Enjoy time in Oslo before flying to Svalbard

Your expedition begins in Oslo, Norway’s fjord-side capital. If you have some time, we recommend exploring the city center.

With its rich history and fashionable art scene, Oslo is a fascinating city. You’ll find museums, galleries, and breathtaking architecture, including the beautiful Opera House and new Munch Museum.

Take a stroll in the Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, visit Akershus Fortress, or relax in a floating sauna. Explore modern Sørenga and enjoy urban beach life. You can also try New Nordic cuisine before spending the night at your airport hotel in Oslo.

Explore colorful Longyearbyen

After your morning flight to Longyearbyen, it’s time to explore the world’s northernmost town, a colorful frontier settlement where people are outnumbered by snowmobiles.

Longyearbyen is perfect for exploring on foot. Stroll down the main street and you might see Svalbard reindeer pass by. Although wild, they’re curious and gentle.

Before boarding your ship in the afternoon and continuing your Arctic discovery, join an included excursion after lunch for a glimpse of this amazing region at the top of the world inhabited by polar bears.

Experience pristine Arctic wilderness

Over the next three days, you’ll explore the natural beauty and rugged tundra of Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. Surrounded by steep mountains, stark glaciers, and beautiful offshore islands, we’ll scan for Arctic animals, including whales, seals, walruses, and reindeer. If we’re really lucky, we might even see the elusive polar bear hunting on the ice. In stunning Kongsfjord, you may see glaciers calving into the sea.

Be ready for adventure – we’ll seize any opportunity to launch our kayaks or use our small boats (RIBs) to go ashore to hike or help in a beach clean-up.

Scouting for polar bears, seabirds, and walruses

The frozen seascape of eastern Svalbard is home to the archipelago’s largest population of polar bears. We have high hopes you’ll see this elusive animal over the next two days. We will also scout for walrus and colonies of Brünnich’s guillemots and other seabirds in the Hinlopen Strait. We may head south to Freemansundet and Kapp Lee or take our small boats (RIBs) to Edgeøya or Barentsøya.

Your Expedition Team will set the daily itinerary. They’ll monitor local ice and weather conditions to take you on exhilarating landings, hikes, and kayaking tours.

Majestic glaciers, rich vegetation, and seabirds

As we sail toward the southernmost tip of Spitsbergen, we’ll enter Hornsund, one of Svalbard’s most beautiful fjords. Rich, colorful vegetation transforms into towering mountains along this picturesque waterway. Head out on deck to spot seals and whales, admire Mount Hornsundtind, and watch glaciers calving into the sea.

The green patches of land you’ll see here are fertilized by little auk colonies. This in turn attracts Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes, so keep your eyes peeled. In the evening, we’ll journey north toward Isfjord, past beautiful Bellsund.

Witness living history and ecology

Our Svalbard circumnavigation continues into Isfjord’s lush fjord system, where you’ll see immense, glacier-carved valleys rich in wildlife, vegetation, and human history.

To the north, Alkhornet is home to guillemots, kittiwakes, Svalbard reindeer, and Arctic foxes. Clear traces of the area’s whaling and hunting past are visible on beaches and in bays. Farther south, we’ll pass the former Isfjord Radio satellite communication station, which is now one of the world’s most beautifully situated hotels.

Today’s activities will be determined by the ever-changing weather conditions in Isfjord. Each day, your Expedition Team will decide on the best options for exploring.

A final day on top of the world

Your Arctic adventure comes to an end back in Longyearbyen. A transfer will take you to the airport for your flight to Oslo. You’ll return home knowing more about Arctic animals, history, polar ice, and climate change than when you arrived. You’ll also have lifelong memories from this incredible experience.

After your flight, spend another night at your airport hotel in Oslo.

Time to say goodbye

Your cruise officially ends after breakfast. Feel free to explore some more of the city of Oslo if you have time before your flight back home.