Your Arctic adventure begins in Helsinki, renowned for its extraordinary architecture and intriguing mix of eastern and western influences. If you arrive early, explore the many museums, galleries and restaurants, relax at a Finnish sauna or wander the vibrant Design District before retiring at your included hotel.

Today is the day to board on Ocean Adventurer! Take the private charter for your flight to Longyearbyen. Spend some time exploring Spitsbergen’s largest settlement before embarkation. As your ship sets sail, enjoy your first view of the island’s rugged, glacier-topped mountains rising majestically from icy waters.

Head north and around the island of Spitsbergen, exploring smaller, outlying islands. Circumnavigate Spitsbergen or if weather permits, the whole Svalbard archipelago. Every expedition is different depending on the weather and ice, but some of the places to visit include the 14th of July Glacier, Ny London, Phippsøya, Alkefjellet and the seldom-visited Kvitøya.

For birders, the 14th of July Glacier is home to puffins, purple sandpipers, common eiders, barnacle geese and arctic terns, while Alkefjellet’s cliffs are teeming with nesting Brünnich’s guillemots (thick-billed murres).

Always on the lookout for wildlife, be sure to have your camera ready to capture reindeer at the sites like Ny London, Sundneset and Alkhorne. Phippsøya and Isbukta are two of the bears’ preferred places for hunting, which translates into great potential for you to view and capture them in action.

A big part of appreciating Spitsbergen comes from understanding the culture— not just how people live today, but also how this land was first explored. Whaling was a key industry, and see the remains of outposts from the 16th century, plus other evidence of whaling at landing sites such as Smeerenburg.

Arrive in Longyearbyen around 7am and 8am local time. After breakfast, it is time to bid farewell to your Expedition Team and shipmates before completing your disembarkation and return flight to Helsinki