United Kingdom to Oslo/Longyearbyen

Fly to Oslo before connecting to Svalbard

Your journey begins with a flight from the United Kingdom to Oslo, where you’ll catch your onward flight to Longyearbyen.   

Longyearbyen is an intriguing frontier settlement on the island of Spitsbergen, where the 2,000 inhabitants are outnumbered by snowmobiles.  

At the edge of Arctic wilderness, Longyearbyen is surprisingly cosmopolitan with a range of restaurants, pubs and galleries. Get a taste of life in this legendary Arctic frontier as you stroll the streets and admire its colourful buildings.

Longyearbyen adventures

 Explore colourful Longyearbyen 

 After breakfast, it’s time to explore the world's northernmost town, a colourful 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 saunter by. Although wild, they're curious and tame. Admire the polar bear–inspired art or visit the North Pole Expedition Museum. 

Before boarding your ship in the afternoon and continuing your Arctic discovery, join an included excursion after lunch, or try an optional electric bike, dogsledding or hiking tour.

Expedition days

Experience pristine Arctic wilderness 

Over the next three days, you'll explore the natural beauty and rugged tundra of Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. In this wilderness of steep mountains, stark glaciers and beautiful offshore islands, we’ll scan for animals of the Arctic – 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 expedition boats and go ashore to hike or participate in a beach clean up.

Exploring the east

Scouting for polar bears, seabirds and walruses 

Be ready for anything as this stage of your journey is truly adventurous. If sea ice permits, we’ll venture across the 80th parallel north and explore the pristine wilderness of northeast Svalbard.

Perhaps we’ll head to the immense Bråsvellbreen glacier to see waterfalls tumbling into the icy depths, or to Kvitøy to look for polar bears roaming the ice. Heading south, we may explore Freemansundet and Kapp Lee, or take our small expedition boats to Edgeøya or Barentsøya.

In true expedition style, exactly where we’ll go will depend on the conditions on the day. Channel your inner explorer on exhilarating landings, hikes and kayak trips, and look out for wildlife like polar bears, walruses, guillemots and gulls.

And if the ice doesn’t allow us to pass to the east, you’ll experience just as much adventure as we delve deeper into the wonders of western Svalbard. We’ll take a flexible route through deep fjords and by soaring mountains, seeking out remarkable Arctic wildlife.

Beautiful Hornsund

Majestic glaciers, rich vegetation and seabirds 

As we sail towards the southernmost tip of Spitsbergen, we'll enter Hornsund, one of Svalbard’s most beautiful fjords. Rich, colourful vegetation makes way for towering mountains along this picturesque waterway. Head out on deck to spot seals and whales, Mount Hornsundtind, and glaciers calving into the sea. 

The green patches of land you’ll see here are fertilised 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, past beautiful Bellsund towards Isfjord.

Astonishing Isfjord

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, Alkehornet is home to guillemots, kittiwakes, Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes. The 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, now one of the world's most beautifully situated hotels.  

Our activities today will be determined by the ever-changing weather conditions of Isfjord. Your Expedition Team will decide on the best possibilities for exploring on the day.

Return to Longyearbyen

A final day on top of the world 

Back in Longyearbyen, your Arctic cruise comes to an end. Exploring Svalbard creates memories for life, leaving you feeling enriched from wildlife encounters, insights in polar history and local geography. 

Before your flight back to Oslo, you'll have time to discover more of Longyearbyen and do a spot of shopping – perhaps a warm Svalbard sweater.  

From Oslo, you’ll take a flight back to the United Kingdom.