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A mother polar bear and her young relax on the Arctic landscape

Svalbard Polar Bear Expedition

Example 11 Day Cruise
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Visit Svalbard during the second half of the season on this 11-day Arctic expedition cruise on the MV Polaris 1. The ice is slowly starting to loosen its grip, which offers good opportunities to explore the seldom-visited eastern parts. During this expedition discover the Arctic archipelago, searching for wildlife such as polar bears, walrus, and whales. If lucky, you can circumnavigate Spitsbergen or explore the spectacular Nordaustlandet on this unforgettable Arctic exploration. Enjoy comfort, great food, and a casual small group setting.
Homes in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, NorwayAn Arctic fox scouts the terrainPolar bear in the ArcticView walruses on your Svalbard tourA mother polar bear and her young relax on the Arctic landscape
Highlights
  • Look for polar bears, walrus, bearded seals, and beluga in the pack-ice
  • Deploy Zodiacs for more detailed exploration and for going ashore
  • Visit some of Svalbard’s most impressive tidewater glaciers and tundra
  • View huge populations of seabirds such as puffins, guillemots & kittiwakes
  • Attend a broad range of lectures and learn from expert guides in the field
Places Visited
Activity Level: Relaxed
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
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Full Itinerary

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Day 1: Embark in Longyearbyen

  • 1 Dinner
Arrive in Longyearbyen and meet your expedition staff before taking a minibus tour of the town. Visit the Global Seed Vault, University Center, and the Svalbard Church. After this convene at a local café for coffee and a bite to eat.

Embark the MV Polaris in the late afternoon and attend a safety briefing. Sail out into Isfjorden to begin your polar adventure.

Day 2-10: Cruising the Archipelago of Svalbard

  • 9 Breakfasts, 9 Lunches, 9 Dinners
Over the next 9 days your small expedition vessel explores the breathtaking coastlines of Spitsbergen and Prins Karls Forland, taking advantage of the small ship abilities to visit areas inaccessible to larger vessels. There is a lot on offer in this Arctic wilderness, with its deep fjords and mountain ranges. The itinerary is flexible to allow for the polar climate and the unpredictable movements of the ice floes and weather conditions.

Expedition staff and the ship’s crew are constantly on the lookout for Arctic wildlife. Spend time in the pack-ice as conditions allow looking for polar bears, walrus and their haul outs, bearded seals, and beluga. A visit to some of the seabird rookeries is a must, where you can see guillemots, razorbill, puffins, and kittiwakes amongst many other Arctic species.

Where possible attempt to visit some of the area's tidewater glaciers that terminate in the sea. The ship's tenders are deployed as often as possible to enable more detailed exploration by zodiac style cruising and shore excursions. There is a limited amount of hill walking across the permafrost to study the tundra flora and to observe Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes in their natural habitat. You also have the chance to walk on the Arctic sea ice as your ship occasionally uses the ice face to tie up at night.

The expedition guides provide expert information and interpret what you see in the field while ensuring whatever you do is safe and ecologically sustainable. There are a broad range of wildlife and technical lectures throughout the expedition. Possible destinations include:

Northwest Svalbard
In the scientific village of Ny Alesund, Arctic terns nest by the main street. It was from here that Amundsen and Nobile started their heroic expeditions to the North Pole. On the islands of Danskoya, Amsterdamoya and Ytre Norskoya find remnants from the bustling activity during the 17th century whaling period. Two of the most courageous attempts to reach the North Pole started on Danskøya. Swedish balloonist Andree made an attempt with hydrogen balloon and American journalist Wellman started out with airship. The site is still littered with interesting remnants from these expeditions.

Fantastic fjords
Svalbard offers the visitor countless spectacular fjords. During your journey explore a few of them such as:
Liefdefjorden, meaning “the fjord of love”, is lined with snow-covered mountain peaks. At its base hope to cruise along the face of the spectacular Monaco Glacier. Many common eiders and pinkfooted geese nest in the area and if lucky see the rare king eider.
In Krossfjorden delight in the beautifully sculptured front of the 14th of July Glacier and the raucous greeting of the large numbers of kittiwakes and Brünnich’s guillemots nesting on the nearby cliffs.
Raudfjorden is an area of immense natural beauty. Dominated by beautiful glaciers, it is also a favorite spot for seals and the bird cliffs are bursting with life.

Eastern Svalbard
The island of Nordaustlandet is covered by an enormous ice cap and fascinates naturalists as well as historians. There are huge glacier fronts here, intersected by hundreds of melt-waterfalls. Even further east is Kvitøya (White Island). In very favorable ice and weather conditions, you may land on this ice-capped island where few people have set foot. Here Andrée and his men were found 33 years after their unsuccessful attempt to reach the North Pole with a hydrogen balloon. Barentsøya and Edgeøya offer magnificent landscapes and vast tundra. Chances are good to encounter walrus, Arctic fox and Svalbard reindeer here.

Hinlopen and Alkefjellet
If the ice allows enter Hinlopen Strait. Here is Alkefjellet (Auk Mountain), a sheer, basaltic cliff, which is the home to some 200,000 Brünnich`s guillemots. Continue into the beautiful bay of Palanderbukta in Nordaustlandet.

Southwest Svalbard
The grand fjords of Hornsund offer spectacular glaciers and a breathtaking landscape of towering mountain peaks. This is a favorite haunt for some of Svalbard's polar bears.

Day 11: Disembark in Longyearbyen

  • 1 Breakfast
After a hearty breakfast disembark the MV Polaris in Longyearbyen. Guests departing Svalbard airport the same day transfer to the airport for the afternoon flight to Oslo. There is time before the afternoon departure to explore more of the town.

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  • 10 Breakfasts, 9 Lunches, 10 Dinners

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