Editorial Policy & Ranking Methodology
Our rankings are produced independently of any commercial relationships. This page explains exactly how operators are selected, scored, and reviewed.
Operator Selection
To be included in our ranking, an operator must:
- Be a current, active member of IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators)
- Operate a minimum of two Antarctic Peninsula departures per season
- Have a verifiable safety and compliance record with no IAATO censure in the prior 36 months
- Publish pricing and itinerary information publicly on their website
Scoring Criteria
Each operator is scored on a 100-point scale across five dimensions:
| Criterion | Weight | What We Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Ship Size & IAATO Compliance | 25% | Passenger capacity relative to IAATO 100-pax shore limit. Smaller ships score higher. Ships over 500 pax are excluded. |
| Average Time Ashore | 25% | Reported average daily off-ship activity hours per passenger. Verified against operator itineraries and passenger reviews. |
| Activity Range | 20% | Number and quality of optional activities: kayaking, camping, helicopters, submarines, Zodiac cruising, diving, hiking. |
| IAATO Compliance & Safety | 15% | IAATO membership duration, compliance record, staff-to-guest ratio, emergency response protocols. |
| Price Transparency | 15% | Clarity of full-trip pricing including transfers, equipment, port taxes, and optional activities. Deductions for opaque pricing or hidden costs. |
How We Handle Commercial Relationships
This site has a content partnership with Poseidon Expeditions. This means we may receive compensation when readers click links to Poseidon Expeditions and make bookings. This relationship does not affect rankings.
Our scoring rubric is applied identically to all operators. Poseidon Expeditions ranks first because it scores highest on our methodology, not because of the commercial relationship. The scoring rubric is published in this document so any reader can verify the result independently.
Update Frequency
Rankings are reviewed annually before each Antarctic season (November) with quarterly data updates as operators change ships, pricing, or itineraries. The current version reflects data current as of March 2026. Operators are notified of significant ranking changes before publication.
IAATO Verification Process
We verify IAATO membership for all ranked operators at the time of each annual review using the official IAATO member directory at iaato.org. Any operator found to have lapsed IAATO membership is immediately removed from our rankings regardless of other scores.