Day 11 – 13

Longyearbyen

Svalbard

Beyond every horizon, this most northerly community on Earth shares its polar secrets of summer. Svalbard comes alive with seabirds, spring flowers, arctic fox and polar bear that adapt and survive on the edge of the world.

Day 11 • Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Svalbard is the most northerly inhabited island group in the world. Lonyearbyen is the most northerly permanent settlement in the world at 78 °N and only one thousand km from the Pole itself. Svalbard is a rugged and wild place of wide glaciated valleys and frozen tundra, home to the world’s largest population of polar bears. Reindeer graze the soft lichens and Arctic foxes are hunting for eggs and chicks in the bird colonies. The summer months bring migratory geese, millions of seabirds and of course, the midnight sun — sunlight 24 hours a day.

Longyearbyen is our home for two full days in the warmth and safety of our hotel. We will explore the local Isefjord by boat, visit a remote abandoned mine and keep a keen eye out for polar bears who wander throughout the interior and coastal ice in search of food for their cubs.

Funken Lodge

Perched high in Longyearbyen, this boutique property offers unparalleled views of the nearby glaciers. Originally constructed in the early 20th century as lodging for coal miners, the lodge preserves its heritage while offering distinctive contemporary amenities. Here, we invite you to immerse yourself in an Arctic oasis—a retreat that gracefully connects the town’s mining legacy with its present-day role as a gateway to the Arctic wilderness.

Transpolar expedition

In 1897, it is fated that Swedish explorers S.A. Andree, Fraenkel and Strinberg attempted to fly to the unexplored North Pole by balloon, but this ill-fated journey ended in tragedy. The first authentic account of reaching the Pole was in 1926 Oslo, Roald Amundsen flew his hydrogen balloon Norge across the North Pole. Although in reverse and with considerably more comfort, we shall make this historic journey with our own aircraft as we transfer directly from Alaska to Svalbard across the Arctic Ocean. En route, our onboard arctic historian will bring their story to life. As we pass over the North Pole itself we will pay our respect to these early explorers with a champagne toast in memory of their historic achievements.