Svalbard & Bear Island to Norway

Embark in the afternoon and set sail.

Our flexible itinerary is dependant on ice and weather conditions. We will travel to see walrus haul-outs, might see polar bears, reindeer, Arctic fox, whales or a bearded seal. Also myriad birds. We will go ice cruising by ship and Zodiac and devote at least one day to exploring the pack ice north of Spitsbergen. Conditions permitting, our Expedition Leader may choose to take us out in the Zodiacs for an even closer look.

Here are a few of the places we hope to visit:

Magdalenefjorden - where the remains of blubber ovens and a cemetery can still be seen.

Liefdefjorden - where we may encounter polar bears looking for bird’s eggs.

Monacobreen - for Zodiac cruise along the front of two different glaciers: Monacobreen and Seligerbreen. Monacobreen has a 5 kilometre long front and is a good place to look for seals, Black-legged Kittiwakes and Ivory Gulls.

Fjortende Julibreen – The 14th of July Bay is located at the entrance of Krossfjorden. Here we will go ashore for a hike up to the 14th of July Glacier.

Hornsund – This is the southernmost fjord on the rugged west coast of Spitsbergen Island. Jagged mountain peaks tower above glacier-filled bays. Amidst floating icebergs, we will watch for bearded seals, the beluga whale and the king of the Arctic – the polar bear. Sightings are fairly common as the polar bear’s favourite food, the ringed seal, breeds in the fjord. The surrounding bird cliffs are home to thousands of pairs of nesting Little Auks. We may visit the remains of whaling stations and trappers’ huts.

Close to 9 kilometres of cliffs are home to some of the largest bird colonies of the Northern Hemisphere. common and Brünnich’s guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars, and glaucous gulls are all found along the cliff. Other species have been observed, including Atlantic puffins and northern gannets.

Leaving Bear Island head out on deck to watch for whales -white-beaked dolphins and minke whales are known to frequent the area.

In Kirkenes, we can either drive southward into the Pasvik Valley sitting between Russia and Finland, to go for nature walks to observe the valley’s unique birds and plants, or head west along Munkefjord to visit Neiden, a small village near the Finnish/Norwegian border, and see Neiden church, St. George’s Chapel, and the Neiden Waterfall -and even briefly cross into Finland at Näätämö.

Today, we round the North Cape, the northernmost point of Europe. At 71° 10’ 21” N, a sheer cliff raises 307 metres above the Arctic Ocean. Adventurous guests can join members of the Expedition Team for a challenging hike to Nordkapp, retracing the original route to the cape up a winding path. For those who prefer comfort, the Silver Cloud will anchor off Skarsvag, the “most northerly fishing village in the world”, and, weather conditions permitting, head ashore via Zodiac. We will travel by coach to the North Cape where you can admire the glorious scenery, stop in at the visitor’s centre and take photos at the famed globe monument. On a clear day the panorama is quite spectacular. On the return to Silver Cloud we will watch for reindeer grazing on the surrounding hillsides.

In the afternoon Silver Cloud will anchor off the Nature Reserve of Gjesværstappan Islands. We will use our Zodiacs to circumnavigate Storstappen, the largest of the islands, looking for European shags, common and Brünnich’s guillemots, black-legged kittiwakes, white-tailed sea-eagles and Europe’s largest Atlantic puffin colony.

Arrive and disembark