Circumnavigating Spitsbergen - Realm of Polar Bear

(regional and premium class flights may be available on request)

Upon arrival in the early hours, transfer to a hotel for your stay.

After lunch, join a FREE excursion or try an optional electric bike, dogsledding or hiking tour.

Later, transfer to the port to embark MS Fram for your eight night circumnavigation of Spitsbergen

Discover the natural beauty and rugged tundra of Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. In this pristine Arctic wilderness of steep mountains, stark glaciers and beautiful offshore islands, keep your eyes peeled for animals of the Arctic - whales, seals, walruses and reindeer. If luck is on your side, you may even see the elusive polar bear hunting on the ice. In stunning Kongsfjord, you may see glaciers calving into the sea. Be ready for adventure; any opportunity to launch kayaks or use small expedition boats and go ashore will be seized upon.

Eastern Svalbard is home to the archipelago's largest population of polar bears, which you may be fortunate enough to witness. Look out for walruses and colonies of Brünnich’s guillemots and other seabirds in the Hinlopen Strait. You may head south to Freemansundet and Kapp Lee or take small expedition boats to Edge Island or the Barents Sea. The Expedition Team will monitor local ice and weather conditions to take you on exhilarating landings, hikes and kayaking tours.

Sailing towards the southernmost tip of Spitsbergen, enter Hornsund, one of Svalbard's most beautiful fjords. Rich, colourful vegetation makes way for towering mountains here. Head out on deck to spot seals and whales, Mount Hornsundtind, and glaciers calving into the sea. The green land you'll see is fertilised by little auk colonies. This is turn attracts Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes, so keep your eyes peeled.

Your Svalbard circumnavigation continues into Isfjord's lush fjord system, characterised by immense, glacier-carved valleys. To the north, Alkehornet is home to guillemots, kittiwakes, Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes. Further south, pass the former Isfjord Radio satellite communication station, now a beautifully situated hotel. Activities will be determined by the ever-changing weather conditions of Isfjord.

Disembark and transfer to the airport for your return flight to London