Around Spitsbergen, including Kvitoya

Arrive in Longyearbyen, the administrative capital of the Svalbard archipelago. Before embarking, take the opportunity to stroll around this former mining town, whose parish church and Polar Museum are well worth visiting. In the early evening the ship will sail out and along Isfjorden.

Ny Alesund is the world's most northerly settlement, which, when it was a mining village, was served by the world's most northerly railway, which can still be seen - Ny Alesund is now a research centre. Close to the village is a breeding ground for Barnacle Goose, Pink-footed Goose and Arctic Tern. Visitors interested in the history of Arctic exploration can walk to the anchoring mast used by Amundsen and Nobile, in the airship Norge in 1926 and Nobile in the airship Italia in 1928, before their flights to the North Pole.

Today we will reach the northernmost islands of Svalbard: the Seven Islands north of Nordaustlandet. We will attempt to land on Phippsoya, where walrus are often hauled out on land. We will then try to find the pack ice to take in the spectacular surroundings and search for wildlife such as polar bears and perhaps even the illusive Ross gull. We will reach the area of 81 degrees north - just 540 km from the geographic North Pole

We push east to reach the area of Nordaustlandet, where the Nobile expedition drifted around in 1928 and where the Italian Sora tried to come to the rescue. There we hope to get to Alpinøya, reached by Sora in 1928, and then to the mouth of Finn Malmgrenfjord, and Albertinibukta and to climb Soraberget (205 M) from where we have a fantastic view on the icecap of Nordaustlandet. Alternatively we will land at Storøya, where again we may meet a group of walrus.

Today we hope to get to the rarely visited Kvitøya farthest to the east, close to the Russian territory of Franz Josef. The island is dominated by an icecap, which leaves a small area bare of ice and snow. We will land at the western tip at Andréneset, named after the Swedish explorer André and his companions, who perished in 1898. We will also try to get to Kraemerpynten in the east, where an enormous group of walrus reside.

South of Nordaustlandet we will try to land at Isispynten a Nunatak area surrounded by glaciers. Later we sail along the front of the Brasvell Glacier, the longest glacier front in Spitsbergen. In Olga Strait we have chances to spot the elusive Greenland whale.

In Freemansundet we plan to land at Sundneset on the island of Barentsøya to visit an old trapper's hut and then take a brisk walk across the tundra in search of Spitsbergen Reindeer and Barnacle Goose. Later we cruise south to Diskobukta on the west side of Edgeøya. After a Zodiac cruise through the shallow bay, we land on a beach littered with whale bones and tree trunks, which have drifted here from Siberia. We can also climb to the rim of a narrow gully which is inhabited by thousands of Kittiwake, together with Black Guillemot and piratical Glaucous Gull. During the breeding season, the base of the cliffs is patrolled by Arctic Fox and Polar Bear, searching for young birds that have fallen from the nesting ledges.

We start the day quietly cruising the side fjords of the spectacular Hornsund area of southern Spitsbergen, enjoying the scenery of towering mountain peaks. Hornsundtind rises to 1,431m, while Bautaen shows why early Dutch explorers gave the name 'Spitsbergen', or 'pointed mountains' - to the island. There are also 14 magnificent glaciers in the area and very good chances of encounters with seals and polar bears.

Today we land on Ahlstrandhalvoya at the mouth of Van Keulenfjorden. Here piles of beluga whale skeletons, the remains of 19th century slaughter - yet another reminder of the consequences of thoughtless exploitation. Fortunately, beluga were not hunted to the edge of extinction and may still be seen locally - there is a good chance that we will come across a pod. Cruising into Recherchefjorden during the afternoon we can explore an area of tundra at the head of the fjord where many reindeer feed.

Disembark and transfer to airport or hotel