An Adventurous Expedition Cruise to Svalbard

This privately guided tour of Norway's capital will be structured with your interests in mind. Your local guide will introduce you to some of the city's most important and interesting sites. You could take a tour of the Viking Ship Museum and learn all about the Scandinavians who explored Europe by its seas and rivers. Stop in at the open-air Norwegian Folk Museum, the country's largest museum of cultural history, where there are a variety of exhibitions of folk art, costumes, toys and Sami culture. Or spend some time in the Vigeland Sculpture Park which boasts more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron, all crafted by Gustav Vigeland. You can also take a turn past Holmenkollen ski jump hill and the Ski Museum below it. The museum's exhibitions outline 4000 years of ski history.

Today you'll embark on the expedition ship and sail out through the spectacular Isfjorden. The exact itinerary depends on weather factors and on the wildlife encountered. The aim is to make landings every day. Here are some examples of places you may visit:

Svalbard offers its visitors countless spectacular fjords. During your journey you will explore a few of them such as the Liefdefjorden, which means “The fjord of love”. This fjord is lined with snow-covered mountain peaks and here you will cruise along the face of the spectacular Monaco Glacier. Many common eiders and pinkfooted geese nest in this area. In Krossfjorden you will revel in the beautifully sculptured front of the 14th of July Glacier to the raucous greeting of the large number of kittiwakes and Brünnich’s guillemots nesting on the nearby cliffs. While Raudfjorden is an area of immense natural beauty – dominated by beautiful glaciers. It is also a favourite spot for seals and the bird cliffs are bursting with activity.

The scientific village of Ny-Ålesund is situated in Kongsfjorden. It was from here that Amundsen and Nobile started their heroic expeditions to the North Pole. Two other courageous attempts to reach the North Pole started on the island of Danskøya. Swedish explorer Andrée made an attempt with a hydrogen balloon and American journalist Wellman started with an airship and there are still interesting remnants from these expeditions left on this fascinating site for you to discover.

The island of Nordaustlandet is covered by an enormous ice cap which fascinates naturalists as well as historians. There are huge glacier fronts here, intersected by hundreds of waterfalls. Barentsøya and Edgeøya offer magnificent landscapes and vast tundra. Chances to encounter walruses, Arctic fox and Svalbard reindeer are good here.

The grand fjords of Hornsund offer spectacular glaciers and a breathtaking landscape of towering mountain peaks, often reaching above the clouds. On a clear day you can see the summit of the highest mountain Hornsundtind, measuring 1431 meters. Hornsund is a favourite haunt for some of Svalbard’s polar bears and bearded seals are often seen resting on the fjord ice.

This morning head into Tromso to acquaint yourself with the vibrant city and visit some of its best museums. During the tour you will see the Polar museum and Polaria, the world's most northerly aquarium.