In brief:
• Highlights of Spitsbergen.
• Arctic wildlife.
• Tundra hikes.
• Zodiac cruising.
• Optional kayaking.

Quick getaways to the polar regions are almost impossible. This 8-day expedition provides all the thrills in the shortest time possible.

Duration: 8 days
Embarkation and Disembarkation: Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway
Staging point: Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

Longyearbyen is the principal community of the archipelago the Norwegian’s call Svalbard. It is located on the largest island – Spitsbergen. There is a frontier quality to a town that has a local ordinance banning people from traveling without a rifle outside the town limits. We’ll transfer you from the airport to the ship for embarkation.

North and west of Longyearbyen on the opposite shore of Isfjorden is Alkhornet where you will make your first shore landing. The summit is 428 meters (1400 feet) above sea level. Murres, also known as guillemots, nest in the mountain’s cliff faces. There will be time to hike across tundra, which is not a stroll in the park, as tundra is rough and boggy.

Poolepynten, on an island off the west coast of Spitsbergen, is a walrus haul-out. The tusked marine mammals have been protected since 1952; their population growing from 100 to about 2,000 in more than half a century. We will go ashore to watch the huge creatures loll or dive.

Steaming ever northward, we go ashore at Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island. Dutch whalers established a community here in 1619. The literal translation of the town name is Blubber Town. You’ll learn about whaling as you explore the blubber ovens that remain to remind us of the archipelago’s economic past.

At Fuglesangen, you will visit a colony of Little Auks or Dovkies. A backdrop of steep mountains dusted with snow will make this shore landing an excellent photo opportunity. You may need a longer lens approaching Moffen Island, a walrus sanctuary. We adhere to strict guidelines that keep us at a distance so we don’t disturb them.

During the night we rounded the tip of Ny Frisland and entered the Hinlopen Strait. Our goal today is to visit Alkefjellet on the Spitsbergen’s east side. With your binoculars, scan the cliff face. Thick-billed murres or Brunich Guillemots nest there in the thousands. Fox and polar bears are often seen patrolling the base of the cliffs, waiting for a meal to drop from the sky – chicks that have fallen from the nest before they are ready to fly.

The ship will sail across Hinlopen Strait to Torellneset on the island of Nordaustlandet. Be on the lookout for walrus and evidence of isostatic rebound – the rise of a landmass after an ice sheet retreats. The weight of an ice sheet during an Ice Age depressed the land that lay under it.

You’ll awake this morning to find the ship at anchor near the Monaco Glacier at the head of Liefdefjorden. Tens of thousands of birds are often found on the water at the base of the glacier. Later we’ll sail to Worsleyneset to hike and learn more about the human history of Svalbard.

Your final day on the water will be spent on the western coast of Spitsbergen. At the 14th of July Glacier, you should find tundra flowers in bloom. Ny Alesund is a research station with a transient population that ranges from 35 in the winter to 200 in the summer. The indigenous Svalbard reindeer may be grazing, so keep your camera handy.

You will disembark after breakfast to make your way home.

Important reminder: Embracing the unexpected is part of the legacy – and excitement – of expedition travel. There are no guarantees that we can achieve everything we set out to accomplish. A measure of flexibility is something all of us must bring to a voyage.