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The Arctic
Scroll down for our Arctic and North Atlantic Islands trips.
The Arctic, the land of the midnight sun, of snow and ice, offers some of the finest scenery and wildlife experiences in the world. Visitors to the region can witness enormous colonies of seabirds thronging the cliffs and shores, and enjoy the thrilling antics of whales at sea, and seals and walruses hauled out on rocks and ice-floes. The proximity of the pack-ice offers spectacular cruising between ice-floes. The lucky may even encounter the very symbol of the Arctic - the Polar Bear.
The Arctic has had a major attractive force on navigators and explorers. Promises of fabled lands and fortune lured many 17th century explorers into these unknown frozen lands and seas. Many perished but some returned home with stories of hardship and despair, but also of amazing sea creatures such as "Seahorses" (walruses) and "huge fishes" (whales). The exploitation of animals such as walruses, whales, Arctic Foxes and Polar Bears became a major force behind the exploration of the Arctic in the last three centuries. Though still remote and sparsely populated today, native people have been living in the Arctic for many thousands of years and numerous prehistoric and historic sites are a testimony to the thriving cultures of the past.
Our Arctic programme includes Spitsbergen and North-East Greenland.
Destinations:
North Atlantic Islands
Maybe less extreme but no less interesting are the North Atlantic islands that we visit on some of our expeditions. In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and the north of Scotland and in the north of Norway rugged islands can be found where local communities have lived for thousands of years. Sailors, hunters, fortune seekers, Vikings and Christian monks, they all in one way or another ended up on these islands and forged unique cultures that are still very much alive today. Besides the remains of thousands of years of human history, these islands also teem with wildlife. As they are close to rich feeding grounds in the adjacent seas and as the coastal cliffs offer good breeding possibilities some of them have the largest bird colonies in the North Atlantic, home to hundreds of thousands of birds.
Our itineraries in the North Atlantic include the Scottish islands (Hebrides, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands), the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Jan Mayen, Bear Island and Lofoten. Please note; some of these islands are visited on separate expeditions, e.g. the Scottish islands and Lofoten. Others are visited during expeditions from Scotland to Spitsbergen, and from Spitsbergen to Greenland/ Iceland. For more detailed information on these programmes, please click on a voyage below in the list.
Travel information
Departure from Aberdeen
For your Scottish Island voyages, Aberdeen is one of the starting point of the cruise. The city is famed as the granite city and many times a winner of the Britain in Bloom competition.
Upon arrival at the airport the best way to get to the harbour is by taxi. Ask the taxi driver to call the port agent to locate the dock of the ship.
From airport to harbour takes about 20 minutes, is 7 mile and costs 11 pounds.
How to get there?
Longyearbyen is the starting point for the voyages to the North and Around Spitsbergen.
To get to Longyearbyen you will have to fly via Oslo and Tromso. We can assist you with booking seats on these flights.
Keflavik (Iceland) is the starting point for the voyages to Greenland. Many big cities have direct flights to Keflavik.
Longyearbyen; starting point in Spitsbergen
Outside of the settlements, there are no roads on Spitsbergen, so this world of natural wonders is most easily and safely explored on an expedition cruise, using Zodiacs for shore landings.
In Longyearbyen the midnight sun begins in the second half of April and lasts until almost the end of August, whilst in contrast the arctic night lasts from 28 October to 2 February.
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Voyages & Rates
If you want to go straight to our dates and rates, please click 'view all' and you will find a total list with all of our voyages.
40 Trips found in this region: Please click below on the trip of your choice to see more details (prices, day by day itinerary, etc.)
* = Departure is currently under charter or sold out.