Svalbard in Summer: Tundra, Whales and Wildlife

Helsinki - Helsinki

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199 Guests

11 Days

Our 11-day Svalbard in Summer: Tundra, Whales and Wildlife is a rare chance to explore the Arctic as it comes fully alive when plant life and wildflowers are at their maximum numbers. It’s also possible during the Arctic summer to observe polar bears, walruses, Arctic foxes, and potentially belugas. With warmer temperatures, endless daylight, and snow cover receding, you’ll have plenty of chances to explore onshore by foot and by Zodiac to completely immerse yourself in the Arctic environment.

Activities

Hiking

Lectures

Paddling Excursion

Polar Plunge

Sea Kayaking

Wildlife Watching

Zodiac Cruises

* Optional with additional cost

Itinerary

Day 1

Helsinki

Arrive in the Finnish capital and make your way to the group hotel located right at Helsinki airport—included in your Charter Flight and Hotel Package You will have the rest of the day to explore explore the many museums, galleries and restaurants, relax at a Finnish sauna or wander the vibrant Design District. If you do plan to visit Helsinki city center, take advantage of the convenient 40-minute rail service from the airport.

A city of the sea, Helsinki was built along a series of oddly shaped peninsulas and islands jutting into the Baltic coast along the Gulf of Finland. Streets and avenues curve around bays, bridges reach to nearby islands, and ferries ply among offshore islands.Having grown dramatically since World War II, Helsinki now absorbs more than one-tenth of the Finnish population. The metro area covers 764 square km (474 square miles) and 315 islands. Most sights, hotels, and restaurants cluster on one peninsula, forming a compact central hub. The greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which includes Espoo and Vantaa, has a total population of more than a million people.Helsinki is a relatively young city compared with other European capitals. In the 16th century, King Gustav Vasa of Sweden decided to woo trade from the Estonian city of Tallinn and thus challenge the Hanseatic League's monopoly on Baltic trade. Accordingly, he commanded the people of four Finnish towns to pack up their belongings and relocate to the rapids on the River Vantaa. The new town, founded on June 12, 1550, was named Helsinki.For three centuries, Helsinki (Helsingfors in Swedish) had its ups and downs as a trading town. Turku, to the west, remained Finland's capital and intellectual center. However, Helsinki's fortunes improved when Finland fell under Russian rule as an autonomous grand duchy. Czar Alexander I wanted Finland's political center closer to Russia and, in 1812, selected Helsinki as the new capital. Shortly afterward, Turku suffered a disastrous fire, forcing the university to move to Helsinki. The town's future was secure.Just before the czar's proclamation, a fire destroyed many of Helsinki's traditional wooden structures, precipitating the construction of new buildings suitable for a nation's capital. The German-born architect Carl Ludvig Engel was commissioned to rebuild the city, and as a result, Helsinki has some of the purest neoclassical architecture in the world. Add to this foundation the influence of Stockholm and St. Petersburg with the local inspiration of 20th-century Finnish design, and the result is a European capital city that is as architecturally eye-catching as it is distinct from other Scandinavian capitals. You are bound to discover endless engaging details—a grimacing gargoyle; a foursome of males supporting a balcony's weight on their shoulders; a building painted in striking colors with contrasting flowers in the windows. The city's 400 or so parks make it particularly inviting in summer.Today, Helsinki is still a meeting point of eastern and western Europe, which is reflected in its cosmopolitan image, the influx of Russians and Estonians, and generally multilingual population. Outdoor summer bars ("terrassit" as the locals call them) and cafés in the city center are perfect for people watching on a summer afternoon.

Day 2

Longyearbyen

After breakfast, the group will transfer to the Helsinki airport and board our private charter flight to Longyearbyen, as part of the Charter Flight & Hotel Package. Our journey to the High Arctic now truly begins. You will see the coastal and birch forests of southern Scandinavia give way to taiga and tundra environments, the mountains of Norway and northern Sweden, and the convergence of the Norwegian and Barents seas. Approaching Svalbard, you may get your first views of a pure, snow-capped wilderness, complete with ridgelines, glaciers, and perhaps even sea ice in the distance. We land in Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s largest settlement, and transfer to the harbor where we will embark on our ship.

Longyearbyen is the biggest settlement in Svalbard. Seat of the Norwegian administration, it also has the best services and infrastructure in the archipelago. Located deep in the Adventfjord, a sidearm of the Isfjorden (Icefjord), Longyearbyen’s airport can be used all-year round, but its harbor is blocked by ice in winter. Most shops, hotels, restaurants and a hospital are within easy walking distance of the port. One of the most prominent buildings in town is the UNIS center, where several Norwegian universities have joined forces to operate and offer the northernmost higher education to both Norwegian and international students. Adjacent to UNIS, and well worth a visit, is the Svalbard Museum, covering the natural history and exploitation of Svalbard. Remnants of the former mining activity can be seen all around Longyearbyen and even in town.

