Fly from Paris. Arrive in Kangerlussuaq and transfer to the port where Le Soleal awaits you. Kangerlussuaq is a settlement on the west coast of Greenland near the end of a fjord of the same name. A former U.S. military base, Kangerlussuaq is the transportation hub for the country today, connecting travelers and locals with other towns in Greenland to international destinations like Copenhagen, Denmark, and Iceland. The town is also surrounded by breathtaking landscapes and wildlife. Thousands of musk oxen roam the mountains and valleys near the town, which are accessible by hiking trails.

North of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut is both the northernmost city in Greenland able to maintain a year-round, ice-free port, as well as the southernmost town with sufficient snow for dogsledding in winter and spring. Visit the local museum with its exhibits on Inuit culture and Greenlandic colonial history.

Cruise into Disko Bay, a wide inlet off of Baffin Bay first explored by Erik the Red in 985, when he established the first Norse settlements in Western Greenland. Discover the Ilulissat ice fjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, at the sea mouth of one of the fastest and most active glaciers in the world, Sermeq Kujalleq. The scene is spectacular with giant icebergs, floating glacial ice, and the sounds of the iceberg calving. Take a walking tour of Ilulissat, including a visit to the local history museum, and meet with villagers to learn about life in this often-harsh Arctic region and shop for local handicrafts.

Karrat Fjord is one of Greenland's most spectacular fjords. During ice breakup, narwhals and seals use the long leads created by high winds in this region to hunt the rich waters of the fjord. The cliffs within the fjord offer good opportunities to see colonies of dovekies and good wildlife sightings, not to mention unbeatable photographic opportunities.

Kullorsuaq is a settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is the northernmost settlement in the Upernavik Archipelago, located on Kullorsuaq Island at the southern end of Melville Bay, itself part of the larger Baffin Bay. The settlement was founded in 1928 and became a trading station, growing in size after World War II when hunters from several small villages around Inussulik Bay, Sugar Loaf Bay, and Tasiusaq Bay moved into the larger settlements such as Nuussuaq and Kullorsuaq. Today, Kullorsuaq remains one of the most traditional hunting and fishing villages in Greenland, but maintains a stable population.

Cape York is an important geographical landmark that delimits the northwestern end of Melville Bay, with the other end commonly defined as Wilcox Head, the western promontory on Kiatassuaq Island. A chain of small coastal islands stretches between Cape York and Cape Melville to the east, the largest of which is Meteorite Island. The cape is located 37 km (23 mi) west-south-west of the Savissivik settlement on Meteorite Island.

On Baffin Island, located in northern Canada at the mouth of the famous Northwest Passage, there is a small Inuit settlement at the very bounds of infinity. To get there, cross the Arctic Circle, the imaginary line that separates man from lands of mystery and wonder. It’s not so much the way of life that sets Pond Inlet’s inhabitants apart, so much as the setting. Snow-capped mountains, fjords, and glaciers combine in a dazzling natural environment that fills space and expands time. Some discoveries change you forever: this is one of them.

Historic Beechey Island is best known for providing a safe haven to British explorer Sir John Franklin during the 1845 expedition. Look east toward Resolute Bay at the huge silhouette of Cape Riley and imagine what Captain Franklin saw here in Erebus Harbor, where he took shelter for two years before his ill-fated attempt to conquer the Northwest Passage. See the wooden grave markers for three of Franklin's men, now bleached by the sun, and visit the memorial erected in memory of the lost explorer.

On the east coast of Somerset Island, Fury Beach situated on a wide pebbly raised beach backed by limestone cliffs, and is home to the HMS Fury which was stranded, unloaded, and abandoned in the summer of 1825 during William Edward Parry’s third voyage in search of the Northwest Passage.

Fort Ross is an abandoned trading post on the tip of Somerset Island founded in 1937 as a place for trappers to barter arctic fox pelts in exchange for food and necessities. Explore the remaining wooden buildings of the post, which closed in 1948, and imagine life in such a barren landscape. Keep an eye out for bowhead whales. Later in the day, the ship sails Bellot Strait, a narrow and dramatic channel named after French explorer Joseph René Bellot. The strait separates Somerset Island in the north and then Boothia Peninsula to the south. To the east is Murchinson Promontory, the northernmost part of mainland North America. As you sail, there may be opportunities to view polar bear, snow geese, and from a distance, musk oxen.

