Spitsbergen (Svalbard)
Nestled between thousand-year-old glaciers and carved mountains lies Svalbard, "the crown of Arctic Norway. On this eight-day expedition cruise, expedition ship L'Austral will take you to this fascinating archipelago and explore both the southern and northern parts of the island, up to the 80th parallel. On the edge of the pack ice, take spectacular Zodiac tours among the icebergs and along the majestic fjords and glaciers in search of seals, whales and... polar bears! Also scheduled are a number of hikes and visits to local settlements.
To the south, you will sail through Hornsund Fjord, one of the most beautiful fjords in Svalbard with an impressive glacier front slowly making its way to the sea, where it gives way to the many icebergs floating elegantly along the cold and mysterious fjord. L'Austral will then head north to reach, in the wake of the former whalers who once settled there, the Nordvest-Spitsbergen National Park, habitat of several whale species. Discover the world's northernmost town, Ny-Alesund, formerly the starting point of many expeditions to the North Pole, the first of which was led by Roald Amundsen in 1926, Where the world can't find you...
Tips & Tops Expedition cruise to the far north of Svalbard:
- Tour guide and astronomer Werner Hamelinck (People's Observatory Urania, Hove, Belgium) is fascinated by nature and the night sky and has more than 20 years of experience guiding trips to all corners of the world
- In summer you can enjoy 24 hours of daylight
- Very high chance of seeing polar bears on land and on the sea ice, walrus, whales, seals, arctic foxes, reindeer, barnacle geese and guillemots
- Before boarding, stroll through the former mining town of Longyearbyen and visit the wooden church and impressive polar museum
- The L'Austral s cruise to one of Svalbard's most beautiful fjords, the Kongsfjorden, where snow-capped mountains reflect in the water and icebergs try to outdo each other in beauty
- At Bellsund fjord, follow in the footsteps of the first polar explorers in the lush valleys of Bellsund fjord where wildlife flourishes abundantly
- Your ship sails to the edge of the sea ice, a unique opportunity to observe arctic birds, seals and polar bears
- At the junction of Bockfjorden and Liefdefjorden of the Måkeøyane archipelago is the Monaco glacier where you can observe Arctic Terns whose eggs sometimes attract polar bears
- At Raudfjorden, named for the red color of the sandstone of the surrounding mountains, you will find the most spectacular ice formations in the many shallow bays and the beautiful glaciers Chauveaubreen and Raudfjordbreen
- Visit Smeerenburg, a former Dutch whale colony on the southern part of the island of Amsterdam and one of Svalbard's most important archaeological sites
