Day 1: | depart London Heathrow 07:20, arrive Oslo 10:25 and group transfer to the hotel. Afternoon city tour and visit to the Viking Museum. Evening dinner buffet and overnight at the Clarion Hotel Royal Christiania |
Day 2: | Group transfer from hotel to Oslo Airport. Depart Oslo 09:20 arrive Longyearbyen 13:55. Time to explore the administrative capital of the Svalbard archipelago of which Spitsbergen is the largest island. The delightful Parish church and Polar Museum are well worth visiting and more than 100 species of plant have been recorded in this area so perhaps time for some photography. Early evening departure – set sail out through the fjord of Isfjorden. |
Day 3: | head north along the west coast for a morning arrival in scenic Krossfjorden, keeping a look out for bearded seals. Cruise by Zodiac along the sculpted front of the 14th of July Glacier, where a surprisingly colourful array of flowers may be in bloom, to view kittiwakes and Brunnich’s guillemots nesting on the nearby cliffs. Arctic foxes may also be spotted. In the afternoon sail to Ny Alesund, the world’s most northerly settlement, a mining village, now a research centre. Nearby are breeding grounds for barnacle geese, pink-footed geese and arctic terns. For those interested in the history of Arctic exploration, perhaps walk to anchoring mast used by Amundsen and other polar explorers before their expeditions to the North Pole. |
Day 4: | at Smeerenburg on Amsterdamoya, visit the remains of a 17th century Dutch whaling station and see hundreds of tree trunks washed ashore after drifting here from Siberia. |
Day 5: | begin with reaching the most northerly position on the voyage and then if the pack ice allows, turn south into the Hinlopen Strait. On and around the ice entrance to the strait, there is a good chance of seeing bearded and ringed seals, polar bears and ivory gulls. Take a Zodiac cruise through the expansive ice floes to the bird cliffs of Alkefjellet, where spectacular basalt pillars rising hundreds of metres and an overhanging ice cap with its waterfall provide a spectacular sight. Anchor at Nordaustlandet, the most northerly of the major Spitsbergen islands, maybe seeing reindeer, pink-footed geese and walrus. Visit a cliff where the rare ivory gull breeds. |
Day 6: | go ashore at Svartknausflya, a 'polar desert' in an area of Nordaustlandet that gets so little precipitation that not even hardy tundra plants can survive here. The sandy hills stand in contrast to the world’s third largest ice cap, which plunges into the sea on this barren island. |
Day 7: | cruise south-east past Svenskoya, part of Kong Karls Land, on the look out for polar bear and possibly harp and ringed seals hauled out on the ice floes. Reaching Olgastreet there is a chance of encountering the magnificent but rare Greenland whale, which was hunted to near extinction in the 19th century. |
Day 8: | visit an old trapper's hut and take a brisk walk across the tundra in search of Spitsbergen reindeer and barnacle geese. Return to the ship and continue south to Diskobukta on the west side of Edgeoya. After a Zodiac cruise through the bay, land on a beach littered with tree trunks and whale bones. Climb to the rim of a narrow gully to observe bird cliffs and experience thousands of Kittiwakes, Black Guillemots and piratical glaucous gulls making a tremendous din! At the foot of the cliffs, look out for arctic foxes and polar bears searching for fallen chicks. |
Day 9: | in the morning, land on the pretty island of Bolscheoya, scattered with the remains of walrus and Greenland whales but also home to grey phalaropes, arctic skuas and red-throated divers. In the afternoon on Aekongen, view a whole Greenland whale skeleton and amazing basalt rock-columns where common eiders with chicks may be encountered. At night sail to Sorkap, the southern tip of Spitsbergen. |
Day 10: | start the day exploring the side fjords of the beautiful Hornsund area, enjoying a stunning landscape of towering mountain peaks, the highest reaching 1,431 metres. The 14 magnificent glaciers offer very good chances of seeing seals and polar bears. Visit the Polish research station and nearby colony of thousands of pairs of nesting little auks. |
Day 11: | land on Ahlstrandhalvoya at the mouth of Van Keulenfjorden, where piles of beluga skeletons litter the shore, looking out for the real thing before disembarking. Cruising into Recherchefjorden during the afternoon, explore an area of tundra at the head of the fjord where many reindeer feed. Return to Longyearbyen during the night. |
Day 12: | Disembark vessel after breakfast. Time at leisure. Transfer to airport and depart Longyearbyen 14:55 to Oslo, arriving 19:10. Take onward connection at 20:15, arriving London Heathrow 21:35. |
Note: | Please note the voyage route and daily itinerary is subject to ice and weather conditions therefore flexibility is the key to enjoying your expedition voyage to the full. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Note: Flight timings are subject to change at the discretion of the airline. Group flights are from London Heathrow with Scandinavian Airlines, however if you wish to fly from another UK airport please call us to discuss your options. Thank you. |