Antarctic Boats

As your base and home for the duration of your Antarctic expedition, the decision on which boat to choose is a critical one. We have a wide choice of boats available, depending on requirements.

To help work out which boat best suits you, we've categorised the individual boats under sub-headings in terms of size and adventure activities. Once you've decided upon boat category, you can then look at individual boats and actual voyage departure dates.

However, there is never a substitute to actually speaking with an expert, so do give Alex a call on 01285 880981 or email voyages@steppestravel.co.uk to discuss any of these vessels or to check availability on a particular departure.

As a highly experienced Antarctic specialist, we can guarantee that all the boats we recommend have fully ice strengthened hulls, a highly professional crew, excellent naturalist guides and offer delicious, homely cuisine and offer you a very memorable experience.


Small Expeditionary
48-52 passengers
These are the smallest type of vessel available for Antarctic travel. Their sturdy design, homely and authentic feel of these former Russian research vessels and the very personalised experienced which comes from travelling in such a small group has secured them a loyal following and in constant high demand.

Boats: Professor Molchanov, Professor Multanovskiy, Aleksey Maryshev, Grigoriy Mikheev.


Small Adventure
48-68 passengers + adventure options
These Boats have the same characteristics of the four ships above, also offering optional adventure options on the majority of their expeditions which will appeal to active and adventurous travellers: camping on Antarctica, kayaking, cross country skiing and mountaineering.
Ships: Akademik Shokalskiy, Ocean Nova


Medium Expeditionary
84-122 passengers
These slightly larger Boats are typically more spacious, more well-appointed and with greater stability, and may suit those travellers who place a higher emphasis on comfort. Despite the higher numbers of passengers, there are still daily landings while in Antarctica and an informal atmosphere onboard.

Boats: Antarctic Dream, MV Orlova, Clipper Adventurer, Plancius


Medium Adventure
68-110 passengers + adventure options
Built as state-of-the-art research vessels, these two sister ships are renowned for their excellent stability and quietness. Retaining an authentic expeditionary feel despite the higher numbers of passengers than the smaller research ships, they also offer optional adventure options for the active traveller: camping on Antarctica, kayaking, cross country skiing and mountaineering.

Boat: Akademik Ioffe, Akademik Sergey Vavilov, Clelia II


Ice Breaker
This is the only full ice breaker ship we offer, all the rest are ice strengthened. The KK is only used for expeditions to the ice choked waters of The Ross Sea and for the March of the Penguins trip, when an icebreaker is required for accessing the Weddell Sea early in the season.

Boat: Kapitan Khlebnikov


Boats for Charter
The Sarsen is available for private charter. She was equipped with an ice-strengthened hull and underwent a major refurbishment in 2006 when she was converted into an intimate charter vessel.

Boat: Sarsen