You land in Longyearbyen, the main town on Spitsbergen, the biggest island in Svalbard. Check out this old mining town, where you can visit the parish church and Svalbard Museum. The landscape might look bare, but there are over a hundred types of plants here. In the early evening, the ship heads out of Isfjorden, and you might catch a glimpse of your first minke whale.

Later, you sail to Trygghamna, where you’ll find the remains of a 17th-century English whaling station and an 18th-century Pomor hunting station. You can explore these sites the next morning.

Walk from Trygghamna to Alkhornet, a large seabird cliff where birds search for breeding spots. Arctic foxes are often seen below the cliffs, and reindeer may be grazing on the vegetation if snow isn't too heavy.

You sail into Fuglefjorden (= Bird Fjord) amid views of Svitjodbreen and Birgerbukta, both breeding areas for great skuas as well as likely spots to see a polar bear. The aim is to visit Ytre Norskøya, a small island that served for many years as a Dutch whaling lookout. Here you can still follow the whalers’ tracks to the summit of the island, passing popular bird cliffs (with kittiwakes, little auks, puffins) on the way. On shore are the remains of more 17th-century blubber ovens, while Arctic skuas and common eiders breed among the graves of some two hundred Dutch whalers. Sometimes we see brent geese.

Raudfjorden, on the north coast of Spitsbergen, is a fine place for gazing over the glaciers. It’s also a favorite hangout for ringed and bearded seals, colonies of seabird (with Brünnich's guillemots), and the occasional polar bear and beluga whale. Alicehamna and Buchananhalvøya are fine places for gazing over the geology of the land.

If ice conditions permit, you may land on the northern side of Graahuken, an extensive tundra area of Spitsbergen, and walk from there to Hyttesletten. The plain is a popular grazing area for reindeer, and several species of waders also breed here. Similarly, the lakes afford you a good chance of spotting red- throated divers and king eiders.

Depending on the weather and sea ice, you could sail into Liefdefjorden, land at Texas Bar, and cruise near the 5-kilometer-long face of Monaco Glacier. The waters in front of this steep glacier are a favorite feeding spot for thousands of kittiwakes, and the base of the ice is a popular polar bear hunting ground. If ice conditions block this route early in the season, you may instead sail along the west coast of Spitsbergen.

You then sail south to Magdalenafjorden, one of the glacier-filled highlights of Spitsbergen. A shore visit at Gravneset shows you the remains of 17th-century English whaling, and you can also see large colonies of little auks.

You head north for Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden. We aim to visit places of historic interest: Ny London, where you can see the remains of early 20th-century marble mining (and sometimes breeding long-tailed skuas), and Ny Ålesund, the northernmost community in the world. There are also research stations for the study of barnacle geese, Arctic terns, and waders, and the famous anchor mast of the dirigible Norge, which took the first flight across the North Pole to Nome, Alaska in 1926. Krossfjorden offers views of colossal glaciers and lofty mountain peaks, while we sail by some seabird colonies.

On your journey south, the goal is a landing in Forlandsundet at Sarstangen, a walrus haul out. Alternatively you could land on the coast of Engelskbukta. The tundra here is a fine place for a walk to Hornbaekbukta. Also at Poolepynten is a walrus haul out.

The next stop is Bohemanflya, an expansive tundra with its own avifauna (red-throated diver, grey phalarope, king eider, Arctic skua, depending on when spring arrives) and spectacular geological formations with black guillemots along the coast. In Gipsvika you can go on shore near Templet, a mountainous location of eroded sedimentary rock from the Upper Carboniferous period – around 290 million years ago.

Every adventure, no matter how grand, comes to an end. The journey concludes in Longyearbyen, with memories in tow to carry into your next adventure.