Epic Arctic Discovery

Your Arctic adventure begins in Longyearbyen, the administrative capital of Svalbard. Arrive independently and join the included group sightseeing tour of this unique Arctic town, before heading to the port to board your ship. Embarkation will begin in the late afternoon and you can take the time to settle into your new surroundings as the ship sails down magnificent Isfjorden, flanked by bird cliffs, vast glaciers and jagged mountains.

Your adventure begins in earnest today as you discover the calving icebergs, historic whaling stations and trappers’ camps of Spitsbergen’s spectacular northwest coast. You can enjoy Zodiac excursions to get fantastic views of ice cliffs, and search for wildlife including walrus and possibly even polar bears. Enjoy gentle hikes along the tundra dotted with wildflowers and keep an eye out for reindeer. Birdwatching opportunities here are endless as Brunnich’s guillemots, little auks and kittiwakes nest in their thousands. Make sure you have your camera ready for fantastic scenic and wildlife photo opportunities. Possible landings here may include 14th July Glacier, Smeerenburg and Hamiltonbukta.

After crossing the Greenland Sea and arriving at Greenland’s eastern coast the overwhelming first impression is usually “ice”, and lots of it! An ice cap covers 81 per cent of the island and pack ice, even in summer, may fill the northern bays. We will spend our days exploring by Zodiac and visiting places like Kaiser Franz Josef Fjord where walks along the tundra in search of sightings of musk ox, Arctic fox and eider ducks wll delight. Visit trappers’ huts, see the spectacular hanging gardens at Kap Humboldt and witness the spectacular glacier-carved mountains of Kong Oskar Fjord up close.

We will spend 2 days exploring the beautiful Scoresby Sund, the world's biggest fjord system. The vast Greenland icecap sweeps down in massive glaciers that calve explosively, creating giant icebergs, and we will get up close to these on exciting Zodiac explorations. Near Sydkap, our Zodiacs weave through a maze of grounded icebergs, some more than 30-metres high, sculpted with deep green tunnels and aquamarine lakes.

A visit to the remote Inuit community of Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresby Town) will offer up the chance to meet some of the locals to learn about their way of life this far north, as well as chances to visit the excellent museum and gift shop.

Other fascinating areas we expect to visit include the beautiful bay of Cape Humboldt on Ymer Island, the Sefstrom Glacier, Sydkap, Rømer Fjord, Rode Ø, Hare Fjord, Nordvest Fjord, the neo-Eskimo site at Eskimobugt, Skipperdalen and more. For the kayakers there are ideal paddling conditions here, and you can spend your time weaving through the interconnected waterways, watching for polar bears and narwhals.

As your exciting time in Greenland comes to an end there may be time for some final landings along the Blosseville Coast and Romer Fjord before we cross the Greenland Sea to Jan Mayen. Weather depending, we attempt to land on this remote, mist-shrouded, and rarely-visited volcanic island - the northernmost island on the mid-Atlantic rift. On day 15 we will sail on towards the Norwegian fjord area.

As we sail south down the maze-like coastline of Norway your ship will pass over the Arctic Circle and we will raise a toast in celebration of this memorable moment. As we share the water with orcas and the skies with puffins we reach the Lofoten Islands, where the majestic scenery will delight, from romantic beaches to narrow fjords hemmed by granite walls. Enjoy exciting landings, visiting places including Trollfjord, and weather permitting, cruise around Runde Island, Norway's largest bird sanctuary. As your ship weaves through the intricate channels we will hope to visit places like Lysefjord and Sør Gjaeslingan, once home to a busy cod-fishing fleet, and now one of Norway’s finest birdwatching areas. You can expect to see numerous kittiwakes, terns and skuas that migrate here each summer. We will also hope to land at Torget Island to enjoy a hike to the mythical Torghatten mountain, as well as visiting the historic stave church at Kvernes.

Your epic Arctic adventure ends in Bergen, where after disembarkation you can transfer to the airport for your onward or homeward travel. You may wish to extend your stay here to see more of Bergen, Norway's second-largest city, which was founded more than 900 years ago and has roots to the Viking Age.