The community of Gjoa Haven is located on the southeast coast of King William Island at the heart of the Northwest Passage. It is also called 'Uqsuqtuuq' which means ‘place of plenty blubber’ in Inuktitut. The English name for this place honors the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen who wintered here with his ship the Gjøa. He called this place 'the finest little harbor in the world.' In 1906 he was the first European explorer to transit the Northwest Passage. The John Ross expedition of 1829-1833 had previously visited this region and the ill-fated John Franklin expedition of 1845 perished nearby, so Gjoa Haven is often visited by Arctic history buffs.

Today sail along the Johanssen Peninsula to Edinburgh Island. Edinburgh Island is located within the Coronation Gulf south of Victoria Island, the form site of the Distant Early Warning Line (a system of radar stations in the far Northern Arctic). Approach via zodiac with opportunities for hiking.

Holman Village (Ulukhaktok) is a hunting, trapping, and fishing village located on the west coast of Victoria Island at the entrance to Prince Albert Sound. The village was named after J.R. Holman, a member of the 1853 Inglefield expedition searching for the lost Franklin party. The village witnessed significant development due to mineral exploration, and in recent years, with the establishment of the Holman Eskimo co-op, residents of the hamlet have developed the local economy with the production of arts and crafts, particularly Holman prints.

In the Northwest Territories at Franklin Bay, see the spectacular and enormous "Smoking Hills," cliffs of bituminous shale that endlessly combust and burn. This rare geological phenomenon has likely been occurring for millennia, with layers of the relatively delicate mineral jarosite covering these hills. When the mineral comes into contact with cold air, it becomes red-hot and produces a thick, black smoke, a fantastic sight not unlike the smoky fumaroles produced by volcanoes, though far rarer to see.

Named by Franklin, Herschel Island is a landmark in the West Arctic and has since served alternately as a whaling station, relay station, and refuge for travelers. The island teems with wildlife that includes the migrating bowhead whale, walrus, moose, musk ox, arctic fox, and 94 species of birds. It is also one of the only places on earth where you may see a grizzly bear, black bear, and polar bear, the last of which live along the ice edge in summer. Evidence of the island's whaling culture and Thule Inuit predecessors remains near the shoreline.

Normally dense with ice floes and fog, the Beaufort Sea opens up a 60-mile-wide coastal pass from August to September. As the voyage continues, participate in lectures led by the expedition team. Be on the watch across the sea for bowhead and beluga whales. The expedition now takes you into the U.S. and clears at Point Barrow, Alaska, and continues through this narrow passage between North America and the ever-changing Arctic ice cap.


Continue cruising through the Bering Sea to Little Diomede, an island that sits between Alaska and Russia at the edge of the International Dateline. There may be an opportunity to disembark for a Zodiac cruise of the island, where the Ingalikmiut still maintain a traditional lifestyle of hunting and fishing. The Ingalikmiut also use seal, walrus, and polar bear hides to make clothing, parkas, hats, and mukluks.

Typically dense with ice floes and fog, the Beaufort Sea opens up a 60-mile-wide coastal pass from August to September. Continue sailing in the comfort of your luxury expedition cruiser, participating in eye-opening lectures led by the expedition team. Be on the lookout across the sea for bowhead and beluga whales. The ship sails into the U.S. and clears at Point Barrow, Alaska. The voyage continues through this narrow passage between North America and the ever-changing Arctic ice cap.


Experience the local Siberian Yupik culture during your visit to Savoonga situated on St. Lawrence Island. Your visit to this community includes sights of walrus hides drying on racks and a performance of traditional dance to a concert of drum music. Birders delight in the opportunity to hike and observe red-necked phalarope, long-tailed duck, yellow and white wagtail, and perhaps sight an emperor goose.

Located along the Bering Strait at the westernmost point of Alaska, Nome offers the rustic charm of a former gold-mining town, set in the middle of magnificent wilderness. As you weave in and out of the brightly colored houses, discover the pioneering legacy that still marks local traditions. Fishing, reindeer rearing, sled-racing - people here live doing manual labor. The surrounding plains provide stunning vantage points for observing Arctic fauna. Disembark after breakfast and catch your flight back to Paris.