Polartours is an Expedition Cruise Specialist for trips to Antarctica and the Arctic. We partner with over 20 operators to bring you a huge range of expedition cruises, ranging from Greenland to the Falkland Islands, from Svalbard to the Antarctica. We take great pride in our unrivalled knowledge of the ships, itineraries and their philosophy of sustainable traveling.
We have no preferred operators, which means that we will gladly advise against one ship and for another, if we feel that this will enhance your experience and match your interest, budget or level of fitness better.
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Meet Benno, the founder of Polartours. Benno's great passion is traveling and online marketing. After travelling to Polar regions several times, Benno wanted to make it easier for everyone to choose their own journey. Together with his team, he created a platform that allows travelers to compare and book Polar Cruises easily. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Our expert team of travel specialists strive to understand each ship's philosophy in detail and pride themselves on their extensive knowledge of the destinations. We are experts in our field and want to share our wealth of knowledge with you to enhance your polar experience.
A cruise to the Arctic or Antarctica is not something you book without having done extensive research. We understand the importance of your investment and that, for many of our clients, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
This is why we give a best-price guarantee: Should you find a better price for the same route anywhere else, let us know, and we will outmatch it. This way, you will never pay more than if you booked with the operator directly. In addition, we also have excellent rates for any arrangements you'd like to make around your cruise including flights, accommodation and land tours.
And the best thing: Your trip is an investment into sustainable tourism. All our ships follow strict ecological guidelines and, out of our own pocket, we chose to compensate 100% of the CO2-Emissions created by your voyage.
All of our team has a passion for South America. But do not take our word for it: get to know their team and their descriptions, so you can see how much passion our travel specialists and tour guides have for this continent. You truly are in good hands!
Bruna Garcia
Polar Specialist
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bruna is passionate about nature and animals. She loves to communicate with people and create meaningful bonds. She graduated in International Relations and is a Travel Specialist at Polartours. For her planning a new trip is always a good idea.
Celia Smith
Polar Specialist
Raised in Belgium, now living in sunny Lisbon. Running on the beach or in the forest, baking sweets, scuba diving & travelling to unusual places are part of her many passions. Nature-lover and explorer at heart, she is down for any adventure and has a great sense of humor. Fun fact, she also has a twin sister, so pay extra attention!
Kevin Morgan
Polartours Embassador
Kevin has worked for many years as a wildlife guide on expedition cruise ships and is well known for his infectious enthusiasm. He has explored the Natural World from tropical to temperate seas, and has a particular passion for the polar regions, first visiting Antarctica in 1995, the Arctic in 2010, and many times since. A keen birdwatcher since childhood, he has a particular passion for seabirds, amassing a lot of experience over the years. He has also built up considerable experience of observing marine mammals, and where to look for them, observing over 80 species. Based on his experience at sea he was also behind the concept of Sealife - A Complete Guide to the Marine Environment, persuading the artist to illustrate dolphins from above, as they are seen when bow riding. In addition to work on cruise ships, he was a resident naturalist in Tambopata area of the Peruvian Amazon in the 80’s. This really enhanced his naturalist skills in the very diverse but challenging ‘hidden realm’ of the rainforest, and, always wanting to make a difference, he went on to be a founder of the Tambopata Reserve Society. He has now experienced most rainforest regions, from chimps and gorillas in Uganda, to Orangutans on the island of Borneo. In the UK he carries out wildlife surveys (bats, bird, reptiles & amphibians), lectures on his travels, and has led wildlife walking tours. He has an Oceanography masters, is a member of the Marine Conservation Society and, with a passion for sharks, is a founder member of The Shark Trust. A fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he is an experienced sub-aqua diver and free-diver.
Alec Krishna
Intrapreneur India
Alec is the Brand Director working remotely on an exciting new brand for the South Asia region. With a deep love for nature and culture, he brings a genuine passion for travel and sustainable tourism to the team.
Andre Kiwitz
CEO & Founder
Andre started his journey in 2001 after realizing that organized travel often lacks depth and real connection. He founded Ventura to scale authentic, specialist travel experiences by reducing complexity and prioritizing strong local partnerships over industry-standard solutions. He leads the company with a clear focus on speed and ownership and expects his teams to take full responsibility for quality and execution. Outside of work, he prioritizes freedom, fitness, and destinations with character over comfort.
