Jewels of the Arctic: Svalbard & East Greenland

After arriving in Oslo, take a short walk to the designated group hotel. Upon arrival, visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality desk to collect the necessary luggage cabin tags. The on-site ground operations team remains available there to share essential pre-embarkation details and offer practical local advice, including recommendations for dining, ATM locations, and nearby pharmacies or supermarkets for last-minute purchases.

The remainder of your time is at leisure to explore the city independently, with all meals today enjoyed at personal expense.

Accommodation: Oslo Hotel (to be advised) 

This morning, ensure all cabin luggage features tags clearly labeled with your name and assigned cabin number. Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before walking to the airport for the charter flight to Longyearbyen for embarkation. Keep any valuables and essential personal items on hand to carry throughout the day. Upon arriving in Longyearbyen, take the opportunity to explore the town on a guided tour. Following the tour, a direct transfer to the pier ensures a seamless late-afternoon embarkation. Once on board, take time to settle into the cabin before attending the essential safety briefings. Finally, enjoy the thrill of departure as the crew casts off the lines and the ship sets sail.

Note: The excursion is contingent on the arrival time of your charter flight to Longyearbyen.

Spitsbergen offers an exceptional introduction to Arctic expedition travel. Your experienced Expedition Team will shape each day around weather, sea ice, wildlife and the latest local information, selecting the best opportunities rather than following a fixed list of landing sites. 

Summer often allows you to explore a wider choice of fjords along western and northern Spitsbergen. Zodiac cruises may trace blue glacier fronts and sheltered bays, while guided walks cross flower-dotted tundra, raised beaches and fossil-rich polar desert. Historic camps and trappers’ huts reveal the human stories layered into this apparently untouched wilderness. 

The season is alive with wildlife. Bird cliffs resound with guillemots, kittiwakes and puffins, and little auks stream between sea and nesting slopes. Walrus rest at coastal haul-outs, whales feed in productive waters and reindeer graze on the tundra. Arctic foxes patrol the shore and bird colonies, while polar bears remain an unpredictable possibility throughout the archipelago. 

If you have selected an optional activity such as kayaking, expect opportunities to participate whenever environmental conditions permit. Guided walks, Zodiac excursions and the possibility of a polar plunge make the most of the long summer days. 

In summer, easing sea ice can open a broader range of possibilities along East Greenland’s immense coast. Your Expedition Team will use current ice, weather and wildlife information to shape the route each day, with all landings and Zodiac cruises subject to permits, quotas, local agreements and site availability. 

Depending on conditions, exploration may range from the fjords around Tasiilaq in the south to Scoresbysund and towards Kong Oscar Fjord farther north. Ittoqqortoormiit may be possible when ice and community arrangements align, but no named destination is guaranteed. The freedom to alter course is what allows you to seek the strongest experience available. 

Glacier-fed waterways, striped mountains and drifting icebergs create exceptional opportunities for Zodiac cruising and photography. On suitable shores, you may hike across colorful tundra, climb to panoramic viewpoints or examine geological formations that reveal the deep history of this restless landscape. 

You remain watchful for humpback and fin whales, seals and seabirds along the coast. On land, musk oxen and arctic hare may appear in the northern fjord country, while every wildlife encounter is approached carefully and on the animals’ terms. 

Human stories are inseparable from East Greenland. Archaeological remains and historic sites speak to earlier settlement and exploration, while present-day communities carry forward a living Greenlandic Inuit culture. Any community encounter will take place only where it is welcomed and operationally possible. 

Long summer light gives the expedition room to breathe. A promising wildlife sighting, a newly accessible fjord or an iceberg-filled bay can reshape the day, creating a voyage defined by responsiveness rather than a checklist. 

In the coming days, a host of choices are available to you, and depending on ice and weather conditions, the east coast of Greenland is yours to explore. Your experienced Expedition Team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to tailor your itinerary on a day-to-day basis. This allows you to make the best use of the prevailing weather, ice conditions, and encounters with wildlife. You generally attempt up to two landings or Zodiac excursions per day, including cruising along spectacular ice cliffs, following whales feeding near the surface.  

Be prepared to experience ice – and lots of it! East Greenland contains some of the Arctic’s most impressive scenery. Deep fjords and narrow channels, flanked by sharp ice-clad peaks soaring up to 2,000 meters (6,562 feet), and glaciers birthing gigantic icebergs that drift throughout the fjord system, combine to create breathtaking scenes.  

The tundra landscape is home to musk oxen, arctic hare, and reindeer. Throughout the area, there are ancient Thule archaeological sites, historical trappers’ huts, and the cabins of present-day Inuit hunters. A highlight is a visit to the Inuit village of Ittoqqortoormiit, the most isolated and northernmost permanent settlement in the region, with approximately 450 inhabitants. The community has an excellent museum, gift shop, an abundance of Greenlandic sled dogs, and provides the opportunity to meet the friendly locals. 

You hope to explore Scoresbysund, the world’s largest fjord and a favorite hunting ground of the local Inuit. Massive glaciers flow into this fjord, the birthplace of hundreds of majestic Greenland icebergs. It is a spectacular place that simply needs to be seen to be believed. North of Scoresbysund lie Kong Oskar and Kaiser Franz Josef fjords, two of the most significant fjord systems in Greenland, each one encompassing several smaller fjords and sounds. Thanks to the fertile volcanic soil and the surrounding mountains that shield it from strong winds, the area is rich in wildlife. You may spot everything from musk ox and arctic foxes to mountain hares, and even reindeer, near the fjord. Look skyward and you could catch a glimpse of birds, including the glaucous gull, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, common raven, and common eider. 

You attempt to reach Kaiser Franz Josef Fjord, a remote and rarely visited fjord system with countless opportunities for exploration, located within the Northeast Greenland National Park. You hope to cruise through Kong Oskar Fjord and marvel at the geological beauty of the mountains. Then head south along the coast of Liverpool Land, with your passage dependent on ice conditions.  

Stretch your legs on hikes across tundra in search of ancient graveyards and summer villages occupied 3,000 years ago by the Inuit. You may see musk ox, arctic hare, and reindeer grazing. The maze of calm, interconnecting waterways in this area provides excellent opportunities for sea kayaking. See ring seals, perhaps catch a glimpse of the elusive narwhal, and maybe even a polar bear hunting on pack ice.

In the Denmark Strait, you cruise towards Iceland. Lookout for whale blows and the many seabirds that trail your ship, riding in the constant winds. In the lecture theater, enjoy informative and entertaining presentations from the experts on topics such as seabirds, wildlife and ice, or catch up on some rest after long days of travel. 

During the early morning, you cruise into Reykjavik and disembark at approximately 8.00 am. Farewell your Expedition Team and fellow passengers as you all continue your onward journeys. Transfer to Keflavik airport. 

Note: At the conclusion of the voyage, it is recommended to book flights departing after 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays.