Spitsbergen to East Greenland Cruise

Day 1: Embarkation, Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen is the largest community in the Svalbard Islands, and well worth exploring before you board your ship this afternoon.

Days 2-3: Exploring Spitsbergen

Spend a couple of days exploring Spitsbergen’s northwest coast, which features calving icebergs, historic whaling stations and remote trappers’ camps. Brunnich’s guillemots, little auks and kittiwakes nest in their thousands. Reindeer roam tundra dotted with wildflowers like saxifrage, moss campion and bell-heather. Weather permitting you may board the Zodiacs for fantastic views of spectacular glaciers, and look out for walruses and polar bears as they walk and swim between the fractured pack ice.

Days 4-5: Greenland Sea

While sailing the historic Greenland Sea your expedition team will entertain you with fascinating presentations on the wildlife and history of the Arctic. Keep an eye out for fin whales, encroaching sea ice and seabirds as you go.

Days 6-12: Northeast Greenland & Scoresby Sund

An ice cap covers 81 per cent of Greenland and pack ice may fill the northern bays, even in summer. Ashore, cosy trappers’ huts beckon from across the tundra, where musk ox, Arctic hare and eider ducks roam. Lively cascades at Kap Humboldt provide a microclimate for spectacular hanging gardens whilst Kong Oskar Fjord offers spectacular glacier-carved mountains. In Scoresby Sund, the world's biggest fjord system, massive glaciers calve explosively, creating giant icebergs. Near Rode Island, the Zodiacs may be able to weave through a maze of grounded icebergs, some more than 30 metres high, sculpted with deep green tunnels and aquamarine lakes. There may also be time to enjoy a warm Inuit welcome at Ittoqqortoormiit.

Days 13-14: Denmark Strait to Reykjavik, Iceland

Sail across Denmark Strait from Greenland to Iceland, reflecting on your rich experiences and enjoying the antics of northern fulmars, black-backed gulls, dolphins, orcas and other whales.

Day 15: Disembarkation, Reykjavik

Shortly after breakfast, disembark in Reykjavik.

Notes

• All voyage itineraries are intended as a guideline only - embracing the unexpected is part of the legacy of expedition travel. Actual routes and landings will be dependent on weather, sea and ice conditions. A degree of flexibility is essential in the polar regions!
• The above sample itinerary is based on the 15-day voyage on the G Expedition. Other departures may vary in duration and routing, please contact us for specific details.