Benno Schmidt
Founder of Galapatours, Polartours and Rivertours
Benno is a true travel enthusiast known for his remote work lifestyle. He has journeyed across the globe and speaks five languages. Benno discovered the Galápagos in 2014 and instantly fell in love with small ship expedition cruising. Since then, he has founded Galapatours, Polartours, and DiveIndonesia. In his free time, Benno is an avid diver and paraglider.
Cristina Presura
Brand Director Epic Trips
Cristina leads Epic Trips, Ventura Travel’s AI-powered travel brand, redefining personalized travel. With a background in business development, partnerships, and strategy, she brings a global perspective and loves reimagining how travellers explore the world. Cristina has lived in Austria, Portugal, Germany, Kenya, South Africa, and Spain, speaks four languages, and loves discovering new destinations through their food, local culture, nature, and yoga.
Erick Feijoo
Integrator, Head of Business Operations
Erick works from our Berlin office as Integrator and oversees our company's business operations. From a very early age, he's been fascinated by new languages and cultures, and he especially enjoys getting to know countries' politics and history. Erick's family is from Ecuador and Peru, and he previously worked on economic development issues across different Latin American countries. He joined Ventura TRAVEL after working in Washington D.C., Germany, Belgium, and Costa Rica.
Hanna Bishop
Retention Specialist
Hanna works from the Cusco office in Peru as a Retention Specialist, supporting travellers throughout their journey and ensuring they feel informed, valued, and well cared for. After studying tourism in Spain, she first came to Peru for a one-year internship with a tour operator. Since then — now already ten years ago — South America has never let her go. She immediately felt at home in Peru and fell in love with the country and its people. Today, she has built her life and family there and continues to explore the continent’s remarkable diversity. Her deep regional knowledge and passion for customer care help her create positive, reassuring, and solution-oriented experiences for every traveller she supports.
Kathleen Ishibashi
Central Operations Specialist
Kathleen originally hails from Oregon, USA but has been living in Japan for over 17 years, where she has found her second home. She previously worked as an English language instructor and currently holds a master's degree in applied linguistics. She will be working with Japaventura in ground operations and is thrilled to share everything she loves about Japan with the world.
Kim Poissant
Customer Success Director
Ever since she can remember, Kim was driven by a natural curiosity that brought her to new places and cultures. Always searching for the unknown, she has lived and worked in Germany, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and the Canary Islands, before she finally settled down in France. Despite her adventurous heart, Kim loves when things are in order. As part of the Ventura team she can live out her two sides: organization geek and passionate adventurer.
Liesa Roehr
Travel Specialist
During Liesa's exploration of Latin America, she fell in love with the cultural and landscape diversity of the region. Through participation in volunteer projects with locals and other travelers, she gained deep insights into the local culture and tourism. As a Travel Specialist for viventura in the Berlin office, Liesa is particularly excited to share her enthusiasm and provide others with authentic insights into the beauty and diversity of Latin America. In her free time, Liesa enjoys delving into psychological topics and exploring the complexity of human nature. Despite her introverted side, she values good company and finds expression and friends in dancing (especially Bachata) and sporting activities.
Alfredo Ortegón
IT Developer
Fredo is a tech-enthusiast with a never-ending thirst for knowledge. When he's not behind a computer screen, you can find him exploring nature on his mountain bike or indulging in his love for food. Fredo brings a positive and energetic attitude to the workplace.
Ana Llerena
Flights Specialist
Ana was born in La Paz- Bolivia and also works from La Paz office, she loves working with flights and reservations giving her best in taking care of her costumers, so they can have an excellent and pleasant air trip without inconveniences.
Ana Caceres
HR Specialist
Born in Medellín, raised in Bogotá and Santa Marta. Ana is the HR coordinator for our office in Medellín. She has been an entrepreneur for most of her working life. She has a communication degree and her passion is to help others. She enjoys traveling to tropical places and loves the Caribbean. Ana is very family oriented and enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends. She enjoys cooking all kinds of food and watching movies. Dark chocolate, wine, and coffee are always welcome
Annie Keller
Copywriter Specialist
Annie is part of Ventura Travel's marketing team, working remotely mostly from Germany. She's making sure the German-speaking people out there know just how awesome and exciting travel can be, hoping they will all put a trip with one of Ventura's brands on the top of their next birthday wishlist! Annie herself considers herself lucky to have lived in Australia, Turkey, Malta and Ireland. But no matter where she is, Annie loves to hike, read books or watch movies, do pottery, study Turkish and dance Lindy Hop.
