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Close-up of a polar bear's face as it swims toward the camera in calm water off East Greenland, photographed on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Arctic Norway · 74° to 81° North

Svalbard

Nine islands halfway between Norway and the Pole, where the bears outnumber the people and the sun does not set for four months. We have sailed every coast of it.

Highlights

Why Svalbard first

No sea days before the ice. Longyearbyen sits at 78° North, and the first glacier front is an hour from the pier. A week here holds more landings than a fortnight almost anywhere else in the Arctic, and the warm West Spitsbergen Current keeps the coast open from June while the pack ice waits a day’s sail north.

A wild polar bear standing on an ice floe in Svalbard during a Swan Hellenic Arctic expedition.

Polar bears on the pack ice

A Zodiac from a cruise ship next to an iceberg in Antarctica

Zodiacs under the glacier fronts

Drone perspective of the majestic Bråsvellbreen ice cap meeting dark sea waters in Svalbard.

Fjords walled by ice

Walrus resting on the shore at Kapp Lee on Edgeøya Island in Svalbard during a Swan Hellenic expedition cruise

Walrus on the beaches

Guest in an orange Ponant parka at the deck rail facing a glacier front and jagged mountains in Svalbard, on a Ponant Arctic expedition cruise

Midnight sun from the bridge wings

Signature locations

Where the voyages go

Ten places we go back to. The ice and the weather set the order on the day.

Panoramic view of snowy mountain peaks in Svalbard

Longyearbyen

A former coal town of 2,500 people at 78° North where you may not leave the settlement without a rifle. The ships embark here. Arrive a day early for the Svalbard Museum and the Global Seed Vault.

When to go

Pick the month, then the ship

The season runs May to September and the ice decides where the ships can go. This is how we read it.

Fjords frozen at their heads, land still white, bears close to the ice. Few ships, the coldest month and the most beautiful for photographers.

Wildlife

Who you meet, and when

Around 3,000 polar bears share the Barents Sea with Svalbard. Sightings are never promised, by us or anyone honest. These are the odds as we know them.

Most voyages of a week or more see one, usually on the pack ice or along the shore from the ship. The law now keeps ships 300 metres away, 500 in spring, so bring binoculars and a long lens.

Things to do

How the days are spent

Two outings a day, set at the morning briefing and changed as the ice and the bears dictate. All included on the ships we sell, except kayaking, booked in advance.

An excursions cruise Zodiac in the water next to an iceberg off the Antarctic Peninsula.

Zodiac cruising at the glacier fronts

Group of passengers hiking towards a glacier beneath jagged peaks in Svalbard on a Quark Expeditions cruise

Hikes with a bear guard

Group of sea kayakers paddling past sea ice in Svalbard on a Quark Expeditions Arctic cruise

Sea kayaking in the fjords

The bridge on a Swan Hellenic cruise ship.

Ice navigation at 80° North

Snowy mountains and a glacier stretching toward the water on South Georgia Island.

Field notes

What the brochures leave out

Since 1 January 2025 Norway has rewritten the rules. Landings in the parks and reserves are limited to 43 named sites, thirteen of them for 39 people at a time. No ship with more than 200 passengers on board may enter the protected areas. Ships and Zodiacs keep 300 metres from a polar bear, 500 from March to June, and 150 metres from walrus. Drones are banned. It changed which ships can sail here and how, and it is the first thing we check. SH Diana, Le Lyrial, Ultramarine, Ocean Explorer and Sylvia Earle each handle it differently, and we tell you how.

The practical things. Longyearbyen is eight hours behind Sydney in summer. There is no mobile coverage once the ship leaves Isfjorden, only satellite Wi-Fi. July days sit between 4 and 8 degrees and the parka the ship gives you is warmer than anything you pack. Svalbard is a tax-free zone with its own alcohol limits. Bring sunglasses: the light at midnight is the light of early afternoon.

  • 43 landing sites
  • 200 guests, no more
  • 300 metres from a bear

How we plan it

Four decisions, in the right order

A Svalbard voyage goes wrong in the planning, not at sea. This is the order we work in with every guest.

Ice first, light second, fare third. We ask what you want to see and tell you which three weeks of the season give it to you.

What a Svalbard voyage costs

From A$15,660 per person for seven nights aboard Le Lyrial with the Paris charter flights included, and from A$15,770 on the Unexplored Svalbard route in July 2028. Nine nights aboard Sylvia Earle with the Oslo hotel and charters from A$29,205.

Ten nights aboard SH Diana around Spitsbergen with Copenhagen charters from A$23,725, or the sail north from Tromsø or Reykjavík from A$22,525. Quark publishes in US dollars: twelve nights around the archipelago aboard Ultramarine from US$17,131, ten nights in the spring ice from US$10,371, sixteen nights from Scotland from US$11,751.

