This 8-day cruise aboard the Explorer takes you to discover landscapes of peaks and ice-bound valleys, and seas locked in pack ice around Svalbard.
Observe a festival of polar wildlife: polar bears, walruses, seals, reindeer, whales.
In just a few days, an extraordinary glimpse into the richest archipelago in the Arctic.
Our itineraries depend on weather and ice conditions.
Day-by-day programme:
Day 1: Longyearbyen (private flight from Paris)
Arrival in the archipelago’s capital. Free time in town.
Sailing in Isfjord. Russian enclave of Barentsburg.
Day 2: Krossfjord and Magdalenefjord
The 14th of July Glacier, and its bay with reindeer, foxes, birds and seals. Lilliehöök Glacier, a 7-kilometre-long ice front. Sailing along the coast of the 7 glaciers, past the fjords cutting into Prince Albert I’s Land. Midnight sailing in Magdalenefjord, set within its impressive backdrop of alpine peaks and ice.
Day 3: Pack ice and Monaco Glacier
In the pack ice we’ll search for polar bears. Monaco Glacier, named in honour of Prince Albert I, boasts a magnificent ice front and large icebergs. In the evening, sailing towards Moffen Island (whales, walruses), beyond 80° North.
Days 4 and 5: Hinlopen Strait and Nordaustlandet
Hinlopen Fjord, in Nordaustlandet, with its vast ice caps. A large bird colony, the most spectacular in the archipelago, nestled in the jagged cliffs.
Day 6: Smeerenburg Fjord
The fjord of 17th-century whalers and the departure point for great polar expeditions. The glacier front calves into the sea and its mountains are carved into lace-like forms by the frost. Walruses and seals are regularly present. Discovery of immense little auk colonies.
Day 7: Kongsfjorden
The peaks of the Three Crowns dominate this superb bay, steeped in an exceptionally rich history. Several retreating glaciers calve their large icebergs here.
Day 8: Longyearbyen
Free time and transfer to the airport.
(Private flight to Paris).
