Upon arriving in Reykjavik, meet the representative of Aurora Expeditions and transfer to your group hotel. When you arrive at your included hotel, please visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality area, where you can leave your luggage and enjoy refreshments if you arrive before 4 pm. While there, you can collect your luggage cabin tags and speak with the ground operations team, who may have information to share with you about pre-embarkation or provide you with information about where to dine, withdraw cash, or purchase last-minute items from a local pharmacy or supermarket.

The rest of your time is free to enjoy at your leisure. All meals today are at your own expense.

Today, you follow the path of one of Reykjavik’s most popular seismic attractions – the Golden Circle. Stops along your route include Thingvellir National Park, accredited as the site of Iceland’s first parliament. A shaky start to the new nation, it is also the point where the Eurasia and North American tectonic plates meet as an open fissure. Your next stop is Gullfoss waterfall. This impressive water feature tumbles 34 meters into the Hvítá River, offering a popular photographic opportunity. Next, you explore the geothermal fields and geysers for which Iceland is famous. The variety of hot springs and bubbling pools are mesmerizing as the sheer capacity of water and steam erupting from the ground makes you ponder how much power is beneath your feet. Late afternoon, you return to Reykjavik to board the Sylvia Earle.  

After boarding, there’s time to settle into your cabin before your important safety briefings before you begin your Greenland adventure. This evening, meet your expedition team and crew at the Welcome Dinner.

In the Denmark Strait, you cruise towards Greenland. Be on the lookout for whale blows and the many seabirds that trail your ship, riding in the constant winds. In the lecture theatre, enjoy informative and entertaining presentations from the experts on topics such as seabirds, wildlife, and ice, or catch up on some rest after busy days of travel. 

In the coming days, a host of choices are available to you, and depending on ice and weather conditions, the east coast of Greenland is yours to explore. Your experienced expedition team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to tailor your daily itinerary. This allows you to use the prevailing weather, ice conditions, and encounters with wildlife. You generally attempt up to two landings or Zodiac excursions daily, including cruising along spectacular ice cliffs and following whales feeding near the surface.

Be prepared to experience ice – and lots of it! East Greenland contains some of the Arctic's most impressive scenery. Deep fjords and narrow channels, flanked by sharp ice-clad peaks soaring up to 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) and glaciers birthing gigantic icebergs that drift throughout the fjord system, combine to create breathtaking scenes.  

The tundra landscape is home to musk oxen, arctic hares, and reindeer. There are ancient Thule archaeological sites, historical trappers' huts, and the cabins of present-day Inuit hunters. A highlight is visiting the Inuit village of Ittoqqortoormiit, the region's most isolated and northernmost permanent settlement, with approximately 450 inhabitants. The community has an excellent museum, gift shop, and an abundance of Greenlandic sled dogs, and it provides the opportunity to meet friendly locals. 

You hope to explore Scoresbysund, the world's largest fjord and a favorite hunting ground of the local Inuit. Massive glaciers flow into this fjord, the birthplace of hundreds of majestic Greenland icebergs. It is a spectacular place that must be seen and believed. North of Scoresbysund lies Kong Oskar and Kaiser Franz Josef fjords, two of Greenland's most significant fjord systems, each encompassing several smaller fjords and sounds. The area is rich in wildlife thanks to the fertile volcanic soil and the surrounding mountains offering protection from strong winds. You may spot everything from musk oxs and arctic foxes to mountain hares and even reindeer near the fjord. Look skyward, and you can glimpse birds, including the glaucous gull, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, common raven, and common eider. 

Attempt to enter Kaiser Franz Josef Fjord, a remote and rarely visited fjord system with countless opportunities for exploration, located within the Northeast Greenland National Park. Cruising through Kong Oskar Fjord, you marvel at the geological beauty of the mountains. Then, head south along the coast of Liverpool Land, with your passage dependent on ice conditions.  

Stretch your legs on hikes across the tundra in search of ancient graveyards and summer villages occupied 3,000 years ago by the Inuit. You may see musk ox, arctic hare, and reindeer grazing. The maze of calm, interconnecting waterways in this area provides excellent opportunities for sea kayaking. You can see ring seals, perhaps glimpse the elusive narwhal, and maybe even a polar bear hunting on pack ice.

As you sail towards the coast of East Greenland, you may encounter whales feeding in the rich waters of the north. As you approach East Greenland, be prepared to discover more pack ice and perhaps spot seals and a variety of seabirds, including the northern fulmar and Brünnich’s guillemot.

The strong, icy currents have isolated East Greenland from the Polar Basin, attracting large numbers of fish, seals, and whales. Climatic conditions and the concentration of ice in the vicinity often create thick morning fog that only vanishes in the presence of the midday sun. Your experts will inform and entertain you with fascinating discussions on plants, animals, ice, and heroic tales of exploration.

Svalbard offers arctic wilderness at its best. The members of your experienced Expedition Team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to tailor your itinerary, choosing the best options based on the prevailing weather, sea-ice conditions, and opportunities for wildlife encounters.

Phenomenal fjords, magnificent mountain ranges, and a polar desert rich in fossils set the stage for heroic tales of early exploration. See walruses hauled out on sea ice or beaches. On land, stretch your legs on walks across tundra carpeted in brightly colored wildflowers. Visit towering cliffs noisy with nesting guillemots, puffins, and scree slopes that hold Svalbard’s largest little auk colonies.

If you have chosen an optional activity, such as kayaking, you can enjoy that activity when conditions allow. For those enthusiastic about participating in a polar plunge, as soon as conditions are suitable, you can hear the announcement to prepare for an exhilarating dip – a memory you can savor for years to come.

During the early morning, you cruise into Longyearbyen and disembark at approximately 8.00 am. Farewell your Expedition Team and enjoy some free time before transferring to the airport for your return charter flight to Oslo to continue your journey.