Departures:
06/21/2013 06/28/2013 06/06/2014 06/13/2014 06/20/2014
Ship(s):
National Geographic Explorer
Trip Highlights:
This expedition encompasses Arctic Svalbard with stunning glaciers, fjords, and polar bear sightings aboard a luxury ship with kayaking, photography program, and excellent guides.
Summary: Experience nature in its purest form in the High Arctic. A remote archipelago situated just over 600 miles from the North Pole, Svalbard is a place of deep fjords, mountains and massive sheets of ice. During summer, when the sun never sets, the tundra experiences a warm awakening as wildflowers carpet the earth, walrus raise their sleepy heads to observe you, and fjords ring with the thunderous sound of glacial ice crashing to the sea. This voyage is undertaken in the spirit of discovery, and nature is full of wonderful surprises. The pace is unhurried and your options are many, so the day-by-day itinerary below is a thoughtfully considered framework. All departures are photo expeditions, see end of page for details.
Fly from Newark to Oslo on an overnight flight aboard SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
Day 2: Oslo, Norway
Arrive in Oslo and check in to your hotel. For the remaining part of the morning you can rest in your comfortable hotel room. Highlights of an afternoon tour include a stroll among the famed Vigeland sculptures set in park lands and a visit to the Polar Ship Fram Museum, with its excellent exhibits on the history of Arctic exploration. This evening try one of the harbor restaurants or turn in early.
Day 3: Oslo / Longyearbyen / Embark Ship
Depart Oslo on your private charter flight over beautiful vistas to Longyearbyen. Embark National Geographic Explorer.
Days 4 - 9: Exploring Svalbard
Your travel in the archipelago is truly exploratory by design. This is as far north as it is possible to travel without an icebreaker, and you’ll experience the legendary midnight sun. With your fully stabilized ice-class expedition ship, you are able to probe the ice in search of wildlife, and your exact day-to-day movements will remain flexible, depending on local conditions.
Your main focus is the search for Svalbard’s amazing wildlife: polar bear, reindeer and walrus. Observe seals and arctic foxes and search for the very symbol of the Arctic — majestic polar bears. Cruising in Svalbard’s fjords, venture to the foot of stunning tidewater glaciers. You take your Zodiacs and kayaks to cruise among beautiful icebergs, and experience the geology, wildlife and wildflowers that give color and vitality to the High Arctic.
Day 10: Longyearbyen / Disembark / Oslo
Disembark the National Geographic Explorer and explore Longyearbyen before flying to Oslo. Overnight in the Radisson Blu Airport Hotel.
Day 11: Oslo / Home City
After breakfast, proceed to the airport for your return flights home or continue on to other adventures.
Photo Expeditions: All departures
The photo team, a National Geographic Photographer and a Photo Specialist, will enhance your voyage by working with you on photo composition and exposure; helping you develop your own unique vision; showing you how professionals edit and store images while on the go; and sharing the stories behind some of their greatest images. Whether expert or interested beginner, you'll find added benefits such as walks ashore and Zodiac cruises dedicated to photography, presentations on the creative and technical aspects of photography, and one-on-one mentoring and coaching in the field.
Included:
All accommodations aboard ship or in hotels per itinerary or similar; all meals aboard ship; all shore excursions and sightseeing; entrance fees; special access permits; transfers to and from group flights; use of kayaks; gratuities (except to ship's crew); taxes and service charges; services of a ship physician and services of your expedition staff.
Not Included:
Airfare to Oslo; roundtrip charter flights between Oslo/Longyearbyen, approx. $725 per person; extensions; security fees; immigration fees; meals in Oslo; travel insurance; visa and passport expenses; gratuities to ship's crew; items of a personal nature such as alcoholic beverages, email, laundry; fuel surcharge may apply.
© Ralph Lee Hopkins © Michael S Nolan - Walrus
Why does AntarcticConnection partner with ExpeditionTrips?
True experts with first-hand polar experience, the ExpeditionTrips staff has sailed on the ships they represent; with a combined amount of 100 Antarctic trips between them;and can help you thoroughly compare and contrast the expeditions.
Their approach to travel is highly personal and professional, offering unbiased travel assistance to ensure you choose the very best Antarctica trip to meet your needs!
ExpeditionTrips works only with the highest quality small ships-all under 200 passengers-ranging from a 48-passenger Russian research vessel to a 200-passenger luxury expedition ship.