Spitsbergen to Northeast Greenland

After arriving in Longyearbyen, you may wish to visit the Svalbard Museum which has an interesting collection on the history of Spitsbergen, the mining industry and polar exploration In the evening we sail, setting course for Trygghamna.

In the morning we will see the remains of a 17th century English whaling station and an 18th century Pomor hunting station. From Trygghamna we walk to Alkhornet a large seabird cliff, where the birds are prospecting their breeding places. Below the cliffs we hope to see Arctic fox and reindeer. In Forlandsundet we visit a haul out place of walrus at Poolepynten if sea conditions allows, or at Sarstangen.

Today we sail into Fuglefjorden with views on Svitjodbreen and Birgerbukta. Here we may see great skuas and possibly polar bears. Raudfjord on the north coast of Spitsbergen is a beautiful fjord with spectacular glaciers. It is also a favourite with ringed and bearded seals, has good seabird colonies, and offers good chances for spotting polar bears and belugas

Crossing the Greenland Sea, we watch out for whales and seabirds.

We will attempt to sail into Foster Bugt, making our first landing at Myggebugten in the late afternoon or evening. Beyond the old hunters’ hut (in the first half of last century Norwegian trappers hunted here for polar bear and Arctic fox) there is an extensive tundra populated by musk oxen. The small lakes are home to geese.

We sail through Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord, a magnificent fjord with towering mountains on both sides, its inner reaches choked with huge icebergs. In the evening we will reach the incredible Teufelschloss. This prominent mountain is part of the so-called Eleonora Bay super group: Sedimentary rocks which was created between 950 – 610 million years ago to a depth of 16 kilometres. The scenery will be dominated by this unique geology during the next days.

We will land at Blomster Bugt to view the beautiful geological formations. Arctic hare are usually seen here, and Noah Lake sometimes offers great northern divers and their young. Musk oxen are also often spotted in the area and the hiking opportunities are phenomenal. In the afternoon we will venture deeper into Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord and find shelter in Renbugten. Huge icebergs and spectacular scenery will accompany us throughout the passage of this relatively narrow fjord system. We try to land in Renbugten in the search for muskoxen and Arctic hare and then head eastwards and into Antarctic Sound and enjoy the views of the ancient sedimentary rocks and witness what plate tectonics have done to the once horizontal layers.

We head into Kong Oscars Fjord and aim to make landfall in the afternoon near Menander Øer, another spectacular place offering good walking opportunities and chances of large land mammals.Kong Oscars Fjord is one of the largest fjords in the area and as we continue to sail east we land in Antarctic Havn, a wide and extensive valley where we also could see groups of musk oxen. At this time of year the autumnal colours of the sparse vegetation make the landscapes even more beautiful. 

Heading towards Scoresby Sund

At Danmark Ø we find the remains of an Inuit settlement abandoned around 200 years ago. The circular ‘tent rings’ of stones indicate the summer houses, while the winter houses can be seen closer to a small cape. The sites are well preserved, allowing entrances and even bear-proof meat caches to be identified. There are also grave sites. During the afternoon we sail along the east side of Milne Land with numerous huge icebergs all around.

We land near Sydkap in the morning for the spectacular views. Arctic hare are often seen in this area. During lunch we get a glimpse of the entrance to Nordvestfjord in Scoresby Land. Here we encounter huge icebergs, some over 100m high and more than a kilometre in length. Most of the bergs are grounded as the fjord is only about 400m deep here.

We land at Ittoqqortoormiit, the biggest settlement in the Scoresby Sund with about 500 inhabitants. At the post office you can buy stamps for your postcards, or just wander around to see the sledge dogs and the drying skins of seal, musk ox and polar bear.

In the morning we land on the south coast of Jameson Land near Kap Stewart at a lagoon, an area with waders and geese collecting for the autumn migration. The landscape here is gently undulating. Musk oxen and collared lemming survive on the meagre vegetation. Further inside Hurry Inlet we may take a walk near the head of the fjord and take a walk near one of the rivers terminating here. We may opt to do an excursion near Hareelv and climb J. P. Kochs Fjeld. 

Arrive and transfer to airfield for charter flight to Reykjavik (not included in cost)