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Aurora Expeditions · Activities
Every Aurora voyage includes Zodiac cruises and landings. On top of that you can book a wide range of add on activities, from a gentle paddle among the icebergs to a night camping on the ice.
Get Active
Aurora Expeditions has built its reputation on getting people off the ship and into the landscape. The company now also trades as AE Expeditions, and its activities programme is one of the broadest in Antarctica. Each ship has an activities platform and a mudroom with drying space for wetsuits and dry suits, and the add ons are led by specialist guides.
The activities on offer vary from voyage to voyage and are listed on each voyage page. Places on each one are limited, they are booked and paid for separately from your fare, and everything depends on the weather and ice on the day. The table below shows which activities run on which voyages and the current prices. If you want to try several, look at Antarctica Active, which bundles paddling, camping, snowshoeing and snorkelling into one fare.
On Every Voyage
You do not need to book anything extra to have a full and active voyage. Every Aurora expedition includes daily shore excursions and Zodiac cruises, weather permitting, guided walks and hikes ashore, wildlife watching with binoculars and guides on board, scenic cruising, the polar plunge for anyone brave enough, a full lecture programme from the expedition team and photography guidance. See what’s included for the full list, and our guide to Antarctic wildlife for what you might see.
Optional Activities
Sea kayaking is one of the most exhilarating ways to see Antarctica. Your group paddles out from the ship with a kayak guide, threading around brash ice and past icebergs of every shape, close to the shoreline and at the pace of the wildlife. With no engine running you hear everything, from the crackle of melting ice to a whale breathing nearby.
Sea kayaking is offered on most Aurora Antarctic voyages, including Spirit of Antarctica, Across the Antarctic Circle and the long Ross Sea Odyssey. Ask us about the experience Aurora asks for before you book.
Paddling is the gentler sister of sea kayaking. You use small, human powered craft to explore sheltered bays from the water, gliding quietly past icebergs and shorelines with a guide close by. It gives you a taste of life at water level without signing up for the full kayaking programme.
It is a good choice if you would like to get out on the water in a relaxed way. Paddling is offered on many of the Peninsula and Antarctic Circle voyages, such as Antarctic Explorer and Wild Antarctica, and it is included in Antarctica Active.
One of Aurora’s most popular activities, and you do not need any camping experience. You go ashore, roll out a sleeping mat, climb into a thermal sleeping bag and spend the night in the open on the snow. There are no tents, just you and the Antarctic sky, which in summer barely darkens at all.
Expect the sound of cracking ice in the distance, perhaps penguins chattering or seals calling nearby, and a story you will tell for years. Camping is an add on on Spirit of Antarctica and is included on Antarctica Active.
Snowshoes make walking up gentle slopes and across soft snow much easier, and they let you reach viewpoints that are hard work in boots alone. Aurora provides the snowshoes and poles, and the guides give you all the instruction you need. No previous experience is required, so this is an activity almost anyone can enjoy.
It is a fine way to stretch your legs and earn a view over glaciers and bays. Snowshoeing is offered on voyages including Spirit of Antarctica, Antarctic Circle in Depth, In Shackleton’s Footsteps and Antarctica Complete, and is included on Antarctica Active.
For experienced skiers and snowboarders, Antarctica offers slopes that very few people have ever touched. Ski and snowboard touring with Aurora means guided day trips from the ship, traversing remote terrain on the Antarctic coast.
This is an activity for experienced participants, so please talk to us about your skiing or snowboarding background before booking. It is offered on Spirit of Antarctica, Across the Antarctic Circle and the South Georgia, Falklands and Antarctic Odyssey. Places are very limited.
Aurora launched its Antarctic snorkelling in 2014, and it opens up a part of Antarctica most visitors never see. You float through clear water past sculpted ice, watching penguins shoot by and seals investigate, with starfish, crustaceans and nudibranchs on the seabed below.
Snorkelling is offered on many voyages, including Antarctic Peninsula: Fly the Drake, Southern Antarctic Realms and Antarctica Complete, and it is included on Antarctica Active. Ask us what swimming ability Aurora asks for.
Aurora has been running scuba diving trips for more than 20 years, and diving in Antarctica is the most specialised of its activities. Beneath the surface you find glowing blue icebergs, ice walls and marine life adapted to some of the coldest water on the planet.
