Iceland, Greenland and Baffin Island

Arrive and transfer to hotel. Take time to explore and visit shops, cathedral and maybe, hot springs.

Morning flight to Akureyri for embarkation. Set sail and start looking for birds and marine mammals.

Hornvik is the northernmost point in Iceland and just below the Arctic Circle. We plan to take a walk near two of the largest bird cliffs in Europe and see Brunnich's guillemots, puffins and kittiwakes. Also, maybe an Arctic fox.

As we cross the Denmark Strait, spend time enjoying the first of our programme of expert lectures and  out on deck looking for birds and marine mammals

Our first landfall will be on the island of Ammassalik and then some Zodiac cruising amongst the stunning scenery and massive icebergs in Sermilik Fjord. Tasiilaq is one of the most isolated communities on earth where the local population of about 2000 engage in traditional crafts. We can wander the town past the vibrantly painted wooden houses.

We will take Zodiac cruises in the many fjords and see calving icebergs and also land at the abandoned settlement of Skjoldungen.

In the rarely visited Lindenow Fjord, we will look for bearded seals on the pack ice and for waterfalls falling down the sheer rock faces. We will explore Prins Christian Sund and land at Greenland's southernmost settlement, Narsaq Kujalliq. We will also explore Herjolfsnes, the site of an excavated Norse farm, take a walk and maybe have a soak in the hot springs whilst watching icebergs float by! There will be more opportunities for this on Uunartoq too. On Hvalsey, we will walk amongst the ruins of the old Norse church, in the settlement abandoned in the 15th century.

We sail into Paamuit, where the locals have an affinity with the ubiquitous white-tailed eagle. As we walk an ancient trail, we will look out for orca, fin, minke or humpback whales from the shore.

The bustling capital, Nuuk is a great place to learn about local culture with museum and galleries. Here you can see the 500 year old fully-dressed mummies found in graves nearby.

Crossing the Davis Strait en-route to Baffin Island, look out for birds and marine mammals from deck.

We spend time on and around this Canadian island walking on the colourful tundra and cruising the beautiful coastline looking for birds and wildlife, maybe even polar bears. We cross the Arctic Circle and call at the Inuit village of Pangnirtung, famous for its crafts, especially textiles and lithographs - you'll certainly buy something here - the colourful Pang hats are irresistible! On the island of Kekerten, we visit the remains of a 19th century whaling station. The local Inuit still hunt the bowhead today by traditional methods, but they are limited to two whales a year amongst all the communities on the island, so the tradition is preserved, but the whales are not endangered.

On Zodiac cruises here, at the southern tip of Baffin, we look out for walrus haul-outs and polar bears.

Disembark after breakfast and transfer to airport for charter flight to Ottawa and overnight

Transfer to airport or spend more time in Canada's capital