Realm of the Polar Bear - Expedition

Arrive in Longyearbyen (LYR) and make your own way to the meeting point in town. You will be able to transfer by bus between the airport and the hotel meeting point. Please ensure your flight arrives by 2pm at the latest for today's 4pm embarkation. If arriving before this time or if you are already in Longyearbyen, please make sure you drop your checked luggage off at the meeting point between 9am - 12pm. A local representative will be in the luggage storage room and can provide general information about the town or your embarkation process. All passengers will be transferred to the ship as a group for embarkation at 4pm. Please ensure that you have your passport accessible for embarkation and that it is not in your luggage which will be transferred separately to the ship.

Each day will be planned to take advantage of local ice and weather conditions. Distances are relatively short in the archipelago and as there are no ocean crossings, so the seas are normally calm. Svalbard is one of the few places on the planet that offers such a wealth and diversity of natural and cultural historical sites. During the next six days we will visit ice covered seas, fjords with breathtaking mountain scenery and glaciers flowing into the sea around us. We will spend time steaming through the ice in search of polar bears, hunting for seals. Ivory gulls will be a highlight for keen birders, while we keep a constant lookout for walrus hauled out on ice floes or on sandy beaches.

Krossfjord, Konigsfjord, Monaco Glacier, Edgeoya, Hornsund and Bellsund, are just a few of the places that we may visit, depending on ice and weather. We hope to cruise in zodiacs along the ice edge, viewing seals, walrus or polar bears and in fjords with glaciers spilling down to the sea. We'll enjoy spectacular seabird cliffs from the edge of a Zodiac, as well as walks on shore, enjoying the arctic flora and fauna. Being in the land of the polar bear, your expedition staff will carry rifles and flare guns on shore for your protection. We take on an expedition spirit by not having a set itinerary and are free to take advantage of the best that Svalbard has to offer.

Svalbard has a prolific birdlife. Enjoy the spectacular bird cliffs, filled with thousands of murres, or guillemots, as well as kittiwakes and glaucous gulls and soak up the sound of these chirping, feathered creatures. A little auk colony will also be on our agenda.The Svalbard region is also a land of history: from whaling to reaching for the pole, to trapping, coal mining and war. There is some evidence of the whaling industry on some of the landings and the on-board lectures, will give you a bit more insight into the history of this region.

We will spend time in Zodiacs, cruising around the iceflows and may encounter some lounging walrus, with their young. There will be more landings, with different options for walks to suit all members of the group. The walks are normally divided into slow, medium and fast paced groups and depending on whether you want to take photographs near the beachfront, or hike up to the highest point, you can vary which option you choose each day.

Catch a glimpse of an arctic fox, roaming on the tundra. We also hope to see Svalbard's unique subspecies of reindeer. They are much smaller than their southern relatives, but still carry impressive antlers.

After our last full day of adventure, soaking up the sights of the Arctic wilderness, we will anchor off Longyearbyen in the evening and enjoy our final night aboard the ship, recounting tales of our week-long adventure.

The trip ends after breakfast on board the ship at approximately 8 a.m. There will be transfers available to Longyearbyen airport (LYR) for all passengers with flights scheduled.