North East Passage Westbound

Arrive in Anadyr by charter flight from Nome or from other ports

Crossing the Gulf of Anadyr. First birding opportunities and look out for whales.

Visit the amazing Whale Bone Alley, one of the finest archaeological sites in the Arctic. Later, land at the Gil'mimyl hot springs.

Early this morning we will be at Cape Dezhnev, the eastern extremity of the Eurasian continent. This afternoon we visit the nearby village of Uelen. Here we enjoy the hospitality of the local people who are predominantly Chukchi and enjoy a cultural performance and visit the bone-carving studio.

Early this morning we will pass close by the place where the Swedish explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiold wintered over in 1878. Later, land on Kolyuchin Island, where there is an abandoned Polar research and weather station. There are some terrific bird cliffs where it is possible to get some great photos of puffins, guillemots and gulls.

Wrangel Island is one of those islands that you have to visit to appreciate. It is a Federal Nature Reserve of international significance and importance and also a World Heritage Site. A lot of its significance lies in the fact that it is a major Polar Bear denning area. It is also the last landfall for migratory species flying north. Each summer thousands of birds migrate here to breed, including Snow Geese, Snowy Owls, skuas, Arctic Terns, Ross’s, Sabine’s and Ivory Gulls.

Three of Siberia's greatest rivers, the Indigirka, Alazaya and Kolyma flow into this sea. Great opportunities for spotting cetaceans and birds.

This island and village is home to a small group of Chukchi Reindeer herders. We enjoy their hospitality and learn about reindeer herding.

There are no permanent settlements on these little known and seldom visited islands. They are covered in tundra and known to have a good population of Polar Bears.

The sea encompasses the whole area between Wrangel Island and the New Siberian islands. We will encounter ice, marine mammals and spend time on deck birding. The expert lecture programme continues.

These islands mark the border between the Laptev and East Siberian Seas and consist of three major groups: Southern, Central (Anzhu) and Northern (De Long) Group. The islands are virtually unexplored and are uninhabited apart from the researchers at a couple of weather stations. We will explore the islands with a number of landings in search of Arctic flora and wildlife.

We continue to look for birds and marine mammals, but the main focus here is to seek out the endemic Laptev Sea Walrus, only found in these waters.

The Severnaya Zemlya Islands are on the border of the Kara and Laptev Seas and are an extension of the Taimyr Peninsula. The islands were not 'discovered' until 1914-15 by the Russian explorer Vilkitski. They are heavily glaciated with deep fiords and majestic glaciers which make them magnificent for cruising. There is also a great selection and abundance of Arctic wildlife including Polar Bears, Arctic Foxes, Arctic Hares and walruses.

This has been measured as one of the coldest seas in Russia. Nevertheless, we will be on the lookout for mammals and birds.

This is a huge archipelago of 192 islands located only 10 degrees from the North Pole. They were named in 1870 after the Hungarian Emperor when they were discovered by the Austro-Hungarian Payer-Weyprecht Expedition that was searching for the NE Passage. During our time here we plan multiple landings in search of history, wildlife and flora. We may spot the elusive narwhal in these waters.

A last couple of days on deck looking out for whales and seabirds as we make our way to Svalbard.

Arrive and disembark. Transfers available to airport or hotel.