Grand Svalbard Expedition: Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet & the Ice Edge

This morning you enjoy a guided tour of Longyearbyen, taking in its coal-mining heritage and quirky character, before, in the afternoon, you embark your expedition ship and cast off into the vast Isfjorden, beginning the grand voyage. You meet your seasoned team of naturalists, guides and lecturers over a welcome briefing and dinner as the town slips astern and the glaciers gleam at the fjord heads. The ship sails out under the endless golden light of the midnight sun, seabirds streaming past and seals resting on the floes, and the guides brief you on Zodiac procedures, polar-bear safety and the long, extraordinary voyage ahead. Settle into your comfortable cabin as the Arctic works its magic and the sense of true expedition takes hold. Rest well, for tomorrow you begin exploring the spectacular glaciers and fjords of the western coast on the first leg of the grand journey.

Today you cruise into beautiful Kongsfjorden, ringed by pointed peaks and hung with great calving glaciers, and go ashore at Ny-Alesund, the world's most northerly settlement. Once a coal-mining outpost and now an international research station, it is a place of colourful buildings, a tiny museum, the northernmost post office, and the airship mast from which Amundsen launched his pioneering flights toward the Pole. Arctic terns wheel overhead and reindeer graze the tundra. Back aboard, or by Zodiac, you cruise toward the great Kongsbreen glacier, dwarfed by its towering blue ice, watching for seals, kittiwakes and beluga whales. As the ship sails on northward under the midnight sun, the naturalists lecture on the history and ecology of Svalbard. As the day ends, savour the beauty of Kongsfjorden. Rest well aboard amid the glaciers, the ship pushing gently toward the far pack ice.

Today you explore the dramatic northwest corner of Spitsbergen. You cruise into stunning Magdalenefjorden, perhaps the most beautiful fjord in Svalbard, its blue waters enclosed by sharp peaks and glacier fronts, and land near Gravneset, where the graves of 17th-century whalers lie amid the tundra, a poignant reminder of the brutal early history of these waters. You cruise by Zodiac beneath the glaciers and along the shore, watching for seals, seabirds and Arctic fox, while nearby cliffs shelter huge colonies of little auks and kittiwakes. The naturalists interpret the whaling history, geology and wildlife. As the ship continues north toward the pack ice, everyone keeps watch for the first polar bears. As the day ends, savour the drama and beauty of the far northwest. Rest well aboard as the ship pushes on toward the frozen sea at the top of the world.

Today the ship reaches the great objective of the northern leg, the edge of the drifting polar pack ice, and with the time this grand voyage allows, pushes deep into it in dedicated search of the polar bear. Under the endless light, the ship noses carefully along the ragged white margin of the sea ice hour after mesmerising hour, and everyone gathers on deck and the bridge, binoculars raised, scanning the floes. This is the finest place on Earth to see wild polar bears, and with more time the chances of superb encounters grow, a bear hunting seals across the ice, walrus resting on the floes, ringed and bearded seals hauled out, ivory gulls wheeling overhead. The scale, silence and shimmering beauty of the frozen sea are overwhelming. As the day ends, savour the magic of the ice. Rest well aboard amid the polar sea.

Today you cruise into the wildlife-rich Hinlopen Strait, separating Spitsbergen from Nordaustlandet, one of the great wildlife theatres of Svalbard. You cruise by Zodiac beneath the towering cliffs of Alkefjellet, where hundreds of thousands of Brunnich's guillemots nest in a deafening, wheeling colony, while Arctic fox patrol the scree below. In the surrounding waters you keep watch for beluga whales, walrus and polar bears on the ice, and land where conditions allow to walk the tundra amid Arctic flowers with your armed guides. The abundance of life in this remote channel is astonishing. As the ship threads the strait under the midnight sun, the naturalists lecture on the ecology of the High Arctic. As the day ends, savour the day's extraordinary encounters. Rest well aboard as the ship enters the wild, rarely visited eastern realm of the archipelago.

