Circumnavigating Svalbard

Enjoy time in Oslo before flying to Svalbard

Your expedition begins in Oslo, Norway’s fjord-side capital. If you have time before your flight, head out to explore 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 or relax in a floating sauna. Explore modern Sørenga and enjoy urban beach life, or try New Nordic cuisine before flying out to Longyearbyen in the Svalbard archipelago.

Explore the town at the top of the world

After breakfast, 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. Admire the polar bear–inspired art or visit the North Pole Expedition Museum.

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

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 set out in our small boats (RIB) to go ashore and hike or participate in a beach cleanup.

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.

Majestic glaciers, birds, and pioneer history

Your expedition cruise continues south toward Hornsund – one of Svalbard’s most beautiful fjords. Rich, colorful vegetation transforms into towering mountains along this picturesque waterway. Head out to the deck to spot seals and whales, admire Mount Hornsundtind, and watch glaciers calving into the sea.

Then we head to snow-capped Bellsund, whose cliffs are home to large colonies of auks, guillemots, and northern fulmars, while Arctic foxes and Svalbard reindeer can be found below. Look out for the early mining settlements here and learn about Wanny Woldstad, the first female trapper.

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. 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.

The last day at the top of the world

Your Arctic adventure comes to an end back in Longyearbyen. Before your flight back to Oslo, you’ll have time to explore more of Longyearbyen and do a bit of shopping – perhaps you’ll pick out a warm Svalbard sweater.

A transfer will take you to the airport for your flight home. You’ll return with more knowledge about wildlife, history, polar ice, and climate change in the Arctic, and you’ll have memories of an incredible experience.