Luxury Highlights of Svalbard

Day 1: Embarkation in Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen, the capital of the Svalbard archipelago, is located on Svalbard's main island of Spitsbergen. A former mining town with a permanent population of just over 2,000 people, it has the most northerly airport to receive scheduled flights in the world. Ringed in by mountains, this small town during the summer months becomes the focus for all visitor exploring the archipelago.

Day 2: Gnalodden and Hornsund

The name Gnalodden is derived from the nearby bird cliff which is home to thousands of black-legged kittiwakes and Brunnich's guillemots. These birds produce a constant noise during the nesting. Landing in Gnalodden offers an thrilling landscape, proximity to birdlife and a historic walk between cultural remnants.

Your ship will take you closer to this fascinating archipelago and, more particularly, the Hornsund fjord. Considered to be Svalbard’s southernmost fjord, it is especially reputed to be its most stunning: at the end of its vast bay, 8 great glaciers slowly make their way down to the sea before giving way to the many icebergs elegantly drifting along its cold and mysterious waters. 

Day 3: Bakanbukta, Ginevrabotnen, Agardhbutka

Located to the east of Spitsbergen, this bay has many surprises in store. At the entrance to the national park on the east coast, it is a region often taken over by the ice until late in the season. This preserved bay offers the opportunity to discover the assets of the High Arctic: the tundra, glaciers and polar bears. Near to the bear den areas of Barentsøya and Edgeøya, this site often provides an occasion for great sightings of the local fauna.

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Day 4: Boltoden and Isbukta

On the eastern coast of Spitsbergen, in the heart of an exceptional geological site, set off to discover the remnants left by the first to explore the region, the Pomors. These settlers, hunters and trappers from Nothern Russia, were the first to discover the Svalbard Archipelago, in the 14th century. At the time, they believed they had arrived on the coast of Greenland. They named this land “Grumant”. This port of call will certainly fascinate history and geology lovers.

Nestling on the south-east point of the island of Spitsbergen, Isbukta shelters an immense glacier, the Vasil’evbreen, whose front is more than 20 kilometres long. This is an opportunity for an unforgettable Zodiac® outing. If the conditions allow it, you will be able to land directly at the foot of this majestic, so as to discover the moraine and walk on the first section of the glacier. Depending on the ice conditions, you will also perhaps be lucky enough to approch Stellingfjellet, home to one of the largest guillemot colonies on the archipelago.

Day 5: Bellsund

You will head to the Bellsund fjord to follow in the footsteps of the first explorers who came from the Norwegian coast, or those of the many fur traders seeking game and trophies. Boasting an astonishingly rich wildlife, the arms of the fjord separate to form two lush valleys. Give free rein to your imagination in the heart of this majestic natural environment where time seems to stand still.

Day 6: Ny Alesund and Kongsbreen kongsfjorden

During your cruise, discover Ny Alesund, a former mining town that has been transformed into a scientific base. Founded in 1916, this small town was the departure point for many Arctic expeditions, including those of the famous explorer Roald Amundsen. Don't miss a visit to the museum and its famous post office, considered to be the most northerly in the world! 

Further on, the ship will take you to Kross Fjord, which will reveal its typically Arctic setting, made up of plutonic rock and tundra. Experience the wild beauty of a remote land which many species of endemic wildlife have chosen as a haven.

Day 7: Sailing among Ice Floe

Your captain will sail right up to the limit of the ice, to the edge of the ice floe. Weather conditions and state of the ice allowing, you will be able to go out in a Zodiac for a unique experience in the middle of these floating slabs of ice. In addition to this grandiose journey through the middle of these floes with their cut and blue-tinged edges, sometimes over 2 metres thick, it is also often an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe: birds, seals and polar bears.

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Day 8: Wildefjorden, Daghogda

Sailing into Wijdefjorden will guarantee you an unforgettable moment of wonderment. The particularity of this gigantic fjord is that it almost entirely separates the island of Spitsbergen in two, from north to south. Sailing in Wijdefjorden will enable you to reach the Daghøgda Valley and go for an exceptional hike along an ancient glacial valley. At the end of your walk, you will reach two lakes surrounded by impressive vertical cliffs. It is an exquisite spectacle, in the heart of the Svalbard Archipelago’s longest fjord.

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Day 9: Jotunkjeldene, Monacobreen, Texas Bar

Located to the North-West of the Svalbard archipelago, the Monaco Glacier (or Monacobreen) is probably one of Spitsbergen's most beautiful and majestic. Named in honour of Prince Albert I of Monaco, a sailor, it stands as an impenetrable, blue-tinged jagged wall, the last glacier before reaching a latitude of 80 degrees North. Imagine the sound of the ice cracking as it breaks free and crashes into the translucent water. And to make the magical landscape even more perfect, you might be lucky enough to spot bears and whales, as these two animals have a special fondness for this area.

The Jotunkjeldene thermal springs are surrounded by the Sverrefjell volcano in the south, by glaciers in the west, and enormous red sandstone mountains in the east.

Day 10: Sailing among Ice Floe and Ytre Norskoya

Ytre Norskoya is an island on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago. On the southern side of the island, you will find remains of a whaling station. This was Europe's northernmost outpost until the early 19th century; and the most northerly permanent settlement until the 1950s. 

Day 11: Signehamna and Fjortende Julibukta

Signehamna is a natural harbour in Albert I Land at Spitsbergen, Svalbard, located at the western side of Lilliehookfjorden and is included in the Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park. Relics from weather station Knospe, built by German occupants during World War II, can be found on the shore.

The bay of Fjortende Julibukta boasts superb scenery and opulent vegetation, a glacier that calves into the sea and a cliff on the north side that holds thousands of seabirds, including Brunnich's guillemot, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, glaucous gull, black guillemot, little auk, Atlantic puffin and a few razorbill; reindeer also frequent these slopes. The bay close to the glacier offers one of the most beautiful beaches in the Arctic. This site offers very diverse vegetation within a few hundred meters, from the barren gravel near the glacier to the most magnificent flowering meadows below the bird cliff. 

Day 12: Halkhornet and Nordenskjoldbreen

Today you will visit Halkhornet, a large seabird cliff and Nordenskjold Glacier.

Day 13: Disembarkation in Longyearbyen

Disembark in Longyearbyen.

NOTE: This itinerary is for guidance only as each voyage will vary depending on ice and weather conditions, and opportunities to see wildlife. Flexibility is key and all part of the adventure of an expeditionary cruise.