In short
An Arctic expedition is not a cruise with cold weather. The ship is the base, and the day is spent off it: in a Zodiac among the floes, in a kayak under a bird cliff, on snowshoes over a frozen fjord, in the water for eleven seconds, or in a helicopter over the ice. This is what each activity really involves, which ships offer it, and who it suits.
The Zodiac, which is the Arctic
Every landing and most of the wildlife happens from a Zodiac: a rigid inflatable for ten to twelve guests and a driver from the expedition team. Two or three outings a day is normal. A Zodiac cruise is an hour or two along a glacier front, among icebergs or beneath a bird cliff, without landing. A landing is the Zodiac to a beach, then the tundra on foot. The boarding is from a platform at the ship’s side with a crew member’s arm on each side of you, and the only skill required is the ability to step down into a boat that is moving a little.
Kayaking
The quietest way to be in the Arctic. A double kayak, a guide, a group of eight to ten, and an hour or two along the ice edge or a fjord shore with the ship in sight. No experience is needed on most programmes, and the guides keep to calm water. In Scoresby Sund and Disko Bay, among icebergs the size of churches, it is the outing guests describe for years afterwards.
How it is sold varies. On the Ponant ships kayaking is included in the fare, with places limited by weather and demand, and allocated aboard. Quark Expeditions and Aurora Expeditions run paid sea-kayaking programmes booked before departure, with a smaller number of places and more time on the water across the voyage, alongside shorter paddling outings that need no booking. Swan Hellenic offers kayaking as an on-board excursion. Tell us before you book if kayaking is the point, because on some sailings the programme fills early.
The polar plunge
Into water of a degree or two above freezing, from a Zodiac platform or a beach, with a harness line around your waist and a crew member holding it. Eleven seconds, a towel, a schnapps and a certificate. Offered on every ship we recommend, usually once a voyage at a place the expedition leader chooses for calm water and a photograph. Nobody has to. Most people do.
Walking on the sea ice
Only one ship can give you this in the Arctic. Le Commandant Charcot’s spring voyages in April and May stop in the frozen sea of Baffin Bay or East Greenland and the gangway goes down onto the ice. Snowshoeing, a walk to a pressure ridge, lunch on the ice, and on some days an hour of silence a kilometre from the ship with the bear guards on the perimeter. On the North Pole voyages the same thing happens at 90° North. There is nothing else like it on any ship.
Snowshoeing and hiking
Snowshoes come out when there is snow on the ground: on the Charcot spring voyages, on Svalbard in June, and on Ultramarine’s landings in the early season. Hiking is the summer version, on every voyage: a long walk across the tundra to a lake or a ridge, a medium walk to a viewpoint, a short walk along the beach, with a guide at the front and a bear guard at the back, and you choose the length each morning. Nobody is left on the beach.
Helicopters
Ultramarine carries two Airbus H145 helicopters and is built around them: flightseeing over the ice, heli-landings on a glacier or a plateau no Zodiac can reach, and on Svalbard and Greenland voyages the view of the fjords from above. Flights depend on weather and are rotated so every guest flies. Le Commandant Charcot offers flights on some of her voyages where conditions allow, and several Greenland itineraries include a charter helicopter transfer at Constable Point or in Scoresby Sund as part of the voyage.
Dog sledding
In Greenland, from Ilulissat and Tasiilaq, dog sledding is a way of life rather than an excursion, and some spring and early-summer voyages include a sled outing with local mushers while there is still snow. Le Commandant Charcot’s Greenland spring sailings have offered it. In Svalbard, Longyearbyen outfitters run wheeled sled rides in summer and snow sledding in the cold months before and after the ship season.
From the ship
The days at sea are not empty. Lectures from the expedition team on ice, bears, birds and history, the bridge open to guests on the ships that allow it, the bow at midnight, the sauna with a window on the fjord, a Nordic bath on deck in a snowfall, the recap every evening with a drink. On Le Commandant Charcot, two laboratories and scientists aboard who will show you what they are measuring. Our day on an Arctic expedition ship walks through the hours.
Off Greenland. Le Commandant Charcot from directly above, its wake curving through the icebergs, photographed from the ship's helicopter on a PONANT Greenland voyage. © Studio PONANT / Ophélie Bleunven
Who each suits
- Zodiacs and landings: everyone. The only requirement is to be able to step into a boat and walk on uneven ground with help.
- Kayaking: anyone comfortable in a boat and in cold air. The guides choose calm water.
- The plunge: anyone with a good heart and a sense of humour. Check with your doctor if you have a condition that minds a shock.
- Sea-ice walks: everyone on board, on the one ship that offers them.
- Snowshoeing and long hikes: a reasonable level of fitness, and good boots, which the ship provides.
- Helicopters: everyone, with the usual weight limits and the weather’s permission.
Questions we are asked about activities
Is kayaking safe for beginners?
Yes, on the programmes we recommend. Stable doubles, a guide to every few boats, calm water chosen each day and a safety Zodiac alongside. A short briefing covers the rest.
Do we need to be fit?
For the Zodiacs and the landings, no more than the ability to walk a few kilometres on uneven ground. Every landing offers a short option. The long hikes and the snowshoeing are for those who want them.
Is the water really that cold for the plunge?
Yes, between zero and four degrees. The shock is the point and it is over in seconds. The crew hold the line and the towel.
Which ship has the most to do?
Ultramarine for the helicopters and the widest menu, Le Commandant Charcot for the sea ice and the laboratories. For kayaking and quiet, the Ponant sisters and the Swan Hellenic ships. Our ship guide sets them side by side.
