Arctic Svalbard Expedition Cruises

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Quick Facts about Svalbard

Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, which is situated about midway between continental Norway and the North Pole. In 1925, Svalbard became part of the Kingdom of Norway. The islands were first used as whaling base in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Svalbard Act of 1925 made Svalbard a free economic zone and a demilitarized zone.

The largest island of Svalbard is Spitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. Longyearbyen is Svalbard's main settlement with about 2,400 people in 2019.

The average summer temperature in Svalbard is around 4-6 °C (39 to 43 °F). The January average is −16 to −12 °C (3 to 10 °F). Due to the West Spitsbergen Current, the west coast of Spitsbergen is navigable most of the year.

Polar bears are the iconic symbol of Svalbard. There are around 3,000 polar bears in the Svalbard archipelago and Barents Sea, which exceeds the human population. Other primary species you may see include the Arctic fox, the Svalbard reindeer and southern voles. Svalbard is also home for eighty specifies of bird like the Arctic tern, little auk, northern fulmar and black-legged kittiwake etc.

Top 5 Reasons to visit Svalbard

Svalbard is the perfect place to admire polar bears in their nature settings
Get your cameras ready for walruses, seals, whales, arctic foxes, reindeer and millions of nesting birds
Enjoy the stunning view of fjords and glaciers & hike on tundra
Discover the rich history of Arctic exploration by visiting Ny-Ålesund and other sites
Daily directly flights from Oslo make Svalbard the most accessible Arctic destination

The Seasons of Svalbard

Polar Summer

Mid May to Sep

The temperature rises above zero between June and August
24 hours of daylight until late Aug
Vast numbers of migration birds come to Svalbard for nesting
The best season for walruses, seals and whales due to plentiful supply of food
Your best chance of seeing polar bears from expedition ships!

Winter

Oct to Feb

The temperature starts to drop below zero
Polar nights from mid Nov to late Jan
The only permanently settled place on earth to experience Northern Lights day or night
Feb is the best time to explore the frozen wilderness of Svalbard’s interior
Polar bears make the dense drift ice and the ice of the frozen fjords and bays their home during winter

Spring

Mar to Mid May

It is still fully winter with beautiful ice and snow-covered landscape weatherwise
Pastel winter until mid April when day light increases gradually
Great outdoor opportunities by ski, dog sled or snowmobile
Midnight sun starts from mid April
April is the peak breeding time for polar bears
In May, snow starts to melt and first migratory birds arrive

Landing Sites in Svalbard

There are many possible landing sites in Svalbard. The actual expedition plan depends on weather and ice conditions. The water north of Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet might be blocked by sea ice in early season, which could prevent a circumnavigation of Spitsbergen. But regardless, you will still have ample opportunities to view stunning fjords, glaciers and encounter polar bears among other wildlife anywhere in Svalbard.

Alkhornet

Alkhornet stands on the northern side of the entrance to the inlet of Isfjorden along the west coast of Spitsbergen. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because its cliffs support about 10,000 breeding pairs of seabirds.The mossy tundra below the cliffs provides grazing grounds for reindeer, Arctic foxes and other wildlife.

Liefdefjorden

Liefdefjorden is a great fjord system in the northern Spitsbergen, part of the Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park. It translates as "The Love Fjord" in English. It is one of the most scenic landing sites in Svalbard. There are also surrounding mountains with remnants of the filling of the Devonian Andrée-Land-Grabens with its partly brownish-red sandstones, conglomerates etc.

Lilliehook Glacier

Lilliehook Glacier is one of the largest glaciers in Svalbard. It is located in the northwest of Spitsbergen. The narrow fjord is often filled with icebergs created by calving ice from the glacier. The glacier stretches seven kilometres and has a height of around 80-meters.

Magdalenefjord

Magdalenefjord is a very scenic, 8 km long and up to 5 km wide fjord on the west coast of Spitsbergen. It is surrounded by a stunning panorama of pointed mountains and glaciers. The English whaler Robert Fotherby entered the fjord in 1614 and established a whaling station in Trinity Harbor. The remains of four blubber ovens and a graveyard dating from the 17th to the late 18th century were found here.

Monaco Glacier

Monaco Glacier is named after first Prince Albert of Monaco, a pioneer of oceanography in the early 20th century. It reaches down into Liefdefjorden (The Love Ford) in Spitsbergen. When ice calves off the cliff and into the ocean, the sound can be heard for miles around.