Thirteen nights from Longyearbyen to Iceland by Jan Mayen and Scoresby Sund from A$20,900. Sixteen nights between Svalbard and Greenland aboard Le Commandant Charcot from A$53,550, and twelve nights to the Geographic North Pole from A$53,610.

Flights from Australia to the gateway city, hotel nights there, kayaking on most lines and travel insurance are the usual additions. Many of these departures carry offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests and do not publish. Call us and we quote the whole journey with them, in Australian dollars, on one proposal.


Expeditions

Expeditions to Svalbard

A week on the west coast, the eastern reserves, the sail north from Scotland or Tromsø, the spring ice and the full circumnavigation. Tell us the month and we tell you which sailing, which ship and what we can do on the fare.

All expeditions
7 Nights
Ponant
From A$15,660

Fjords and Glaciers of Spitsbergen

Longyearbyen to Longyearbyen aboard Le Lyrial: Hornsund, the edge of the pack ice, Liefdefjorden, Raudfjorden and Ny-Ålesund in a single week. Six departures in 2027 and four in June 2028, return charter flights from Paris included. From A$15,660 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights
Swan Hellenic
From A$23,725

Ultimate Svalbard

Longyearbyen to Longyearbyen, Copenhagen charter flights included. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$23,725 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

7 Nights
Ponant
From A$15,770

Unexplored Svalbard

Longyearbyen to Longyearbyen aboard Le Lyrial, around the north of Spitsbergen to the nature reserves of Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. Five departures from 30 June to 28 July 2028, return charter flights from Paris included. From A$15,770 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights
Swan Hellenic
From A$22,525

Sailing North to Svalbard

Tromsø or Reykjavík to Longyearbyen. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$22,525 per person, charter flight home from Longyearbyen included, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights
Aurora Expeditions
From A$29,205

Svalbard Odyssey

Oslo to Oslo, with the charter flight to Longyearbyen and a hotel night in Oslo included. Three sailings in 2027, three in 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$29,205 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

14 Nights
Quark Expeditions
From US$17,131

Spitsbergen Circumnavigation: A Rite of Passage

Helsinki to Helsinki, with the charter flight to Longyearbyen and hotel nights included. Sailings in June 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From US$17,131 per person in US dollars, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights
Quark Expeditions
From US$10,371

Svalbard in Spring: Sea Ice, Pristine Snow and Wildlife

Helsinki to Helsinki, with the charter flight to Longyearbyen and hotel nights included. Eleven sailings between April 2027 and June 2028, with 2029 to follow. From US$10,371 per person in US dollars, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

16 Nights
Quark Expeditions
From US$11,751

Scotland to Spitsbergen: Puffins, Sea Ice and Wildlife

Aberdeen to Longyearbyen, with hotel nights and the charter flight home to Helsinki included. One sailing in May 2027, one in May 2028, with 2029 to follow. From US$11,751 per person in US dollars, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Go further

Pair Svalbard with the rest of the Arctic

Svalbard is the natural first half of a longer journey: across to Greenland with Le Commandant Charcot, north from Scotland or Tromsø, or south to Iceland by Jan Mayen.

All expeditions
16 Nights
Ponant
From A$53,550

In the Ice of the Arctic: Svalbard and Greenland

Reykjavík to Longyearbyen in June, or Longyearbyen to Reykjavík. Sailings in 2027, with 2028 to follow. Paris charter flight included. From A$53,550 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights
Swan Hellenic
From A$22,525

Sailing North to Svalbard

Tromsø or Reykjavík to Longyearbyen. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$22,525 per person, charter flight home from Longyearbyen included, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

13 Nights
Ponant
From A$20,900

From Svalbard to Iceland

Longyearbyen to Reykjavík aboard Le Lyrial, by way of the north-west fjords of Spitsbergen, Jan Mayen and Scoresby Sund in East Greenland. One sailing, 4 to 17 August 2028, with the Paris to Longyearbyen charter flight included. From A$20,900 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Arctic guides

Read before you go

The guides we would hand you before this voyage: the wildlife, the rules, the history and the practical things, written by the people who plan it.

All Arctic guides
Guide
Destinations

Svalbard’s New Rules Explained: What Changed in 2025 and What It Means for Your Voyage

43 landing sites, 200 passengers, 300 metres from a bear, no drones. The regulations in plain English, what they changed and why we think they are right.

Wildlife

Polar Bears in the Arctic: Where, When and the Honest Odds

The bear is why most people go north and the one animal nobody can promise. Coast by coast, month by month, what the odds really are.

Guide

Svalbard’s History: Whalers, Trappers, Airships and the Treaty of 1920

Four hundred and thirty years of people who came for something: whales, furs, coal and the Pole. The sites a Svalbard voyage lands at, and the Treaty that explains the place.

