Destination Single

The cruising season in the Arctic starts in late April in Svalbard and finishes in late September / early October in Greenland. Before April the sea ice restricts many places in the Arctic. The coastline in Greenland and Svalbard is inaccessible and after September the light hours reduce as the winter approaches.

Each month of the cruising season offers something different and depending on when you visit can be a totally different experience.

In April and early May the landscapes and shores of Svalbard are still covered in snow making it a scenic paradise and ideal for photography. During these months cruises are shorter as access to the north coast can still be restricted due to the sea ice. Please see our Frozen Svalbard Cruise to find out more.

As the 24-hour daylight arrives, the coast to the north of Svalbard opens up making longer cruises possible. Cruises from mid-May through to the end of June can explore the northern shores which are a great place to spot polar bears. With constant daylight cruises during this period are ideal for wildlife watching. Please see our Wildlife and Natural Wonders of Svalbard Cruise for more information.

Our Greenland cruises begin exploring the west coast and areas to the north in Disko Bay become accessible.

In July and August the summer has finally arrived. The sea ice has retreated further north and in most years it is possible to circumnavigate Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Our Svalbard Pioneer Cruise is ideal for getting off the beaten track and seeing the wilder side of Svalbard.

July and AUgust are the only months of the year it is possible to visit the North Pole on an icebreaker as the sea ice is at its lowest.

These months offer excellent in cruising in Greenland. During August the East Coast of Greenland becomes acceasible and we offer trips to explore Scoresby Sund.

September is a good month for photography as the light becomes lower in the sky.  

Our Svalbard cruises depart from Longyearbyen, the main settlement on Svalbard. Longyearbyen is easily reached by daily flights from Oslo in Norway making it one of the easiest destinations to reach in the High Arctic. To find out more about how to get to Longyearbyen please visit our guide. 

Our East Greenland cruises depart from Akureyri in Iceland. Our Disko Bay cruises depart from Ilulissat in West Greenland.

Our Cruises to the North Pole depart from Murmansk in Russia.

Expedition micro cruise is a term we use to describe an expedition cruise with no more than 12 guests in total. Our cruises take place on custom built expedition vessels built for safe travel in the polar regions. All our vessels offer good comfort levels, private cabins and great food with the huge added bonus that you will be experiencing Svalbard with just a handful of guests.

The focus on our trips is exploring and we will aim to make daily landings by Zodiac landing craft to explore the shore. You will be accompanied by a knowledgeable expert guide who will tell you about the areas you visit. When you have been apart of a small group experience we guarantee you will never want to go back to cruising on larger vessels.

Unlike larger vessels with higher passenger capacities, our voyages are personal and unique in their approach. Travelling with a small group of guests means more time and flexibility exploring and less time waiting to go ashore.

Our small expedition vessels will get you closer to nature and landscapes that you came than larger ships can due to their smaller size, offering you a great deal more intimacy.

Our Expedition Micro Cruises and Small Ship Adventures give you the opportunity to experience the Arctic first hand on a real adventure without the crowds of people on larger ships. Our goal is to make you part of the adventure.

Non-expedition cruises on regular cruise ships don’t offer shore landings and often only visit towns and settlements which means they miss out on lots of the adventure. The average size of a cruise ship doing non-expedition cruises takes 2000 passengers.

A number of companies offer expedition cruises in the Arctic with landings on larger vessels. The average number of passengers these ships take is over 200. In our opinion that is too many people to be landing at sensitive places in the Arctic.

Many companies advertise small ship cruises to the Arctic but their definition of a ‘small ship’ varies and can range from anything from 250 guests down to 12 guests. The experience between travelling with 250 guests and 48 or 12 guests is huge. Our Expedition Micro Cruises and Small Ship Cruises to the Arctic are the way they should be, intimate and low impact.