Tromso to Spitsbergen Midnight Sun

Our adventure will begin in Tromsø, the starting point for so many great adventures that have come before us. Known as the Gateway to the Arctic, Tromsø is a delightful place to visit and we recommend arriving a day or two early to have the chance to explore. Embarkation will begin in the afternoon and after settling into your cabin and exploring your new surroundings you may want to spend some time on deck soaking up the beautiful scenery as we make our way towards the North Cape.

In the early hours of day 2 we recommend having your cameras ready as your ship sails past the spectacular North Cape cliff offering you a stunning view of this famous landmark on the northernmost tip of mainland Europe. A short time later we will arrive at Skarsvåg, the world's northernmost fishing village which lies along the northern coast of the island of Magerøya.

Today you can join an optional excursion to the North Cape to experience the feeling of standing at the edge of the world and to see the famous statue that marks this important spot. There is also a museum here which is worth a visit, and enough breathtaking scenery to fill your cameras.

As we cross the Arctic Ocean towards the wintery wilderness of Svalbard we will stop halfway to step ashore on wild Bjørnøya (Bear Island), home to the largest concentration of sea birds on the Northern Hemisphere. Bjørnøya is the southernmost island of the Svalbard Archipelago and with a population of just 9 people the 126 different bird species more than outnumber the human inhabitants on these remote and rugged lands.

As we arrive in the pristine wilderness of Svalbard the landscapes will astound and the wildlife will impress as we explore along the beautiful west coast of Spitsbergen. Cruising northbound your captain will assess the ice and weather conditions to chart the course most likely to bring unforgettable experiences and wildlife encounters, with our first stop likely to be Hornsund where you will have the chance to explore the ice-filled fjord by small boat, or land to hike to a viewpoint overlooking the glacier. There are good chances of observing Polar bears here, but like most things in a true wilderness, there are no absolute guarantees.

Throughout your time here we hope to make a number of landings to bring you up close to what this remarkable area has to offer and one of the highlights will be a visit to Kongsfjorden. Kongsfjorden is considered one of the most beautiful fjord areas in Spitsbergen, with mighty glaciers calving icebergs into the sea, framed by stunning mountain formations, and we hope to go on shore here to visit the picturesque former mining settlement of Ny-Ålesund.

Our final adventure will be in the scenic Isfjord, the most extensive fjord system in Svalbard. Here we may spend some time exploring the fjord looking for the large populations of Svalbard Reindeer and the thousands of Brunnich's guillemots which nest in the Alkehornet peak during the summer season. This delightful area offers excellent photographic opportunities with U-shaped valleys, carved out of the mountains by the giant glaciers that covered the area some ten thousand years ago, and as we make our way back to Longyearbyen our cameras will be as full as our memory banks.

We will arrive in Longyearbyen, the administrative capital of Svalbard, in the late evening and disembark to make our way to the airport for our included overnight flight to Oslo. We will arrive back in Oslo in the early morning of day 7.