Jewels of the Arctic 2024 Expedition

Having made your way to Longyearbyen, you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred to our group hotel. Upon arrival, you will be provided with Aurora Expeditions cabin tags for your luggage. Please clearly label the tags with your name and ship cabin number. Enjoy free time, and in the evening, dine at your leisure (dinner not included). Accommodation: Radisson Blu Polar Hotel (or similar)

This morning, please ensure your cabin luggage is fitted with cabin tags clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. Your luggage will be collected from your hotel and transferred directly to the port for clearance and delivered to your cabin ahead of your arrival on board. Please keep any valuables or personal items with you throughout the day. After a leisurely breakfast, check-out before enjoying the main attractions of Longyearbyen town on a locally guided tour. On the drive to Camp Barentz, located in Advent Valley, your guide will give you an introduction to Longyearbyen’s fascinating history. Once at Camp Barentz we enjoy a presentation in the large ‘lavvo’ - a traditional building common in northern Norway. You will also have the opportunity to meet the friendly huskies and perhaps pick up some souvenirs. A visit to the Svalbard Museum is included back in town before embarking the vessel in the late afternoon. After embarkation, settle into your cabin before attending mandatory safety briefings and enjoy the thrill of departure as we ‘throw the lines’ and set sail. Sail out of the beautiful Isfjorden, escorted by gliding fulmars and perhaps the occasional puffin. Find a spot in one of the observation areas to watch seabirds, including graceful ivory gulls, kittiwakes and guillemots. This evening, get to know your fellow expeditioners, expedition team and crew at the Captain’s Welcome Dinner to celebrate the start of a thrilling adventure. Note: Sometimes, our ship is unable to dock in Longyearbyen port due to space and capacity. In these instances, we use Zodiacs as a shuttle service between ship and port. Please ensure that you keep your wet-weather gear in your hand luggage in case this situation arises. Please ensure your cabin luggage tag is completed, clearly showing your name and cabin number. Our crew will deliver your luggage directly to your cabin.

Svalbard offers Arctic wilderness at its best. Our experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design our day-to-day itinerary, choosing the best options based on the prevailing weather, sea-ice conditions and wildlife encounters. Phenomenal fjords, magnificent mountains ranges and a polar desert rich in fossils set the stage for heroic tales of early exploration. See walrus hauled-out on sea ice or on beaches. On land, stretch our legs on walks across tundra coming out in brightly-coloured wildflowers. We visit towering cliffs noisy with nesting guillemots and puffins, and scree slopes that hold Svalbard’s largest little auk colonies. Most memorable are encounters with the majestic polar bear on pack ice. Your expedition team is just as keen as you to find them— they will be on constant watch to spot these inspiring creatures. If you have chosen an optional activity such as kayaking, you’ll have the option to enjoy the activity when conditions allow. For those who are enthusiastic to participate in a polar plunge, as soon as conditions are suitable, you’ll hear the announcement to prepare for an exhilarating plunge, a memory you’ll savour for years to come.

As we sail across the Greenland Sea – the main outlet of the Arctic Ocean – we may encounter whales feeding in the rich waters of the north. Sightings of fin whales are common and blue whales have been seen in more recent years. As we approach east Greenland we may encounter more pack ice, and perhaps see seals and a variety of seabirds including northern fulmar and Brunnichs guillemots. This stretch of coast is ripe for exploration, with its many secrets locked in place by drift ice for up to eight months each year. The strong icy currents have isolated east Greenland from the Polar Basin, attracting large numbers of fish, seals and whales. Climatic conditions and the concentration of ice in the vicinity often create thick morning fog that vanishes with the onset of the midday sun. Our experts will inform and entertain us with fascinating discussions on plants, animals, ice, and heroic tales of exploration. Conditions permitting, there may be a chance for kayakers to launch their sea kayaks while others explore push through the sea ice in Zodiacs. If time and weather permits, we may even make our first landing on the Greenland coast.

In the coming days, a host of choices are open to us, and depending on ice and weather conditions, the east coast of Greenland is ours to explore. Our experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design our voyage from day to day. This allows us to make best use of the prevailing weather, ice conditions and encounters with wildlife. We generally attempt up to two landings or Zodiac excursions per day; cruising along spectacular ice cliffs, following whales feeding near the surface. Be prepared to experience ice, 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 up to 2,000 m / 6,562 ft high. Glaciers create gigantic icebergs that drift throughout the fjord system creating breath-taking scenes. The tundra landscape is home to musk oxen, Arctic hare and reindeer. Throughout the area are ancient Thule archaeological sites, historical trappers' huts, and modern Inuit hunters' cabins. 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 the opportunity to the friendly locals. Explore Scoresbysund, the world’s biggest fjord and a favourite hunting ground of the local Inuit. Massive glaciers dump into this fjord, the birthplace of hundreds of spectacular Greenland icebergs. It’s a spectacular place that simply needs to be seen to be believed. North of Scoresbysund are, Kong Oscar and Kaizer Franz Josef fjords, two of the most significant fjord systems in all of Greenland, each one encompassing several smaller fjords and sounds. Thanks to the fertile volcanic soil mountains that protects areas from the strong winds, the area is rich in wildlife. You may spot everything from muskox and arctic foxes to mountain hares and even reindeer near the fjord. Look skyward and you could catch a glimpse of birds including glaucous gull, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, common raven and common eider. We will attempt to enter Kaiser Franz Josef Fjord, a remote and rarely visited fjord system with countless opportunities for exploration within the Northeast Greenland National Park. Cruising through Kong Oskar Fjord we will marvel at the geological beauty of the mountains. We will then head south along the coast of Liverpool Land, with our passage dependent on ice conditions. We stretch our legs on hikes across tundra in search of ancient graveyards and summer villages occupied 3,000 years ago by Eskimos. We may see musk ox, Arctic hare and reindeers grazing. This area provides excellent opportunities for sea kayaking in its maze of calm, interconnecting waterways. We’ll see ring seals, perhaps catch a glimpse of elusive narwhal, and maybe even a polar bear hunting on pack ice.

Crossing the Denmark Strait to Iceland, search for whale blows and photograph the many seabirds that trail our ship in the ever-present Arctic winds. Reflect on your recent adventures, perhaps share and exchange photos, and breathe in the fresh sea air.

During the early morning we arrive in Reykjavik. Farewell your expedition team and fellow expeditioners before transferring to downtown Reykjavik or to Keflavik airport to continue your onward journey. At the conclusion of the voyage, we do not recommend booking flights departing prior to 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays. Important note: In the spirit of expedition travel, we encourage exploration and adventure offering flexibility in challenging environments. This itinerary is only a guide and is subject to change due to weather, sea, pack-ice and other conditions beyond our control.

In true expedition style we encourage exploration and adventure, offering flexibility in challenging environments in a way that puts you among the action to see and do as much as possible. This itinerary is only a guide and subject to change due to ice and weather conditions.