Svalbard North Cape: 12 Days — Circumnavigation of Spitsbergen & Polar Ice Cap

Tour Overview

Itinerary Highlights

Day 1: Longyearbyen — Embarkation

Arrive Longyearbyen 78°N. Board your expedition vessel — an ice-strengthened ship purpose-built for polar navigation. Safety briefing, meet the expedition team, and sail out through Isfjorden into the Arctic Ocean. Overnight aboard.

Day 2: Northwest Spitsbergen — Kongsfjorden & Magdalenefjorden

Explore the fjords of northwest Spitsbergen, Svalbard’s most dramatic coastline. Landings at Ny-Alesund research station and the 17th-century whaling graves at Gravneset. Zodiac cruising among glaciers and icebergs. Overnight aboard.

Day 3-4: North Coast & 80°N — The Pack Ice Frontier

Push north along Spitsbergen’s remote northern coastline, aiming to reach 80°N or beyond — farther north than any inhabited settlement. The ship navigates through sea ice, and polar bear sightings are frequent along this coast. Walrus colonies haul out on remote beaches. The midnight sun circles the sky without touching the horizon. Overnight aboard.

Day 5-6: Hinlopen Strait & Nordaustlandet Ice Cap

Navigate Hinlopen Strait between Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet. Visit Alkefjellet’s immense seabird colony (60,000+ guillemots). Attempt landing at Nordaustlandet, dominated by the Austfonna ice cap (8,000 sq km — Europe’s third-largest ice cap after Vatnajokull and Severny Island). The ice edge here is dramatic — glaciers meeting the sea. Overnight aboard.

Day 7-8: Edgeoya & Tusenoyane — Walrus & Polar Bear Country

Round the southern tip of Spitsbergen (Sor-Spitsbergen National Park) and enter the rarely-visited eastern side of the archipelago. Edgeoya is Svalbard’s third-largest island, a polar bear stronghold where mothers often den. Land at Kapp Lee, a historic hunting station with well-preserved 18th-century Russian Pomor hunting huts. Continue to Tusenoyane (“Thousand Islands”), an archipelago of islets where walruses gather in large numbers. Overnight aboard.

Day 9-10: Hornsund & Southern Spitsbergen

Enter Hornsund, Svalbard’s southernmost fjord — a landscape of towering mountains, massive glaciers, and deep fjords that many consider the most beautiful part of the archipelago. Polish research stations operate here year-round. The Hornsundtind mountain (1,431m) dominates the skyline. Zodiac cruise along glacier fronts where bearded seals lounge on ice floes. Continue along the west coast of Spitsbergen, making landings at historic sites. Overnight aboard.

Day 11: Bellsund & Van Mijenfjorden

Explore Bellsund, rich in both wildlife and history. Visit the remains of 17th-century whaling stations and 20th-century mining operations. Beluga whales often feed at the fjord mouth, their white bodies visible against the dark water. Final wildlife opportunities — reindeer on the tundra, Arctic foxes raiding bird colonies, and perhaps one last polar bear. Captain’s farewell dinner. Overnight aboard.

Day 12: Disembark Longyearbyen

Morning arrival in Longyearbyen. Disembark after breakfast. Time permitting, visit the Svalbard Museum and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (exterior view — the interior is not open to the public) — the “Doomsday Vault” that preserves backup seeds of the world’s food crops deep in the permafrost. Airport transfer. You leave having completed one of the world’s great polar voyages — the full circumnavigation of Spitsbergen, a privilege granted to few travelers.

Included

• 11 nights aboard expedition vessel
• All meals aboard
• Full expedition team (naturalists, historians, polar specialists)
• Daily Zodiac excursions and shore landings
• Expedition parka (yours to keep)
• Loan of rubber boots and binoculars
• Educational lecture program
• All port taxes and landing fees
• Airport transfers Longyearbyen