ATOL protected 11889
The Travel Lounge, 5 Church Street, Cobham020 3443 8969
Aurora Expeditions · Expedition cruising
Aurora Expeditions cruises
Small, purpose-built X-Bow ships carrying no more than 130 guests on expedition voyages to Antarctica, the Arctic and wild coastlines, with plenty of time ashore.
Founded in Australia in 1991 by mountaineer Greg Mortimer and his wife Margaret, Aurora trades in the UK as AE Expeditions and is a Certified B Corporation. Voyages lean active, with kayaking, camping and citizen science on offer. Booking with us costs the same as booking direct with Aurora Expeditions, and we look after the flights, hotels and transfers around your voyage.
Where Aurora Expeditions sails
Small ships, wild places
Three purpose-built expedition ships for the polar regions, plus small-ship voyages around Europe's coasts and islands.
Antarctica
Peninsula voyages from Ushuaia between October and March, from classic 11 day trips to Antarctic Circle crossings, the Weddell Sea and fly-the-Drake options.
South Georgia and the Falklands
Longer voyages add South Georgia's king penguin colonies, fur and elephant seals and Shackleton history, usually combined with the Falklands and the Peninsula.
Svalbard and Arctic Norway
Summer voyages in search of polar bears, walrus and Arctic foxes under the midnight sun, plus Norway's coast and the Lofoten Islands.
.jpg?language=en)
Greenland, Iceland and the Northwest Passage
Glaciers, icebergs and Inuit communities in Greenland, circumnavigations of Iceland, and Sylvia Earle's late summer Northwest Passage voyages.
Europe by small ship
Douglas Mawson's spring cruises around the Mediterranean, the Atlantic coast and the British Isles, with included Your Choice excursions, plus expedition voyages through Scotland's isles.
The ships and team
Every ship has a mudroom for gear, Zodiac platforms, a lecture theatre, sauna and two Jacuzzis, and an expedition team of naturalists, historians and marine biologists.
Highlight sailings
Three to start with
A few voyages we love right now. Booking with us costs the same as booking direct with Aurora Expeditions.
Northern Lights Explorer
Lofoten, remote Jan Mayen and five days in East Greenland's fjords, sailing as the nights darken for the first auroras of the season.
From £11,502 per person
Ask about this sailing
Antarctic Circle in Depth
Christmas and New Year in Antarctica, with five days on the Peninsula among hatching penguin chicks before heading south across the Antarctic Circle.
From £17,020 per person
Ask about this sailing
Sailing The Med: A Mediterranean Feast
A food and wine voyage from Malta via Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balearics, Spain and Tangier to Lisbon, with UNESCO stops including Valletta and Seville.
From £7,798 per person
Ask about this sailingPrices are per person, based on two sharing, as published by Aurora Expeditions (AE Expeditions in the UK), and include current offer savings but not flights. Checked on 30 October 2026; prices and availability change, and we will confirm the latest when we quote.
Everything you need to know
Aurora Expeditions at a glance
The questions our guests ask most, answered.
| The feel | Down to earth, active and curious, with small groups, frequent landings and an expedition team that loves sharing what it knows. |
|---|---|
| The ships | Greg Mortimer (2019), Sylvia Earle (2022) and Douglas Mawson (2025), all with the Ulstein X-BOW hull, ice-strengthened for polar waters and carrying up to 130 guests on expeditions. Douglas Mawson takes up to 154 on its European small ship cruises. |
| Cabins | Mostly balcony staterooms, from Aurora Staterooms (some triple share) to Junior Suites and the Captain's Suite, plus dedicated single cabins. Suites add binoculars, a stocked minibar, champagne and gratuities. |
| Included | All meals, wine, beer and spirits (from the 2026/27 Antarctic season), Starlink Wi-Fi, Zodiac cruises and landings, lectures, a polar jacket to keep and boots on loan. Antarctic voyages add a pre-voyage hotel night. |
| Costs extra | Specialist activities such as sea kayaking, camping, snowshoeing, scuba diving and ski touring (bundled in on Antarctica Active voyages), gratuities outside the suites, most flights and travel insurance, which we arrange for you. |
| Expedition team | About one team member to every seven guests: naturalists, historians, marine biologists and geologists, with a Citizen Science Center on board. |
| Children | From age 6, travelling with a parent or legal guardian. Young Adventurers savings of up to 50% apply for ages 6 to 15 on selected voyages. |
| Solo travellers | Dedicated solo cabins with no single supplement, plus Go Solo offers on selected departures. |
Inclusions are as published by Aurora Expeditions and can change. We will confirm exactly what your fare includes when we quote.
What our cruise guests say
Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 88 reviews on Trustpilot
Our guests often mention Ben, Hugh, Ashlie and the team by name. We think that says it all.
Read our reviews