Circumnavigating Spitsbergen: In the Realm of the Polar Bear

After a flight from Oslo, your adventure begins with an overnight stay in the world’s northernmost town, Longyearbyen. 

 A colorful frontier settlement where people are outnumbered by snowmobiles, Longyearbyen is a unique place on the edge of the Arctic wilderness. If you have time, head out to explore this special town, before enjoying a relaxing evening at your leisure.  

If you’d like to spend two extra days exploring Longyearbyen and its surroundings before your voyage, see this voyage option. It includes the same sailing itinerary but with additional Arctic land adventures. 

Explore this colorful frontier town

After breakfast, it’s time to experience Longyearbyen. 

The former coal mining settlement is small enough to explore on foot. Stroll down the main street lined with boutique shops, an art gallery, and restaurants. You might even see a Svalbard reindeer saunter by.     

Before boarding your ship in the afternoon and continuing your Arctic discovery, join an included excursion and get a deeper look at this isolated and remote region at the top of the world.  

Experience pristine Arctic wilderness

Over the next two days, we’ll explore the natural beauty and rugged tundra of this breathtaking national park where steep mountains, glaciers and beautiful offshore islands form a unique Arctic landscape. 

We’ll scout for some of the animals of the Arctic – seals, walruses and reindeer. Early in the season, there’s a good chance we may spot polar bears too, so we’ll always be on the lookout for these iconic but elusive predators. 

Be ready for adventure. We’ll seize any opportunity to launch our kayaks or set out in our small boats (RIB) to go ashore and hike or participate in a beach cleanup.

Experience the opportunity of sailing to the edge of the polar ice cap 

If conditions allow, we’ll sail north and cross the 80th parallel to explore the ever-changing ice edge. The transition zone between the ice cap and the sea is a magical yet ephemeral place where the waters are filled with ice floes and drifting pack ice. From the ship, there are great opportunities for spotting wildlife, such as seals and walruses who lounge on the sparkling ice. And if the conditions are right, we’ll lower our expedition boats into the water and enjoy an unforgettable close-up experience amid the floating ice.  

The ice edge isn’t a fixed boundary, and it moves depending on the season and conditions, so visiting it will be an attempt rather than a certainty. From May to August, as summer progresses, it retreats further towards the pole, meaning it may be out of reach for us. If so, we’ll explore the no-less-impressive fjords, glaciers and incredible scenery of the Svalbard coast.   

Wildflowers start blooming in July and into August, this is a time when the wildflowers appear, blanketing the landscape with a blaze of beauty and color.  

Scouting for polar bears, seabirds, and walruses

Be ready for anything, as this stage of your voyage continues to be truly adventurous. If the sea ice permits, we’ll venture to the frozen seascape of Eastern Spitsbergen.  

We have high hopes you’ll see the elusive polar bear over the next two days. We’ll also scout for walrus, colonies of Brünnich’s guillemots and other seabirds in the Hinlopen Strait. We may head south to Freemansundet and Kapp Lee or take our small expedition boats to Edgeøya or Barentsøya. 

In true expedition style, exactly where we’ll go will depend on the conditions on the day.  Channel your inner explorer on exhilarating landings, hikes and kayak trips, and look out for wildlife.   

And if the ice doesn’t allow us to pass through Hinlopen Strait, you’ll experience just as much adventure as we delve deeper into the wonders of western Svalbard. We’ll take a flexible route through deep fjords and pass by calving glaciers, seeking out remarkable Arctic wildlife.

Majestic glaciers, birds and pioneer history 

Your expedition cruise continues south towards Hornsund – one of Svalbard’s most beautiful fjords. Colourful vegetation makes way for towering mountains along this picturesque waterway. The cliffs here are home to large colonies of auks, guillemots and Northern Fulmars, along with Arctic foxes and Svalbard reindeer below. 

Head out on deck to spot seals and whales, Mount Hornsundtind, and glaciers reaching into the sea, and learn about Wanny Woldstad, the first female trapper to hunt in Svalbard. 

Then we head to admire the classic beauty of the snowcapped mountains of Bellsund  – a historic area where you can see the evidence of former whaling and mining activity on the shoreline. 

Our activities will be determined by the ever-changing weather conditions of Hornsund and Bellsund. Your Expedition Team will decide on the best possibilities for exploring on the day.

A final day on top of the world

Your Arctic adventure comes to an end back in Longyearbyen. A transfer will take you to the airport for your flight to Oslo. You’ll return home knowing more about Arctic animals, history, polar ice and climate change than you arrived with – and memories of an incredible experience.