Fly overnight to Oslo. Upon arrival, check into the Hotel Bristol. In the afternoon, explore this charming city. Stroll among the famed Vigeland sculptures—hundreds of life-size human figures set in terraced Frogner Park. Visit the Fram Museum, dedicated to the wooden ship sailed by Norwegian explorers Nansen and Amundsen. The evening is at leisure.

Depart Oslo on a chartered flight to Tromsø and embark on National Geographic Endurance.

Explore the dramatic, glacier-carved Norwegian coastline of Tysfjorden, where the fjord’s almost-vertical walls surround the ship. By Zodiac and kayak, get closer views of the birch forests, tumbling waterfalls, and small villages on the rocky shore. Nearby, the U-shaped valley of Hellmobotn cuts nearly to Sweden and has a trail to hike almost to the border.

Svartisen National Park consists of a large ice field of the central Norwegian coast. We enter the park on a beautiful fjord called Nordfjord. As we cross the park boundary, the sheer walls of the fjord tower above the ship. The Captain anchors the ship near the mouth of a glacier-fed river flowing down from a hanging glacier off the main ice field of Svartisen. Our morning will be spent gasping at the scenery, taking walks ashore in the birch meadows, and possibly kayaking in the protected waters. Zodiac cruising along the shores is always popular to view the numerous waterfalls cascading down the rock walls. Be on deck as we cruise into one of the most famous fjords in Norway, the compact yet dramatic Trollfjord, and search the cliffs for Norway’s mythical beings: trolls.

Start your day on deck as we glide into Trollfjorden, one of Norway’s most dramatic fjords. The Lofoten archipelago boasts an  enchanting landscape of picturesque villages framed by jagged, granite peaks that rise straight from the sea. Explore the many islets, and go ashore at Værøy to hike and kayak. Seek out Atlantic puffins, razorbills, and guillemots on a Zodiac cruise.

Spend the next day at sea, enjoying the ship’s amenities as we cruise toward Jan Mayen mainland. Listen to talks given by our naturalists, head to the bridge to watch for whales, or relax in the sauna or library. The following day, take the extremely rare opportunity to visit Jan Mayen, a remote Norwegian island with a small military and weather station that holds the settlement’s only residents. The seldom visited isle is presided over by the ice-capped crater of Beerenberg, the world’s northernmost active above-ground volcano.

With flexibility and exploration as our priorities, we head just south of the national park to Scoresbysund, the largest fjord in the world, where we may see the elusive narwhal, Atlantic walrus, and beluga whales. On the nearby shore sits the brightly colored Ittoqqortoormiit, the most isolated town in Greenland. The town is blocked by sea ice for most of the year, and its inhabitants—fewer than 500 of them—survive by hunting and fishing the surrounding waters. This is also the time of year where it is possible to view the Northern Lights and our staff will be available to help you photograph the experience.

Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park in the world, is a pristine swath of Arctic wilderness in the northeast corner of Greenland. There, you’ll find towering mountains, glacial lagoons, and tremendous wildlife—polar bears, musk oxen and walrus. National Geographic Endurance, with its PC 5 ice class, makes it possible to navigate the region’s dense pack ice and explore up close the coastline and inlets of the park.

Explore the beautiful and peaceful Westfjords region of Iceland. Perhaps take a hike to a remote waterfall or a Zodiac cruise alongside stunning scenery. Enter Ísafjarðardjúp and land at Vigur Island to visit the Eider Farm and view the down cleaning process.

Explore Iceland’s western frontier. Visit Flatey Island, a trading post for many centuries, to walk around the charming little hamlet, and opportunities to see and photograph numerous species of birds. Zodiac cruise the coast and see where Erik the Red sailed from in the year 982 A.D., bound for Greenland.

The Westman Islands were formed by undersea volcanoes between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago and are among the youngest of the world’s archipelagos. In 1963, the world witnessed on film the birth of its newest island, Surtsey — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — which we see as we cruise past the coast. In 1973, Heimaey was threatened by lava flows that nearly closed off its harbor. We visit the crater, where the earth is still hot, and have amazing views of areas that had been engulfed by lava.

Disembark in Reykjavík with options to visit either the famous Blue Lagoon thermal baths or hot springs, a geothermal power plant, and a horse farm, prior to the flight home.