Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Longyearbyen
Arrival in the world's northernmost town
You will be met at the airport and transferred to the group hotel for your overnight stay. This evening you'll meet your expedition leaders and other members of the group for a trip briefing. Our start and finish point is Longyearbyen, located on Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago. Longyearbyen is the world's northern-most town, located at latitude 78° North - just 1,316 km from the North Pole, surrounded by a pristine wilderness.

Day 2: Explore Longyearbyen and Embark
Encountering wild reindeer and setting sail
Today is yours to explore Longyearbyen. Sightseeing recommendations include the Svalbard Museum, the local brewery, and a meal of local delicacies in several cafes and restaurants. A highlight for first-time visitors is encountering wild Svalbard reindeer casually walking and grazing in between houses, alongside streets, and even sleeping right in the middle of town. Board the ship in the late afternoon. Cruising out of the beautiful Isfjorden, we'll be escorted by gliding fulmars and perhaps the occasional puffin. The sea kayakers will attend a briefing to distribute dry suits, pogies, lifejackets, and dry bags.

Day 3–11: Exploring Svalbard
Expedition cruising, glaciers, fjords, and polar wildlife
Over the next nine days we will explore the amazing wilderness of Svalbard, maximizing our time outside through zodiac cruising, paddling, hiking, or wildlife viewing. The experienced team will design a day-to-day itinerary based on weather, ice, and wildlife. We potentially visit Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden, exploring glacier-filled waters, the 14th of July Glacier, and the scientific village of Ny-Ålesund, the starting site for Amundsen and Nobile's North Pole flights. We will visit Virgohamna on Danes Island (Danskøya), witnessing remnants of Andree's ill-fated hydrogen balloon launch and Wellman's airship attempts. We will sail Raudfjorden (The Red Fjord), dominated by magnificent glaciers, ruins of a trapper's hut, seals, and polar bears. If ice allows, we head to Sjuøyane, a series of hard granite islands 1024 km south of the North Pole, home to colourful lichens, Svalbard poppies, walrus groups, and polar bears. We might pass Hinlopen Strait to view Alkafjellet, a basalt cliff where one-hundred-meter-high dolerite towers host millions of Brünnich's guillemots, and continue into Palanderbukta on Nordaustlandet, an island covered by a huge ice cap where the giant Bråsvellbreen glacier stretches for 180 kilometres with hundreds of waterfalls. Finally, we pass between Spitsbergen, Barentsøya, and Edgeøya, crossing main polar bear migration routes and exploring the fertile moss-covered plain of Sundeneset, before heading to Hornsund in the south, where rock towers pierce the clouds and huge glaciers calve shimmering blue ice.

Day 12: Disembark Longyearbyen
Return cruising into Isfjorden and departure
During the early morning we cruise back into Isfjorden before docking in Longyearbyen. We will disembark the vessel at around 9am, saying our final farewells to the crew and expedition leaders as trip arrangements come to an end.

© SSV

© SSV