HX vs Quark

Should I choose HX or Quark for Antarctica?

Choose HX Expeditions, the former Hurtigruten Expeditions, if you want Antarctica for the least money with nearly everything prepaid: its 12-day Highlights of Antarctica from Buenos Aires starts at $9,274 per person on March 9, 2027, with flights to Ushuaia, drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities included.¹ Choose Quark Expeditions if the landings matter more than the bill. Its Ultramarine carries 199 guests against 490 on HX's two big ships, can stop at sites closed to ships of more than 200 passengers, and carries two helicopters.²³⁴

Quark's matching trip, Antarctic Explorer on Ultramarine, leaves Buenos Aires a day later, on March 10, and costs $18,090 per person in a two-person Explorer Suite, also with the hotel night and charter flights to Ushuaia included. Quark listed that suite as "Please Call", so it is sold by phone; the cheapest cabin still bookable online was a $19,790 Balcony Suite, with one left.⁵ We have not sailed with HX or Quark. Fares come from each line's own site, read on October 14, 2026, and HX's include anniversary discounts that are partly time-limited.⁶

Is HX the same company as Hurtigruten?

Not anymore. HX finished its legal separation from the Hurtigruten Group on February 12, 2025, and is now based in London; Hurtigruten carries on as a separate business focused on the Norwegian coast.³ If you are pricing "Hurtigruten" against Quark for Antarctica, the ships you are looking at are HX's: mainly Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, plus Fram for South Georgia.⁷ Quark, founded in 1991, belongs to the Travelopia group and is based in Seattle.⁸

How do HX and Quark compare side by side?

How much cheaper is HX than Quark?

About half, on the same route in the same week. Both lines sell a 12-day round trip from Buenos Aires with a hotel night there and flights to and from Ushuaia, which makes this one of the cleanest price comparisons in Antarctic travel.¹¹¹ Lowest fares per person, two sharing, read on October 14, 2026:

The per-day columns are our arithmetic. Three things narrow the gap a little. HX's prices already include its 130th-anniversary discounts, and the extra part of that discount applies only to bookings made by November 9, 2026; before discounts the March 9 fare was $10,599.¹⁶ HX quotes a "from" price for two sharing without naming the cabin, while Quark's Explorer Suite is a 285-square-foot cabin.¹⁵ And Quark's page showed a promo price of $16,411 for the March 10 Explorer Suite; we quote brochure fares because promotions change.⁵ HX's cheapest Highlights departures are earlier still: $8,830 on October 30 and $9,268 on November 19, 2026.¹ For the full budget, see what an Antarctica trip costs.

How many guests land at once on HX and Quark ships?

No more than 100 at a time from any ship, so what differs is how many turns it takes. The Antarctic Treaty's general guidelines for visitors cap passengers ashore at one site at 100 and say ships carrying more than 500 shall not land anyone at all.¹⁴ With 490 guests aboard, Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen need five rotations to put everyone ashore at one site; Ultramarine's 199 need two (our arithmetic).³²

Ship size also changes where you can go. Of the 45 visitor site guidelines the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat publishes, 11 admit only ships carrying 200 passengers or fewer, among them Baily Head on Deception Island, Paulet Island, Hannah Point and the Aitcho Islands, and another 14 cap how many larger ships may call each day.⁴ Every Quark ship and HX's Fram fall under that 200 line; the two big HX ships do not. The landings HX names for its Peninsula trips, such as Half Moon Island and Neko Harbour, are open to ships of their size.¹⁴ Our guide to small vs large expedition ships explains what the difference feels like.

What do HX and Quark include, and what costs extra?

HX prepays more of the daily spending; Quark includes a helicopter flight. HX's fare covers drinks through the day, gratuities, Wi-Fi that does not support streaming, the Buenos Aires hotel night with breakfast and economy flights to Ushuaia.¹ Quark's covers the hotel night and charter flights, a parka to keep, drinks at bar hours and dinner, boots on loan and, on Ultramarine's Antarctic Explorer, one 10- to 15-minute helicopter flightseeing flight; gratuities are voluntary.¹¹ Both expect you to bring waterproof trousers: Quark lists them as mandatory and not included, and HX calls them essential.¹¹¹²

HX does not say whether its activity prices are per person, and places are limited: when more guests want to camp than there is space, HX allocates places by lottery.¹¹² Quark's kayaking costs more because it is a different product, taking a small group of experienced paddlers out as often as conditions allow.¹⁵

HX or Quark for emperor penguins and helicopters?

Quark. HX has no emperor penguin voyage in 2026-27, and its Iconic Antarctica itinerary says only that you "might" see emperor penguins migrating to or from the colony at Snow Hill Island.⁷¹⁶ Quark's Emperor Penguin Quest takes Ultramarine, limited to 150 guests, to Snow Hill Island for five days and uses the helicopters when ice stops the ship.¹⁷ It sails on November 3 and 15, 2026, from $26,090 in a triple or $30,490 for two sharing, with the Buenos Aires hotel and charter included.⁵ See our emperor penguin guide for the bird itself.

HX or Quark for South Georgia?

HX, on price, and on its smallest ship. Every HX South Georgia departure of the season is on Fram, which carries 200 guests and so lands in the same two rotations as Ultramarine.⁷³ Fram's 23-day In-depth Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia starts at $17,774 on November 6, 2026, or $773 a day, though its December 18 and January 8 departures showed nothing below $38,075.⁷ Quark's Penguins of the Far South, 20 days on Ocean Explorer from Ushuaia on October 25, 2026, starts at $28,595 in a triple; for two sharing it is $31,895 by phone or $35,595 for the last Veranda Suite, which works out to $1,595 to $1,780 a day (our arithmetic).¹⁸ Fram's 18-day South Georgia and Falklands trip from $10,731 leaves out Antarctica altogether.⁷

HX or Quark for Svalbard?

HX, on price. Both fares include the flight to Longyearbyen, and both lines use ships within the 200-passenger limit Svalbard sets for its protected areas.¹⁹

In June, the 11-day trips cost $999 a day with HX and $1,363 with Quark (our arithmetic), and HX's cheapest circumnavigation, on August 14, is $9,306.²¹⁵ Quark was showing a 20% promo code on its Svalbard sailings that leaves the $1,495 flight package at full price; it cut the June 9 Explorer Suite to $12,291, or $1,117 a day, still above HX.⁵ Ultramarine's helicopters do not fly on Svalbard voyages.² Our Svalbard and polar bear pages cover what you might see.

Which is easier to cancel, HX or Quark?

HX for almost the whole run-up; Quark only in its first 15 days. For departures up to March 31, 2027:

For HX departures from April 1, 2027, which include its Svalbard season, the charges fall to 15% at 90 days or more, 50% from 60 to 89 days, 75% from 30 to 59 and 100% inside 30 days.²² Quark wants full payment 150 days before departure, whatever the season.²³

Who should pick HX, and who should pick Quark?

Pick HX if you:

• want Antarctica for under $10,000 per person with flights from Buenos Aires, drinks and tips included;¹
• travel alone and can take a departure with no solo supplement, such as October 30 or the November Highlights sailings;¹
• want South Georgia on a 200-guest ship for under $18,000.⁷

Pick Quark if you:

• want to land in two groups rather than five, at sites closed to bigger ships;²⁴
• want helicopters or the Snow Hill emperor penguin trip;¹⁷
• would rather fly over the Drake, from $19,695 for 8 days;¹³
• want a free cancellation window right after booking.²³

Still comparing? Read Quark vs Oceanwide, Quark vs Lindblad and big-ship Antarctica cruises.