Why the Arctic?
One of the best opportunities for remote and true adventure. Sailing past rugged coastlines and huge icebergs into spectacular fjords, visiting small settlements and abandoned Inuit settlements.
Spotting wildlife seen nowhere else on earth. And of course, one of the best chances to see Aurora Borealis - the Northern Lights.
The coastal Arctic climate is warmer and moderated by the ocean. Average temperatures in mid-summer range from around 15 to 50 degrees, F. Geographic features in the Arctic region include massive icebergs, some over 100 meters high and more than a kilometer long. There are numerous glaciers throughout the Arctic: Jakobshavn Glacier in West Greenland, the Petermann Glacier located in Northwest Greenland, both drain the Greenland ice sheet. The Kongsvegen Glacier is located in west Spitsbergen, Svalbard.
Wildlife, some found nowhere else on earth: polar bear, whales, Musk Oxen, Svalbard Reindeer, Arctic foxes, walruses, seals. There are 17 whale species found in the Arctic, including Orca, Humpback, Beluga, Narwhal and Bowhead. The best time of the year to spot whales is May through September. One of the primary Arctic attractions are the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights.
Opportunities for Arctic exploration abound for intrepid adventure travelers. The best way to explore the Arctic is on an expedition cruise. Arctic cruise destinations include Greenland and the Scoresby Sund, the largest fjord system in the World. Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago of northern Norway. Stops are made at rarely visited places such as Ny Alesund, a former mining settlement, now a village with Arctic scientists and laboratories; Ittoqqortoormiit, a settlement near Scoresby Sund. Longyearbyen, a primary gateway to the Arctic, is the main settlement of the Norwegian Spitsbergen archipelago. This is one of the world’s northernmost communities. In Longyearbyen the midnight sun begins in the second half of April and lasts until almost the end of August.
Jan Mayen is a 55 kilometer-long volcanic island set in the North Atlantic Ocean, halfway between Iceland and Spitsbergen. The still active volcano, Beerenberg, is 2300 meters high and dominates the island. Cruises are by polar expedition vessel or on the 3-mast schooner 'Rembrandt van Rijn', ideal for expedition cruising among the fjords of Greenland and Spitsbergen.
Cruise excursions include hiking, kayaking, photo workshops, polar diving, ski mountaineering, snowshoeing, Zodiac excursions and shore-based walking. One of the most exciting ways to explore the Arctic is by kayak. One of the best cruise expeditions is a circumnavigation of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Arctic cruises to Spitsbergen often visit the sheltered bay of Trygghamna, where passengers have the chance to disembark and explore the starkly beautiful landscape. Here birdwatching enthusiasts may spot geese, kittiwakes, Arctic skuas, glaucous gulls and Brunnich's guillemots, flocking by the tens of thousands. Other cruise options include whale safaris in North Norway. All in all, the Arctic region is one of the World's last great off-the-beaten-path travel destinations.
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