Ny London / Blomstrandhalvøya

Blomstrandhalvøya is now an island in the northwest of Spitsbergen. Ny London was an old marble mine built by Englishman Ernest Mansfield in 1911. Camp Mansfield is one of the remaining huts built which are still used regularly by scientists from Ny-Ålesund, just 4.6 kilometres away on the other side of the fjord.

Ny-Ålesund

Ny-Ålesund is the world's northernmost settlement, situated at 79 degrees north in the northwest of Spitsbergen (on the shore of Kongsfjorden). The town is the home of permanent research institutes from over ten countries. It was founded in 1917 as a mining town. Multiple air expeditions towards the North Pole were launched here.

Poolepynten /Prins Karls Forland

Poolepynten is a 1.5 km wide and flat headland at the eastern coast of the Prins Karls Forland at Spitsbergen. There is a well known walrus colony here. Poolepyneten has large amounts of driftwood on the beaches. You can see the whole Forlandsundet area in clear weather. The headland is named after British whaler Jonas Poole.

Signehamna

Signehamna is located at the western side of Lilliehöökfjorden, northwest of Spitsbergen. It is part of the Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park. The bay was first discovered by Norway polar scientist Gunnar Isachsen, and named after his wife Signe. Remains from weather station Knospe, then Nussbaum, built by German occupants during World War II, are located on the shore.

Smeerenburg

Smeerenburg was the biggest whaling settlement in Svalbard, which is located in the northwestern Spitsbergen. The name means "blubber town" in Dutch. It was first occupied by the Dutch in 1614, and finally abandoned around 1660. There were as many as 200 people working here and 16-17 buildings in its heyday.

St. Jonsfjorden

St. Jonsfjorden is a fjord in Oscar II Land, which is the land between Isfjorden and Kongsfjorden along the west coast of Spitsbergen. It has a length of 21 kilometre, and opens westwards into the strait of Forlandsundet. Multiple glaciers stretch into the fjord from different directions.

Virgohamna

Virgohamna is a small bay on the northern coast of Danskøya Island, an island off the northwestern coast of Spitsbergen.The bay is named after SS Virgo, the vessel of Swedish engineer and explorer Salomon August Andrée's 1896 expedition. Virgohamna is located across a small strait from Smeerenburg, a historical whaling station.

Alkefjellet

Alkefjellet is a several km long and steep bird cliff facing Hinlopen Strait, which separates Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet. Here is home to more than a hundred thousand breeding Brunnich’s guillemots, as well as thousands of kittiwakes and black guillemots.

Bellsund

Bellsund is a 20 km (12 mi) long sound on the west coast of Spitsbergen, south of Isjorden. It splits into two branches: the fjords Van Mijenfjorden and Van Keulenfjorden. There are large bird cliffs in the area. The green tundra are fertilized by seabird droppings. Bellsund was among the first fjords with a lot of whaling activity in the early 1600s.

Bourbonhamna / Bamsebu

Bourbonhamna is a triangular bay on the south coast of Van Keulenfjorden (Bellsund) A whaling station was established around 1930. This is the only remaining beluga whaling station in Svalbard. Thousands of beluga bones are still piled on the beach. A wooden cabin, Bamsebu, is nearby and is still used.

Fjortende Julibreen

Fjortende Julibreen - The 14th of July Glacier is a 16km long glacier in the northwest of Spitsbergen. It reaches more than 30 meters above sea level. The blue white glacier is in stark contrast to the rugged dark mountains on either side. The glacier is named after the National Day of France, the 14 July.

Hornsund

Hornsund is a fjord on the western side of the southernmost tip of Spitsbergen island, which is 12 km (7.5 mi) wide and 30 km (19 mi) long. The Hornsund used to be an active whaling zone in the 17th century. The fjord has been home to the Polish Polar Station since 1957.Majestic peaks and dramatic fjords make Hornsund a special place to visit.

Kvitøya

Kvitøya, translated as "White Island" in English is the easternmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. With an area of 682 sq kilometres (263 sq mi). The island is almost completely covered by Kvitøyjøkulen, an ice cap with an area of 705 square kilometres (272 sq mi) with a classical, hourglass-shaped dome. The island was the resting place of the Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897.

Phippsøya / Seven Islands

Phippsøya is the largest of the "Seven Islands", the small archipelago which is the northernmost land in Svalbard. Its combination of high Arctic and sub Arctic conditions make a great spot to see walruses and polar bears.