Today, ice permitting, you cruise along the front of Austfonna on remote Nordaustlandet, one of the largest ice caps in the world, whose sheer wall of ice stretches unbroken for many miles, often laced with dozens of cascading meltwater waterfalls plunging into the sea, a spectacle few ever witness. You cruise slowly by ship and Zodiac beneath the immense ice cliff, dwarfed by its scale, watching for seals, seabirds and polar bears on the floes. On the tundra of nearby islands you may find walrus hauled out and nesting birds, and land where conditions allow amid the profound stillness. This is among the most remote and pristine wilderness on Earth. As the ship explores the eastern realm under the endless light, savour the immensity of the ice. Rest well aboard amid the frozen grandeur of Nordaustlandet, deep in the wild east of Svalbard.

Today you explore the wild eastern islands of Edgeoya and Barentsoya, stark and magnificent realms of tundra, ice and abundant wildlife rarely visited by travellers. You land on the tundra with your armed guides to walk amid Arctic flowers and the ruins of old trappers' huts, watching for Svalbard reindeer and the ever-present possibility of polar bears, which roam these islands in good numbers. On remote beaches you may find walrus hauled out in a great snoring heap, an unforgettable close encounter, and cruise by Zodiac along the shore and beneath glaciers. The wildness and remoteness are profound, the sense of true expedition complete. The naturalists interpret the trapping history and rich ecology of these islands. As the day ends, savour the raw wilderness of the east. Rest well aboard as the ship sails on around the southern tip of Spitsbergen toward Hornsund.

Today you cruise into spectacular Hornsund, the southernmost fjord of Spitsbergen and one of the most beautiful in all Svalbard, a dramatic realm of soaring pointed peaks, immense glaciers and rich wildlife. You cruise by ship and Zodiac beneath towering glacier fronts that calve into the sea, land on the tundra to walk amid reindeer and Arctic flowers with your guides, and keep watch for polar bears, seals and the huge bird colonies that throng the cliffs. The scenery is among the finest of the whole voyage, the mountains rising sheer and sharp above the ice. As the ship lingers in this glorious fjord under the endless golden light, the naturalists help you savour the grandeur. As the day ends, take in the spectacular setting from the deck. Rest well aboard amid the beauty of Hornsund as the ship begins its final leg back north toward Longyearbyen.

On your penultimate day at sea the ship cruises back up the western coast toward Longyearbyen, making the most of every last opportunity for wildlife and landings in the spectacular fjords. You may cruise into a beautiful glacier bay such as Bellsund or a fjord near town, land for a final tundra walk amid reindeer and Arctic flowers, cruise by Zodiac beneath a last towering glacier front, and keep watch for whales, seals and seabirds. The naturalists help you reflect on the extraordinary grand voyage over a recap, sharing photographs and the remarkable tally of bears, walrus, whales and birds encountered across the whole archipelago. As the ship sails on under the endless light, the wild beauty of Svalbard lingers all around. As the day ends, savour a celebratory dinner with the friends you have made. Rest well aboard, ready to return to Longyearbyen tomorrow.

On your final day at sea the ship cruises back into the vast Isfjorden toward Longyearbyen, savouring the last miles of the grand voyage. You gather on deck for a final look at the glaciers gleaming at the fjord heads, the seabirds streaming past and the seals on the floes, and share a farewell gathering with the expedition team and fellow travellers, exchanging photographs and memories of the far pack ice, the great ice cap, the wild eastern islands and spectacular Hornsund. As the ship returns to Longyearbyen, you disembark and are transferred to your hotel in the quirky northernmost town on Earth. You have time to explore town at leisure, revisit the museum or shops, and savour the strange, wonderful Arctic light. As the day ends, celebrate the grand expedition with a final dinner in one of the town's fine restaurants. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow.

After a final morning in Longyearbyen, perhaps a last stroll among the colourful houses beneath the old mine cableway towers or some souvenir shopping, you are transferred to the airport for your flight south to Oslo or Tromso and your onward journey. You leave having undertaken the most in-depth Svalbard expedition of all, the deep push into the far pack ice for polar bears, the wildlife-rich Hinlopen Strait, the miles-long front of the great Austfonna ice cap, the remote eastern islands, spectacular Hornsund, and the full sweep of Arctic wildlife, all under the endless golden midnight sun and bookended by the quirky northernmost town on Earth. The images stay vivid long after you land, a great white bear against the ice, the immense wall of Austfonna, the deafening bird cliffs, and the far, wild corners of the archipelago few travellers ever reach. Svalbard offers the deepest wilderness and richest wildlife in the Arctic, and you depart already dreaming of a return to the top of the world.