Wildlife

Seabirds and Bird Cliffs of the Arctic: Alkefjellet, Látrabjarg and the Great Colonies

Sixty thousand pairs on one wall of basalt, a tern that flies to Antarctica, a gull almost nobody has seen. The cliffs, the birds and the fortnight they are full.

Guide
Destinations

The Best Time to Visit the Arctic: A Month-by-Month Guide for Australians

Which fortnight, on which coast, for the bears, the ice, the midnight sun and the aurora. The guide we use ourselves when a guest calls.

Guide

What You Actually Do on an Arctic Expedition: Kayaking, the Plunge, Sea-Ice Walks and Helicopters

The day is spent off the ship. What each activity involves, which ships offer it, how it is sold and who it suits.

Polar bear swimming through dark fjord water off East Greenland, photographed from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Questions

Svalbard, your questions answered

Getting there from Australia, the ice, the bears and what to pack. If your question is not here, we are a call away.

Fly to Oslo, Copenhagen or Helsinki, around 24 hours with one stop, and join the charter to Longyearbyen that most fares include. We book the long-haul flights, the night before the charter and the hotel on the way home, so it is one booking with one specialist.

No visa for Norway or Svalbard for stays under 90 days. Svalbard sits outside the Schengen area, so carry your passport on the charter flight: there is a passport check on the way back into Norway.

June and July for a first voyage, when the ice is close, the light constant and the cliffs full. Late July and August for the circumnavigations and the far north-east. May for sea ice and snow, September for the aurora and the lowest fares.

Most voyages of a week or more do, usually from the ship or the Zodiacs on the pack ice. Since 2025 the law requires 300 metres of distance, 500 in spring. No one can promise a sighting, and we never do.

Longyearbyen averages 6 to 7 degrees in July. It can be below zero in the pack ice with the wind. The ships provide the parka and boots. You bring thermal layers, waterproof trousers, gloves, a hat and sunglasses. A packing list comes with every proposal.

Rarely. Svalbard voyages sail inside fjords and along a sheltered coast, and the pack ice flattens the swell. The only open water is the crossing on the Scotland, Tromsø and Iceland routes.

It depends on the month, the route and how you travel. SH Diana for the ten-night circuit with Copenhagen charters, Le Lyrial for a French week with Paris flights, Ultramarine for the helicopters and the circumnavigation, Ocean Explorer for spring and the Scotland route, Sylvia Earle for an Australian team and the smallest group. We have sailed them all and we say which suits you.

Yes, for the west coast: Hornsund, the pack ice, Liefdefjorden, Raudfjorden and Ny-Ålesund. Ten to twelve nights adds Hinlopen, Nordaustlandet and the eastern reserves. Longer voyages pair Svalbard with Greenland or Iceland.

Yes. Several sailings carry no single supplement in given weeks, and we know which. Tell us your dates and we tell you where a solo fare is possible.

We have sailed these ships in these waters, we know which suite to ask for, and we hold offers on many departures that are only available by talking to us. One Australian specialist plans the whole journey and stays with you until you are home.

Made to measure

Tell us your Arctic, we build the rest

Every guest sails differently. Tell us what you are hoping for, the ice, the wildlife, the light, who you are travelling with, and we match it to the right sailing, the right stateroom and the right year, with flights from Australia and our own offers included. One Arctic Cruise specialist stays with you from the first call until you are home.

The Arctic, by destination

Other Arctic destinations

Seven coasts, each with its own season, its own ships and its own page. Tell us which one you are drawn to and we tell you how it fits with the others.

All expeditions

East Greenland

The longest fjord system on earth, the largest national park on earth and a coast with one settlement in a thousand kilometres. September brings the aurora. Ten days here changes what you think a fjord is.

Northwest Passage and the Canadian Arctic

The sea route that Franklin died looking for and Amundsen took three winters to sail. Today it opens for six weeks a year, and the ships that go in come back with stories no other coast gives. Ice decides the route, every year, every morning.

Labrador and Newfoundland

The autumn coast, where the polar bears come down to a shore of red tundra, the Vikings built the first European houses in the Americas and a piece of France waits at the end. September, when the colour is on the tundra and the bears are on the shore.

West Greenland and Disko Bay

The coast where the ice sheet reaches the sea. The fastest glacier in the northern hemisphere, the icebergs it sends into Disko Bay, towns of coloured houses on the rock and, in September, the aurora over the ice. The easiest Arctic to reach, and the one with the most icebergs.

The Geographic North Pole

One passenger ship in the world can take you to the top of the planet, and she sails from Svalbard. Three days through the pack ice, two days on it, every direction south, and nothing else like it on any ship.

Iceland and Jan Mayen

Where most Arctic voyages begin or end, and where the best of them linger: the Westfjords, the whales of Húsavík and the volcano that rises alone out of the Greenland Sea. Two nights in Reykjavík either side, and the whole of the North Atlantic between.