Small international group expedition
Canada
10 days / 8 nights
May
Day 1: Paris – Ottawa
International flights to Ottawa, Canada.
Arrival in the late afternoon and overnight at a hotel near the airport.
Day 2: Ottawa – Iqaluit
Departure from Ottawa to Iqaluit in the morning.
You change planes in Iqaluit to reach Pond Inlet, where a local coordinator will welcome you and transfer you to a comfortable hotel for dinner and an overnight stay. Your Inuit guide will brief you on your stay.
Day 3: Iqaluit – Base Camp
After breakfast, you’ll meet your guide on the beach – yes, there are sandy beaches in the Arctic – preparing for your departure to Bylot Island and the sea ice. You’ll travel aboard Inuit sleds and snowmobiles across the frozen sea. The journey covers around 90 km, with planned stops to visit historic sites, abandoned whaleboats and hunting cabins. Weather permitting, you’ll finally reach your camp, set up in the middle of the sea ice.
Days 4 – 7: Diving in Baffin Bay
Your camp on the sea ice offers a spectacular setting for experiencing the Arctic spring and its remarkably pleasant weather. Guides organize activities both on land and beneath the ice.
From camp, you can expect to see icebergs, and as the ice drifts, seals surfacing to look straight at you. Plenty of time is set aside for wildlife observation and photography.
On land, you’ll have the chance to track terrestrial mammals with your camera, visit ancient Thule culture sites, see traditional tents and learn about the region’s history. The highlands of Bylot Island are home to Arctic foxes and hares, weasels, rough-legged buzzards, falcons and more.
On the sea ice, you’re likely to see narwhals, bowhead whales, polar bears, seals basking in the sun, and possibly walruses and belugas.
Beyond all this wildlife, you’ll dive beneath the sea ice in a specialized drysuit to observe a marine world full of surprises.
Plongées sous glaces sur Baffin Island, Canada © Fernando Garcia
Day 8: Return to Iqaluit
After breakfast, you’ll board the sleds and snowmobiles again to head to Pond Inlet and leave this remarkable place behind. On arrival, you’ll visit the town of Pond Inlet.
Day 9: Return to Ottawa
Early in the morning, you’ll head to Pond Inlet airport to fly back to Ottawa, arriving around 4:50 pm, before continuing on to France.
From Ottawa, you’ll take a connecting flight to Paris.
Dinner and overnight on board.
Day 10: Paris
Arrival in Paris