Circumnavigating Spitsbergen | In the Realm of the Polar Bear | 2024 (MS Spitsbergen)

After breakfast, set out to explore Longyearbyen, the world's northernmost town. This colorful frontier settlement is perfect for exploring on foot. You might even spot Svalbard reindeer passing by on the main street. Visit the North Pole Expedition Museum and admire the polar bear-inspired art. In the afternoon, board your ship to continue your Arctic journey.

Over the next three days, immerse yourself in the natural beauty and rugged tundra of Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. Surrounded by steep mountains, stark glaciers, and beautiful offshore islands, keep an eye out for Arctic animals, including whales, seals, walruses, and reindeer. If you're lucky, you might even spot the elusive polar bear hunting on the ice. Be ready for adventure as we seize any opportunity to launch our kayaks or go ashore to hike or participate in a beach clean-up.

Continue your exploration of the pristine Arctic wilderness of Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. Keep scanning for Arctic animals and marvel at the stunning Kongsfjord, where you may see glaciers calving into the sea. Embrace the spirit of adventure as we launch our kayaks or use our small boats to go ashore for hikes or beach clean-ups.

Spend your final day in the Arctic wilderness of Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. Continue your search for Arctic wildlife and enjoy the stunning natural beauty of the park. Be ready for more adventure as we seize every opportunity to launch our kayaks, go ashore for hikes, or participate in beach clean-ups.

The frozen seascape of eastern Svalbard is home to the archipelago's largest population of polar bears. Over the next two days, we'll scout for these elusive animals, as well as walruses and colonies of Brünnich's guillemots and other seabirds in the Hinlopen Strait. We may head south to Freemansundet and Kapp Lee or take our small boats to Edgeøya or Barentsøya. Your Expedition Team will set the daily itinerary, taking you on exhilarating landings, hikes, and kayaking tours.

Continue your wildlife scouting in the frozen seascape of eastern Svalbard. Keep an eye out for polar bears, walruses, and seabirds. Depending on the local ice and weather conditions, we may head to different locations for exhilarating landings, hikes, and kayaking tours.

As we sail toward the southernmost tip of Spitsbergen, we'll enter Hornsund, one of Svalbard's most beautiful fjords. Admire the rich, colorful vegetation that transforms into towering mountains along this picturesque waterway. Spot seals and whales, admire Mount Hornsundtind, and watch glaciers calving into the sea. In the evening, we'll journey north toward Isfjord, past the beautiful Bellsund.

Our Svalbard circumnavigation continues into Isfjord's lush fjord system, where you'll see immense, glacier-carved valleys rich in wildlife, vegetation, and human history. Visit Alkhornet, home to guillemots, kittiwakes, Svalbard reindeer, and Arctic foxes. Witness clear traces of the area's whaling and hunting past on beaches and in bays. We'll also pass the former Isfjord Radio satellite communication station, now one of the world's most beautifully situated hotels.

Your Arctic adventure comes to an end back in Longyearbyen. You'll return home with a deeper understanding of Arctic animals, history, polar ice, and climate change, and with lifelong memories from this incredible experience. If you have time before your flight back to Oslo, you can discover more of Longyearbyen and do some shopping.