Cintia Frias
Flight Specialist
Flight Operations Specialist. Responsible for providing Flights for Ventura Brands. Cintia joined the Ventura family in November 2016 as a Flight specialist for our brand Viventura. Her main roles are: making flight reservations and issuing tickets for the company's tours. She is committed in providing enjoyable and stress free flights for our travelers by looking for suitable connections for them.
Deyby Vasquez
IT Developer
Deyby technology, coffee and salsa dance lover. He has been involved in technological projects since his graduation. He combines programming development with entrepreneurship. Likewise, he loves to spend the time with his family, walking, drinking coffee, dancing salsa and bachata, flying drones and sometimes cooking.
Ericka Amurrio
Flight Operations Manager
Ericka works from our La Paz office as a Flight Operations Manager and is in charge of providing flights for all Ventura brands by negotiating with airlines in order to provide our customers with an exceptional flight experience to start an amazing trip.
Gabriela Palma
Accountant
Gabriela works in our Cusco office. She is responsible for all the accounting management in Peru, presenting on time all the monthly and annual reports of the economic status in Peru, in the same way she helps all the offices of South America in accounting matters.
Genesis Guerrero
IT Developer
Genesis spent six years developing software for enterprises even before finishing his studies in System Engineering at the University of Magdalena (Santa Marta, Colombia). He's an open source enthusiast, python evangelist, and javascript lover. He also has experience as lead developer, freelancer, and startup co-founder. Genesis loves to drink craft beer with friends, to attend rock concerts and to discover new places to walk and eat.
Gustavo Cataño
IT Director
I love tech things, and use this passion every day in my work with our IT team to deliver great value for Ventura Travel. I like to travel and enjoy riding my bike along unknown roads. However, above all things, I really enjoy spending my free time with my family and my daughter.
Isabel Sanchez
Flights Operations Team Lead
Isabel works from our La Paz office as a flight specialist in order to book, issue and make individual offers assuring that our pax get the best possible flying tickets in cost and quality.
Louis Poissant
Performance Marketing Specialist
Specialist of performance marketing, he is a big fan of sports and gastronomy. After an MBA in Paris and first work experience in Berlin, he decided to move to Asia for several months and took Japanese classes to increase his immersion. In charge of performance marketing in the marketing department of Ventura Travel, he is able to combine two things he enjoys: numbers and writing.
Patricio Grez
Finance Director
Patricio joins our Ventura Team as Head of Finance, bringing a vast experience with him. Not only in pure finance topics, but also in its relation across different areas of an organization. Passionate traveler, but the slow travel. Spending time and living in different countries and cultures has always given him good experiences. He is open to new challenges and willing to share with others.
Ralf Spielberger
Finance Director
My finance team and I manage all the financial aspects of ventura Travel. Our mission is to deliver accurate, prompt and useful financial information to the different stakeholders.
Sandy Duran
Flight Specialist
Flight Operation Specialist Responsible for provinding Flights for Ventura Brands This is Sandy, she was born in La Paz. She has a degree in tourism, since she finished her studies she started working in the tourism area, especially in Airline reservation systems. Now being part of Flights team in Ventura Travel, she feels pleased to contribute to many people travel and have meaningful and unforgettable experiences.
Sebastian Morales
IT Developer
Sebastian is passionate about creativity, design, and writing. A software engineer who works in the IT department as a full-stack developer from a medium-sized city of Colombia called Bucaramanga. He studied music at university with a major in classic piano, plays the bass guitar as a hobby, and sometimes produces his own compositions / songs. He is eager to learn new stuff out of curiosity almost always, a team-player who does not believe in organization heroes, easy-going person, and has a great sense of product quality and user experience.
Stefan Kuehn
Flight Specialist
Stefan fell in love with Latinamerica on his first trip when he was backpacking in Venezuela. Since then, he visited most of the countries of the subcontinent. He plays guitar in a band. You can meet him rocking the stage in small pubs in Berlin. Others interests are foreign cultures, food, and music. Stefan works from our office in Berlin as a Flight Operations Specialist. He is responsible for providing flights for Ventura brands: Reservations, quotations and ticketing for all brands.