Length
10 days
Departs
Longyearbyen
Price
On quote
Sails
mid-May – Sep
10 days, a complete circle around the Svalbard archipelago from Longyearbyen, aboard a Polar Code-compliant expedition vessel under the midnight sun. The loop runs the pack-ice edge in the north and the remote east coast that shorter voyages never reach. Zodiac landings run most days, weather and ice permitting.
A full circumnavigation is the most complete way to see the archipelago by sea. Instead of an out-and-back along the west coast, you cover all four sides — west fjords, the northern ice, the seldom-visited east, and the southern capes — in one voyage.
The route
| Leg | Waters | What you’ll likely see |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Longyearbyen & west fjords | Board ship, glacier fronts, seabirds, seals |
| 3 | Northwest coast | Tidewater glaciers, walrus, reindeer |
| 4–5 | Pack-ice edge (north) | Polar bears, drift ice, ice navigation |
| 6–7 | Remote east coast | Bears, Arctic fox, untravelled landings |
| 8 | Southern capes | Whales, open-water wildlife, seabird cliffs |
| 9 | Return up the west | Final Zodiac landings, glacier fronts |
| 10 | Longyearbyen | Disembark, transfer to airport |
Life on board
The vessel meets the Polar Code for ice-affected waters and carries about 57 crew, including 15 polar specialists and an onboard physician. All meals are served on board, and naturalist lectures run between landings to cover the ice, geology, and wildlife of each coast. Daily Zodiac excursions take you ashore and along ice edges as conditions allow. The full loop depends on ice — a heavy season can force a route change.
Wildlife odds, honestly
Covering all four coasts and the pack-ice edge gives this voyage the strongest wildlife spread on the schedule: polar bears at the ice, walrus and reindeer on the coasts, whales in open water, Arctic fox on the landings. Even so, nothing is promised. Bears follow the ice, whales follow the food, and a single voyage can be rich or quiet depending on the year. The naturalists read ice and weather daily and route the ship for the best odds — the Arctic still has the final say.