Days 3-9

Svalbard Archipelago

Svalbard is a true Arctic environment, where many iconic species spend their entire lives, entwined with the winter and spring sea ice. But with the arrival of summer—brief as it is—the archipelago bursts to life as countless migratory species settle in to take advantage of the season’s endless daylight and abundant food. Chief among Svalbard’s summer migrants are seabirds, waterfowl, and other birds, joined by marine visitors such as baleen whales—including the mighty blue whale. Though wildlife sightings aren’t guaranteed, these giants are sometimes observed foraging in the rich Arctic waters. Under the midnight sun, plant life also flourishes. While less diverse than in southern regions, Svalbard hosts hundreds of plant, lichen, and moss species, from hardy grasses to vibrant wildflowers. For a few brief months, snow and ice are replaced by pockets of green and splashes of color, framed by snowcapped peaks —a fleeting transformation of the High Arctic landscape. Throughout the summer, sea ice fractures, melts and disperses. Many species that depend on it shift north and east where ice lingers, or remain ashore until it returns in late fall. While ice may be less frequent, the open water offers greater access to the archipelago’s northern and eastern reaches. If we do encounter ice, we’ll pause to explore it. At this time of year, wildlife is more often spotted in the water, along shorelines, or gathered in bustling bird colonies clinging to the cliffs. Some terrain here is nearly vertical, with seabirds colonizing every possible ledge. Little auks, guillemots, and puffins nest in rocky crevices, spending the brief summer flying back and forth to feed themselves and their chicks before their f irst flights and plunges. Looking upward while seated in a Zodiac, the sky may seem alive with more birds than you can count, and sometimes we’ll explore near these cliffs on foot. Keep watch for other iconic species too, such as Arctic terns, common eiders, and the occasional king eider. The sounds are astonishing—an Arctic “silence” feels alive with nature’s calls. Standing beneath towering seabird cliffs renders visitors speechless. Summer offers the chance to step ashore and walk on bare ground, though patches of snow can linger. We may hike into foothills, valleys, and Arctic beaches— land shared with polar bears. While sightings are farther inshore, their paw prints in sand or mud tell their story. Take time to look around and underfoot, where hardy vascular plants and wildflowers bloom. You might also spot driftwood—not from ancient Svalbard forests, but carried here by Arctic currents from Siberia, where tree trunks and branches are swept up in the Arctic currents, ultimately coming to rest here. Additionally, we may see reindeer, as they busily forage on the bountiful summer plant life. Although the weather in midsummer is often cool—even crisp—in midsummer, it’s possible to enjoy reasonably warm days in Svalbard. It’s a surreal experience—feeling the warmth of the summer sun knowing you’re less than 700 nautical miles from the North Pole. As summer warms and sea ice recedes, glaciers come alive—meltwater hastening erosion, tidewater glaciers calving ice with thunderous force. From a Zodiac amid icebergs and brash ice, listen for the crackle of melting ice, the lap of currents, and Arctic terns calling overhead. During summer, if conditions align, it might also be possible to visit some of Svalbard’s residents, be they trappers or researchers. There are a number of trappers’ cabins dotted across the archipelago, and the stories their occupants tell bring forth a life wrapped in resourcefulness, grit, humor, and hints of something approaching the magic of nature. With seven full expedition days in Svalbard, we aim to explore a wide range of locations. The order of our journey will be shaped by sea ice conditions, which vary daily. Potential destinations include the spectacular fjord systems of Hornsund, Bellsund, Isfjorden, Krossfjorden, Smeerenburgfjorden, Raudfjorden, Woodfjorden, Sorgfjorden, and others. These fjords feature dramatic mountains rising directly from the sea, folding into endless layers. Glaciers spill from the highlands, many reaching the water’s edge where they calve into the sea. Throughout Svalbard, we may find previously mentioned seabird colonies and other wildlife, as they are distributed throughout the archipelago of islands.

A flexible itinerary allows us to take advantage of favorable ice and weather conditions to travel through the northern stretches of Svalbard to points visited by famous polar explorers such as Andrée, Amundsen and Nobile. Destinations might include the narrow waterways and striking mountains of Krossfjord and Raudfjord. The ship may visit the historic settings of Ny Alesund, Ny London or Amsterdamoya. And of course, we hope to see distinctly Arctic wildlife from walrus hauled out in noisy groups on remote shorelines, to reindeer grazing alpine slopes, and from ptarmigan in their camouflaged hiding places, to mighty polar bears striding the shores in search of their next meal.

Day 10

Longyearbyen

The time to say goodbye has come. Your adventure ends as it began, in the frontier settlement of Longyearbyen. From here, we’ll transfer you to the airport for your charter flight to Helsinki, and group hotel night. Both are included in your Charter Flight & Hotel Package.

Day 11

Helsinki

After breakfast at your included hotel, make your way independently to the Helsinki airport for your onward flight home, or spend more time exploring the Finnish capital as prearranged.

Map

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The Ship

Introducing

Ultramarine

Ultramarine is one of the most recent additions to polar expedition cruising. First launched in 2021, when you step onboard, it is noticeable that this ship was purpose-built from the ground up as a go-anywhere expedition cruise ship. A wrap-around deck provides unparalleled views, and the ship's four Zodiac embarkation points make joining an excursion a breeze.

See Ultramarine