; everything from ships with crew, guides, excursion, lectures, food and of course the destinations which was absolutely fantastic.

  • Anders Rosell Hultfeldt, Sweden - November 2023

    Absolutely unique experience. Once in a lifetime.

  • Bengt Dahlberg, Sweden - November 2023

    Fantastic trip with nice guides and perfect arrangements.