The Polar Travel Company

Explore Svalbard as it wakes from winter on an 8-day micro-cruise. Follow the ice edge in search of polar bears, admire snow-covered peaks under pastel lights, and discover historic coves departing from Longyearbyen.

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Duration: 8 days / 7 nights on board
Starts: Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Ends: Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Language: English speaking voyage

The itinerary is a guide only and is subject to change due to weather and ice conditions. Your Captain and Expedition Leader will make the necessary adjustments to ensure the best possible experience.

Included

This intrepid expedition micro-cruise offers an intimate journey through the Svalbard archipelago as it emerges from the depths of winter. Aboard an agile vessel, the itinerary navigates through a frozen fairytale of iceberg-strewn fjords, splintering sea ice, and majestic alpine mountains smothered in an unbroken blanket of fresh snow. Enhanced by the wonderfully soft and beguilingly colored light of early-season pastel sunrises and sunsets, this transformative small-group travel experience provides a deeper connection with Europe�s last great wilderness, far away from modern life.

Through exciting Zodiac cruises and shore landings with no queuing or waiting, travelers will explore historic sites rich in cultural remains from the 1600s whaling period and old trappers' huts, such as Sallyhamna and Camp Zoe. The voyage focuses on searching the dynamic ice edge, offering pristine opportunities for photography and tracking Arctic wildlife against a clean snowy backdrop. With patience, guests can encounter polar bears, walrus colonies, Svalbard reindeer, Arctic foxes, and seals, while taping into the deep passion and knowledge of world-class polar expedition leaders.

Highlights:
Experience a flexible micro-cruise concept with small groups and more time ashore.
Encounter iconic Arctic wildlife including polar bears, walruses, reindeer, and foxes against snow.
Explore historic whaling remains from the 1600s and old trappers' huts at Sallyhamna and Gravnesodden.
Enjoy a Zodiac cruise along the Lilliehook glacier front in search of dramatic calving ice.
Witness and photograph spectacular crystalline seascapes lit up by early-season pastel lights.

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Day 1: Departure from Longyearbyen
Sailing past Bird Mountain
Depart Longyearbyen at 4pm, marking the official beginning of your Arctic expedition. Sail past striking Fuglefjella (Bird Mountain), a fine example of plateau mountainous landscape, as we leave Longyearbyen behind and venture into the open polar waters. Settle into your cabin and explore the ship.

Day 2: Alkhornet and Poolepynten
Alpine landscapes and walrus colonies
Arrive at Alkhornet, located at the opening of Isfjorden, which showcases a dramatic change in regional geology from plateau to edge-dominated, alpine mountainous landscape. Later, explore Poolepynten, a headland on Prins Karls Forland that is home to a resident walrus colony and an ancient burial site.

Day 3: Searching the Ice Edge
Wildlife tracking along the frozen frontier
Spend the day searching the dynamic ice edge, an otherworldly setting defined by its unique frozen textures and shifting light. This high Arctic environment serves as prime hunting grounds for polar bears; keep your eyes on the frozen seascape as your team helps spot and identify seals, seabirds, and polar bears.

Day 4-7: Sallyhamna, Magdalenefjorden, and Lilliehook Glacier
Whaling history and Lilliehook glacier Zodiac cruising
Explore the scenic fjords of northwestern Spitsbergen. Land in Sallyhamna to visit a historic hut built in 1937, an area rich in cultural remains from the 1600s whaling period. Continue south to explore Gravnesodden in Magdalenefjorden, featuring interesting historical relics. You will also land at Camp Zoe, an old trappers� hut, and board Zodiac boats for an exciting cruise of Lilliehook glacier in search of calving ice. After exploring these natural wonders, navigate south back to Isfjorden.

Day 8: Disembarkation in Longyearbyen
Conclusion of the Arctic expedition
Arrive back at the port of Longyearbyen. Disembarkation takes place at 9am, marking the conclusion of your unforgettable micro-cruise adventure through the early-season landscapes and frozen horizons of the High Arctic.