svalbard 2026

In the morning, we will tour the town and then have free time to browse the shops. We will recommend exactly where to buy and where not to buy souvenirs to take home. In the afternoon, we will board the ship and set off after a safety briefing. We will sail towards the exit of the main fjord of Svalbard and head north along the dramatic western coast of the island. The northward sailing will continue while we sleep deeply in a place where the sun never sets. If we see polar bears during the first night, as on any night, don’t worry – we will wake you up with excitement.

During breakfast, we are expected to be near the northwestern corner of Svalbard and close to Amsterdamøya island, near the first settlement established in Svalbard by the Dutch pioneers – Smeerenburg. In this area, we have already spotted several polar bears during our voyages in previous years, and from there we will sail east towards one of our favorite places, which is secret and therefore we won’t write it here, where we will visit a colony of walruses and get close to them in a way that only we can. During the night, we will sail to the Pack ice of the North Pole Here we are outside Svalbard waters and therefore able to get closer to polar bears than what is allowed by law in Norwegian waters.

The Northeastern Island – Nordaustlandet is the second largest island in the archipelago, and we will already be scanning the coasts southward and Lågøya Island with its giant walrus colonies. We will enter Murchison Fjord where there are many nesting birds, and occasionally we also see beluga whales in this area. Towards midnight, we will reach the giant bird cliff Alkefjellet – where the best lighting on it is in the middle of the night. Here we will photograph millions of seabirds that come to nest during the intensive summer; at the bottom of the cliffs, Arctic foxes usually look for hunting opportunities, and once we even saw a polar bear up the cliff.

The Northeastern Island – Nordaustlandet is the second largest island in the archipelago, and we will already be scanning the coasts southward and Lågøya Island with its giant walrus colonies. We will enter Murchison Fjord where there are many nesting birds, and occasionally we also see beluga whales in this area. Towards midnight, we will reach the giant bird cliff Alkefjellet – where the best lighting on it is in the middle of the night. Here we will photograph millions of seabirds that come to nest during the intensive summer; at the bottom of the cliffs, Arctic foxes usually look for hunting opportunities, and once we even saw a polar bear up the cliff.

During the night, we will sail south towards one of our favorite areas. After breakfast, we will reach one of the small bays that has almost always provided our best polar bear sightings. We hope that this time too we will manage to find the bears that love it due to a unique combination of circumstances. We will spend the night in this unique place for additional opportunities to observe bears. Depending on what we find in areas where we know polar bears are present, we will spend more time in the eastern coast area of Svalbard and sail north back towards the Hinlopen Strait. On the way, we will pass between the islands through a narrow and impressively beautiful passage and reach the BjørnSundet area, or known in Hebrew as “Bears Bay,” and there is a special reason for this – seals love this bay, and therefore attract polar bears for hunting opportunities. During the night, we will sail northeast, towards the second largest island in Svalbard.

We will eat breakfast facing a unique and overwhelmingly powerful landscape – we will reach the edge of the third largest ice shelf in the world, located on Nordaustlandet island in northeast Svalbard. The edge of the ice shelf consists of an enormous active wall with waterfalls and collapsing ice chunks that illustrate the massive melting this area is undergoing due to global warming. After sailing along the massive ice wall, we will sail towards one of the largest walrus colonies in Svalbard for a visit in the afternoon. This colony usually also has many small and cute offspring. During the night, we will already sail towards the north and the giant fjords.

We will have breakfast in Liefdefjorden with a view of one of the most beautiful glaciers in Svalbard – Monaco Glacier – and go down for a walk. During lunch, we will sail out of the fjord to an island with a specially protected nature reserve called Moffen. Although we cannot go ashore due to extreme conservation measures, we can observe an amazing phenomenon as one of the best sites for walruses. In the afternoon, we will sail west towards Magdalenefjorden, one of the most beautiful fjords, which we will visit after dinner. During our night’s sleep, we will sail south to Kongsfjorden – the Kings Fjord.

In the morning, we will already be in Kings Fjord and facing the settlement of Ny-Ålesund, the northernmost settlement in the world! 35 residents call this place home, and most are researchers from the world’s leading universities. Our landing ashore is contingent on the mayor’s approval, so we cannot guarantee it. Opposite the town is an island that serves as a nesting place for barnacle geese and red-throated divers, two fascinating birds in their behaviors. We will continue north in the large fjord to the area of the most beautiful glacier – the July 14th Glacier – named after the French Bastille Day, and go down for a walk to an amazing viewpoint. During lunch, we will sail south. Towards midnight, we will eat dinner and reach the huge Alkehornet bird cliff, under which there are several Arctic fox dens, and thanks to the northern sun of midnight, we will have excellent lighting on the cliff. We will go ashore for a walk of about a kilometer on a gentle incline, and after watching the small fox cubs playing for as long as we wish, we will return to the ship. During the night, we will sail into Isfjorden.

During the day, we will visit the many fjords that branch off from Isfjorden, including taking a look at the abandoned Soviet town of Pyramiden and the giant Nordenskiöldbreen glacier. In the afternoon, we will visit the cliff famous for its puffin colony, and in the evening, we will sail back to Longyearbyen while giving a summary lecture and a farewell meeting with the crew. We will spend our last night anchored on the ship and pack our equipment before departure.

After breakfast, we will say goodbye for the last time (at least for now) to the ship’s crew and head to the airport or to Longyearbyen town for a tour until the flight back home. Loaded with experiences, amazing photographs, and memories for a lifetime.