On this ten-night circumnavigation of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, you will sail along sculpted glacier fronts, through breathtakingly scenic fjords and amongst sparkling ice caps lit by the midnight sun. The wildlife watching around Spitsbergen is excellent with Arctic foxes, bearded seals, walrus, beluga whales and the ultimate wildlife encounter – the mighty polar bear. Advanced divers have the unique opportunity to experience a rarely seen underwater world whilst for the ‘explorers’ there are exhilarating zodiac cruises and the chance to explore by kayak.

We are effectively running two trips in one each with their own dedicated guides. One underwater for our experienced polar divers and one topside for our ‘explorers’. For the 'explorers' we run much smaller groups at a landing site or on a zodiac cruise, often between 10-20 guests, compared with 100 or much more for 'normal' expedition vessels. These small numbers give us exceptional freedom for longer exploratory zodiac cruises. On the landing sites our 'footprint' is very small – we are few enough to cause virtually no disturbance, leaving us with more rewarding interactions with the wildlife and even more of a feeling of being in our own personal wilderness.

There are also occasions where the explorers and divers can add to each other’s experience. Life in the Arctic is very much underwater biased and the divers perspective, photography and video, as well as the presentations by our expedition team, have proved fascinating for our topside guests. And, many times the groups alert each other to wildlife they had missed.
The presence of Polar bears and Walrus in Spitsbergen keep our guides alert with rifles at all times and we maintain the highest level of safety in combination with quality diving.

Our aim is to sail to the remote Polar Regions to experience the Arctic wilderness of Svalbard, Spitsbergen. Drift ice, flora, fauna, and the birdlife are remarkable The sightings of whale, walrus and the ‘king’ himself - the Polar Bear, in his natural habitat are indescribable. The further north and east that we sail, the more ice we will meet. The ice will gradually build up until we see large ice floes with seals resting on them. This is polar bear country, where the bears hunt for their food, and here is your best chance of seeing ‘The King of the Arctic’.
You will discover hunters’ shelters and other evidence of the fierce conditions endured by the early polar pioneers. We plan to go ashore one or two times every day by Zodiac.
The final itinerary is dependent on ice and weather conditions, which have to be assessed during the voyage.

Arrival in Longyearbyen, capital of Spitsbergen, where we board the vessel in the afternoon.

Exploring the northwest, east and south of Spitsbergen during this circumnavigation with visits to Kongsfjorden and Magdalenefjorden; exploration of sites such as Woodfjorden and Leifdefjorden in search of the remarkable polar bear; cruising into Hinlopen Strait and expedition stops at Edgoya and Hornsund in the south.

Cruise back into Isfjorden before docking in Longyearbyen and the end of the journey, arriving early morning.