Polar diving is for qualified, experienced divers, and we can send you Aurora’s requirements. Scuba diving is offered on Spirit of Antarctica, Across the Antarctic Circle and Antarctica Complete. Talk to us early, as places are few.
In May 1916 Ernest Shackleton, Frank Worsley and Tom Crean landed on South Georgia in the small boat James Caird and crossed the unmapped mountains of the island on foot to reach help at the Stromness whaling station. Shackleton’s Crossing is an add on that lets a small group tackle that traverse themselves.
The crossing is a serious mountain journey over glaciers and alpine passes, so it is for fit, experienced people. It is offered only on In Shackleton’s Footsteps. Other guests on that voyage can join the hike from Fortuna Bay to Stromness, conditions permitting, which follows the final stage of the route.
Watch
Aurora’s film of sea kayaking among the ice, a good taste of what a morning on the water looks like.
Video: Kayaking in Antarctica, from Aurora Expeditions on YouTube.
Prices
| Activity | From, per person | Offered on |
|---|---|---|
| Camping on the ice | £127 | 1 of 16 voyages |
| Paddling | £269 | 11 of 16 voyages |
| Snowshoeing | £285 | 6 of 16 voyages |
| Snorkelling | £397 | 11 of 16 voyages |
| Sea kayaking | £793 | 14 of 16 voyages |
| Scuba diving | £997 | 3 of 16 voyages |
| Ski and snowboard touring | £1,074 | 3 of 16 voyages |
| Shackleton’s Crossing | £1,709 | 1 of 16 voyages |
Places on every activity are limited by the number of guides and equipment on board, and popular options such as kayaking and camping often sell out well before departure, so it is best to book them with your voyage. Prices are per person and shown in the table above. If you want to try several, Antarctica Active includes paddling, camping, snowshoeing and snorkelling. Call us on 0333 405 0194 to check what is still available on your departure.
Lowest prices across Aurora’s current Antarctic departures, taken from Aurora Expeditions’ UK fares on 3 November 2026. Each voyage page lists the activities and prices for that voyage.
Or call 0333 405 0194
Questions
No, the activities on this page are optional add ons, booked and paid for separately, with prices per person shown in the table. What is included on every voyage is Zodiac cruising, landings, guided walks, the polar plunge and lectures. The exception is Antarctica Active, where paddling, camping, snowshoeing and snorkelling are included.
Paddling is the gentler option, a relaxed way to explore from the water with a guide close by. Sea kayaking is the fuller programme for keener paddlers. Aurora sets its own requirements for each activity, so ask us and we will check what applies to your departure before you book, and suggest the best fit for your experience.
Paddling is a gentle introduction to exploring from the water in small human powered craft, with a guide close by, and it costs less. Sea kayaking is the more involved programme for keener paddlers, and the prices in the table reflect that. Both put you quietly among the ice at water level, close to the shore and the wildlife.
No. Aurora’s Antarctic camping is open air. You sleep on a mat in a thermal sleeping bag out on the snow, under the summer sky, where it barely gets dark. No camping experience is needed. Like everything in Antarctica, it depends on the weather, and the expedition team choose the night and the site.
Usually yes, as long as there are places and the activities are offered on your departure. Snowshoeing and camping, for example, are both offered on Spirit of Antarctica. If you want a bit of everything, Antarctica Active includes paddling, camping, snowshoeing and snorkelling in one fare. We can check availability for your departure.
Everything in Antarctica depends on weather, sea state and ice, and the expedition leader decides each day what is safe. Activities run whenever conditions allow during the voyage. If yours cannot go ahead, please check Aurora’s booking conditions or ask us how refunds for unused activities are handled on your departure.
Spirit of Antarctica offers the widest choice of add ons, with camping, paddling, scuba diving, sea kayaking, ski and snowboard touring, snorkelling and snowshoeing available on different departures. Across the Antarctic Circle and Antarctica Complete also offer a broad range, and Antarctica Active includes four activities in the fare.
It is exactly what it sounds like: a quick jump into the freezing water of the Southern Ocean, with the expedition team watching over you. It is free, entirely optional and conditions permitting, and the sauna is waiting afterwards. It can happen at any point in the voyage, so listen for the announcement.