Svalbard in Spring: In Search of Polar Bears

After a flight from Oslo, your adventure begins with an overnight stay in the world’s northernmost town, Longyearbyen.

A colourful frontier settlement where people are outnumbered by snowmobiles, Longyearbyen is a unique place on the edge of the Arctic wilderness. If you have time, head out to explore this special town, before enjoying a relaxing evening at your leisure.

If you’d like to spend two extra days exploring Longyearbyen and its surroundings before your voyage, see this voyage option. It includes the same sailing itinerary but with additional Arctic land adventures.

After breakfast it’s time to experience Longyearbyen.

The former coal mining settlement is small enough to explore on foot. Stroll down the main street lined with boutique shops, an art gallery, and restaurants. You might even see a Svalbard reindeer saunter by.

Before boarding your ship in the afternoon and continuing your Arctic discovery, join an included excursion and get a deeper look at this isolated and remote region at the top of the world.

Your expedition cruise continues south towards Hornsund – one of Svalbard’s most beautiful fjords. Colourful vegetation makes way for towering mountains along this picturesque waterway. The cliffs here are home to large colonies of auks, guillemots and Northern Fulmars along with Arctic foxes and Svalbard reindeer below. Head out on deck to spot seals and whales, Mount Hornsundtind, and glaciers reaching into the sea, and learn about Wanny Woldstad, the first female trapper to hunt in Svalbard.

We head north to admire the classic beauty of Bellsund, one of Svalbard’s great fjord systems. Snowcapped mountains frame the waterway on both sides, and along the shoreline you’ll spot the remains of former whaling stations and mining camps that tell the story of Svalbard’s rugged pioneer history. Your Expedition Team will decide the day’s activities based on conditions. We may go ashore for a nature walk across the tundra, launch small expedition boats to explore the inner reaches of the fjord, or cruise past glacier fronts where chunks of ice calve into the sea. Keep watch for ringed seals, bearded seals and the ever-present seabirds that nest on these remote shores.

Over the next two days, we’ll explore the natural beauty and rugged tundra of this breathtaking national park where steep mountains, glaciers, and beautiful offshore islands form a unique Arctic landscape.

We’ll scout for some of the animals of the Arctic – seals, walruses and reindeer. Early in the season, there’s a good chance we may spot polar bears too, so we’ll always be on the lookout for these iconic but elusive predators. And as we progress further into June, we may see whales returning to the region for summer and birdlife such as Little Auks, Arctic Terns, skuas, Eider Ducks and Barnacle Geese.

From landings to kayaking, be ready for anything as your Captain and Expedition Leader decide on the best landing sites and activities based on the day’s conditions.

Your second day in the national park continues the expedition deeper into Svalbard’s wild interior. The Expedition Team will be scanning the ice and shoreline for polar bears, which are most active along the sea ice margins in spring. We may spot tracks in the snow before we spot the bears themselves. Between wildlife searches, there are opportunities for landings, small boat cruising among the offshore islands, and kayaking if conditions allow. Birdlife is building as the Arctic breeding season takes hold, with Little Auks, Arctic Terns and Barnacle Geese all arriving to claim their nesting sites. As we progress further north, the landscape opens into vast snowfields under the soft glow of the low Arctic sun.

If conditions allow, we’ll sail north and cross the 80th parallel to explore the ever-changing ice edge.

The transition zone between the ice cap and the sea is a magical yet ephemeral place where the waters are filled with ice floes and drifting pack ice. From the ship, there are great opportunities for spotting wildlife, such as seals and walruses who lounge on the sparkling ice. And if the conditions are right, we’ll lower our expedition boats into the water and enjoy an unforgettable experience amid the floating ice.  

The ice edge isn’t a fixed boundary, and it moves depending on the season and conditions, so visiting it will be an attempt rather than a certainty. From May to August, as summer progresses, it retreats further towards the pole, meaning it may be out of reach for us. If so, we’ll explore the no-less-impressive fjords, glaciers and incredible scenery of the Svalbard coast.

Today you’ll discover the serenity of Ny-Ålesund and neighbouring fjords such as Krossfjord and Kongsfjord. Disconnect and enjoy a day without distractions as the Norwegian Mapping Authority’s nearby geodetic station means we must switch off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

One of the northernmost settlements and a former mining town, Ny-Ålesund was the starting point for Roald Amundsen’s expeditions north with the airship ‘Norge’. Now a hub for global science and climate research, you can still see remnants of the town’s history.

You’ll be immersed in rugged, glacial scenery as we explore the fjords around Ny-Ålesund. Be ready for adventure; we’ll seize any opportunity to launch our small expedition boats, go ashore to hike or cruise by majestic glaciers.

Your Arctic adventure ends in Longyearbyen, where you’ll catch your flight back to Oslo.

You’ll return home knowing more about Arctic animals, history, polar ice and climate change than you arrived with – and memories of an incredible experience.

If you’re not ready to say goodbye just yet, why not spend some more time in the Arctic and join an optional Post-Programme.