Signature Trip: Greenland Scoresbysund
Join our Signature Expedition Cruise to East Greenland onboard MS Polarfront. The perfect combination of a true expedition with all the comfort you wish for!
Join our special Waterproof Signature Expedition Cruise to Svalbard with maximum 16 guests! A quest for polar bears and the best photographic opportunities in the Arctic!
Svalbard Nature & Wildlife Expedition Cruise
Our Svalbard Yacht Expeditions are especially designed to escape the crowds and experience nature in a unique way. You will be travelling with a small group of like-minded guests with whom you will uncover the wilderness of Svalbard. We intend to reach places far removed from where most expedition vessels are sailing, like the pack ice in the northeast of Svalbard. The flexibility of our small expediton yacht makes it possible to optimize every opportunity to show you the best of Svalbard. This is true expedition style traveling!
During our voyage we hope to see many different polar animals and bird species. Early in the season there is still a lot of snow and ice to be found in Svalbar. Seal pups start to explore their surroundings while hungry polar bears go in search for food. Birds will migrate from the south to make their nests, walruses lay on ice floes and whales return to the Arctic. The 24 hours of daylight will give you plenty of time to explore and photograph the beautiful nature and polar animals. Later in the season, most of the sea ice will have melted, opening up the fjords and making wildlife more easily accessible. To the north and east of Svalbard the drift ice will start breaking up, offering chances for a circumnavigation of the archipelago.
Highlights of this Svalbard Expedition Cruise
• Maximum 16 guests!
• Luxury boutique yacht Explorer or Polarfront
• True expedition style travel
• Good chances to see wildlife
• Great photography
• Accompanied by expert guides
• Selected voyages with photographer & guide Rinie van Meurs
Each yacht expedition is different, depending on the ship and departure of your choice. A unique and personal experience you share only with a small group of fellow guests.
This itinerary is an example of what a yacht expedition to Svalbard could look like. All expeditions are subject to change depending on the ice, weather, and wildlife.
For your expedition cruise around Svalbard, you fly to Longyearbyen where the expedition yacht will be waiting in port. Boarding takes place at the end of the afternoon. You will have some time to get comfortable and meet the crew and your fellow guests. As soon as the yacht leaves the port of Longyearbyen you find yourself in the middle of the Arctic wilderness. Peaky mountains, glaciers and ice will soon appear on the horizon, your yacht expedition cruise has begun!
Depending on the ship and voyage of your choice, you might explore the North, West and South coasts of Svalbard. Some ships even take you on an extensive exploration around the archipelageo. These are the most in depth expeditions, reaching the least visited locations of Svalbard if the ice conditions are good.
A unique location we hope to visit during this expedition cruise is Poolepynten, a 1.5 kilometer long headland on the eastern coast of the island Prins Karls Forland. This location is famous for the large walrus colonies that often come ashore here, making it easy to admire them from close range. It's a spectacular sight to see these huge animals in their natural environment.
Of the northwest coast of Svalbard there's an uninhabitat island with some remnants of Dutch history. In 1614, the island was occupied by a Dutch group of whalers on a mission to explore the whaling potential around Spitsbergen. They named it Amsterdam Island and founded the settlement Smeerenburg (Blubber Town) where they built ovens to turn blubber into whale oil which was then shipped back to Europe. In its heyday the town consisted of 17 houses and had approximately 200 inhabitants during the summer seasons. Today, pieces of wooden structures and the bases of the blubber pots are all that remains.
Ice permitting, we’ll resume our search for polar bears as we continue northeast to Nordaustlandet. The large island is covered by two enormous ice caps that run towards the sea with huge icebergs calving from the glacier. You might be able to take a zodiac ride along the face of the icecap that stretches for miles. Dividing the Svalbard islands of Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet is the Hinlopen Strait, often difficult to pass due to its thick pack ice. Depending on the weather and ice you might continue south through Hinlopen Strait or turn back towards the North-west of Svalbard.
Our 12-day Circumnavigation of Svalbard Expedition Cruise will take you even further to the north east of Svalbard. Our objective is to reach Kvitøya which is almost completely covered by an ice cap. The island is inaccessible to non-polar ships or those carrying more than 200 passengers. It is the easternmost island of the Svalbard archipelago and can only be reached 1 to 2 months a year due to the ice pack that surrounds it. Polar bears and walruses are the most regular visitors of Kvitøya, combined with its history of polar exploration and whaling make this island a secret, remote and mythical place.
On the last day of our voyage you disembark in the morning after breakfast and say farewell to the crew and guides. You will be able to fly back home or extend your stay in Longyearbyen.
More dates and voyages available upon request.
with photographer & guide Rinie van Meurs
with photographer & guide Rinie van Meurs
with photographer & guide Rinie van Meurs
--WAITLIST--
Call us today on +31 (0) 858 771 583
You will be accompanied on your journey by expert photographer and expedition leader Rinie van Meurs. He is the only person who spent 31 consecutive years as expedition leader in Svalbard, and locked more than 250 cruises in his seafarers book. Rinie: "The vast wilderness and the animals are the main reasons why I keep coming back to the Arctic. Each voyage is a new search for wildlife, and this ‘chase’ is what makes it so much fun. I look at the weather forecast, the ice charts, the locations of other ships and take into account my experiences from previous trips to make a plan. It's my goal to provide guests with as many spectacular sightings as possible, without disturbing the wildlife. I myself have been an avid photographer for 40 years, so I know what people want. For example, I take the light into account and inform them in advance what (not) to do during a ‘close’ encounter with a Polar Bear in the pack ice to maintain the encounter for as long as possible." Read the entire interview with Rinie here.
Svalbard with Rinie van Meurs:
• 06 Jun - 20 Jun 2023 (15 days) - FULL
• 25 May - 03 Jun 2024 (10 days)
• 03 Jun - 13 Jun 2024 (11 days)
• 22 Jun - 01 Jul 2024 (10 days) - FULL
Greenland with Rinie van Meurs:
• 11 Aug - 20 Aug 2024
Contact us to book now »