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Arctic Cruise Delight
10 Days
Overview:
This 10-day journey into the land of the cold is a once in a lifetime journey you won’t want to miss. Let out your inner explorer and jump right into picturesque fjords, magnificent glaciers, and stunning wilderness. Beginning in Oslo, the capital city, you’ll then travel to Longyearbyen and aboard a 7-night Arctic cruise aboard the Le Boreal for an amazing voyage to the Arctic Circle and as close as you can get to the North Pole. You’ll take excursions with guides and expedition leaders who will guide you through treks on cliffs, glaciers, and valleys. Look out for arctic foxes, reindeer, walruses, whales, polar bears, the original inhabitants of this winter wonderland. You’ll come back with not only the most beautiful photos of the wilderness and maybe even the Northern Lights, you’ll also have spectacular memories to carry with you for the rest of your life.
2 Days in Oslo
7 Day Cruise Arctic Ocean
The Plan:
Day 1 Oslo
Fly into Oslo and head to your hotel. There will be a welcome reception and dinner at the Grand Hotel Oslo. Time permitting, you can get out into the city to walk around to see the capital and some of its attractions like the Viking Ship Museum or City Hall where the annual Nobel Prize is awarded. Your journey begins here and now!
Day 2 Spitsbergen
After a charter flight to Longyearbyen, you’ll get to see the world’s northernmost city and rows and rows of their colorful houses. If you are lucky, you may even see a reindeer walking about. Embark on your cruise and enjoy your first dinner aboard the ship.
Day 3 Cruise
Be prepared for a number of possible excursions. Depending on the weather and wildlife, you can head on a walk or hike for half an hour to 2 hours at a time. Be sure to keep your eyes out for the wildlife you can only see this far up north in the world like walruses on the shore, whales in the water, or arctic birds in the fair. At night, you’ll reboard the ship and spend some time with your other fellow explorers.
Day 4 Cruise
Aboard the cruise, you’ll hear stories and insights from your naturalist guides and expedition leader about the glacier landscape you are sailing by and the wildlife present to see in their natural habitat like bearded seals, minke whales, polar bears, arctic mooses, and so much more. Keep your eyes peeled for fjords, black mountains, and mining camps.
Day 5 Cruise
As you sail through the Arctic, look out for the massive pieces of free moving saltwater ice floating on the sea. Based on the ocean currents, these puzzle pieces of ice collide and float like a choreography that can only be created by mother nature herself. Look out for the animals that call this landscape home.
Day 6 Cruise
This’ll be the fourth day of your cruise and you are sure to have passed a number of mindblowing fjords of Northern Spitsbergen and you may have even passed the blue tinted famous Monaco Glacier, named after oceanographer Prince Albert I of Monaco. Take advantage of all the photo opportunities that you can of sights that can’t be seen anywhere else.
Day 7 Cruise
Weather permitting, you may reach Ny-Alesund, which is the starting point of many North Pole expeditions and the site of the northernmost community of international polar research stations. And, cross your fingers to see the majestic Kongsbreen, also known as the King’s Glacier, with its three nunataks named Nora, Dana, and Svea, after Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
Day 8 Cruise
By this time, you may have reached Alkhornet, a seabird cliff home to thousands of birds nests and breeds. Below the cliffs, you may be able to catch glimpses of Arctic foxes who den there and reindeer grazing. Next, you may see Pyramiden, a ghost town that used to be a Russian mining settlement.
Day 9 Oslo
Disembark your ship in Longyearbyen and board your flight back to Oslo where you can spend the remaining time relaxing in your hotel or out exploring the city and to see attractions like the Royal Palace or hit up some great Norwegian dining spots.
Day 10 Oslo
It’s the last day of your trip, be sure to grab some Norwegian food delights and pictures of the Oslo city scape before heading to the airport for your flight home.
Must See:
Oslo:
Vigeland Park, National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Kon-Tiki Museum, Munch Museum, Akershus Castle and Fortress, Aker Brygge, Akershus Fortress, Akershus Castle and Fortress
Memory Makers:
Oslo
Taste of Oslo Walking Tour
This 3-4-hour walking tour is jam packed with the best spots to sample traditional Norwegian cuisine. Led by a local guide, they’ll take you too hard to find gems for the best of local chocolates, beers, and cheese while brushing you up on local history, culture, and sights.
Whale Watching in Magic Skjervoy
This full day tour will take you to an island that is home to orcas and humpback whales where you’ll spend two hours on the water to look for these beautiful whales with up to 12 other passengers. You’ll be provided sandwiches, tea, and coffee on the boat as you wait. Then, you’ll enjoy a panoramic drive back.
Weather and climate
Norway
Norway experiences extreme cold in the winter - particularly in sub polar regions - and gentle heat in the summer. The best time to visit is between mid-May and August, unless you're coming to ski, in which case the best time is December to the end of March. Northern parts inside the Arctic Circle have non-stop daylight in midsummer and twilight all day during winter.
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