Quark Expeditions ship Ultramarine with its helicopter deck anchored in a mountain-lined Arctic fjord

Quark Expeditions · Ultramarine · 15 days

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.

Call 1300 187 630

Two Zodiacs cruising along a towering glacier front in Svalbard on a Quark Expeditions Arctic cruise

15 days, Helsinki to Helsinki

The whole way round, ice permitting

Most Svalbard voyages work the west and north of Spitsbergen. This one sets out to go around it, and in a good ice year around the outer islands too: Nordaustlandet, the Hinlopen Strait, the east coast and the south, with eleven days to do it. Quark has sailed the Arctic since 1991 and calls the full loop a rite of passage, because the ice decides whether it happens. The journey begins with a night in Helsinki and the charter flight to Longyearbyen, where Ultramarine, with her two helicopters and twenty Zodiacs, waits at the pier. Walrus, reindeer, Arctic fox and the great bird cliffs of Alkefjellet and the 14th of July Glacier are on the route; polar bears hunt the ice to the north and east, and midsummer is when the chances of meeting one are highest. The shorter Spitsbergen Highlights voyage, eight days in June, follows the same approach on the west coast.

Ultramarine is the ship we suggest to guests who want Svalbard from the air as well as the water, and the full circumnavigation is her best voyage. We shape the rest around you, the cabin, flights from Australia with the Helsinki charter, a night in Helsinki either side, and the offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests. One Australian specialist, from the first conversation until you are home.

2 ports
11 days in Svalbard
15 days

Signature sites

Six places on the way around

Quark publishes no fixed route in Svalbard; the expedition team chooses each day from the places below and others like them, according to the ice.

Walrus colony hauled out on a Svalbard beach with a glacier behind, photographed on a Quark Expeditions cruise

Longyearbyen

Charter flight from Helsinki and embarkation on Ultramarine in the northernmost town of its size.

Longyearbyen

Charter flight from Helsinki and embarkation on Ultramarine in the northernmost town of its size.

Day by day

Fifteen days, in outline

The ice decides the loop. The outline below is the shape of the journey; the full programme comes with the proposal we write for you.

Arrive in Helsinki and settle into the included hotel at the airport.

Aboard Ultramarine

Ultramarine is Quark Expeditions’ flagship: 199 guests, two twin-engine helicopters for flightseeing and heli-landings where the itinerary allows, twenty quick-launch Zodiacs and a ready room for every guest. Quark has sailed the polar regions since 1991 and runs its ships as expedition platforms first: the expedition team leads every outing, kayaking and the polar plunge are on offer, and the dining is one open seating with wine and beer at dinner.

Ultramarine

Zodiacs, twenty of them

The Panorama Lounge aboard the Quark Expeditions' Ultramarine

The bow deck in the ice

Balena Restaurant aboard the Quark Expeditions' Ultramarine ship

Kayaking, for those who book it

The Tundra Spa aboard the Quark Expeditions' Ultramarine ship

Landings with the expedition team

A Balcony Suite Double Bed Cabin aboard Quark Expeditions' Ultramarine

Lectures between outings

We want to make your journey as easy as possible

Twelve nights aboard Ultramarine, hotel nights in Helsinki before and after with breakfast, return charter flights between Helsinki and Longyearbyen, all meals, snacks, soft drinks and juices on board, beer and wine at dinner, coffee and tea around the clock, all Zodiac outings, shore landings and guided walks led by the expedition team, lectures and presentations, a Quark expedition parka to keep and the use of boots on board, group transfers listed in the programme, port fees and a photographic journal of the voyage

Flights from Australia and home, meals beyond those listed, kayaking, the polar plunge and other adventure options booked in advance, travel insurance, visa fees and personal expenses, gratuities to the ship’s crew

Quark includes the hotel nights in Helsinki before and after the voyage and the charter flights between Helsinki and Longyearbyen in both directions. We arrange your flights from Australia to Helsinki, so the journey north is one booking.

Further Exploration

Other Arctic itineraries

Svalbard can also be sailed in ten nights aboard Swan Hellenic or in eleven days with Aurora from Oslo. Each voyage shows its from price in the currency its operator publishes, Australian or US dollars; our specialists help you choose the one that suits the way you like to travel.

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.

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.

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.

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.

12 Nights

Ponant

From A$53,610

The Geographic North Pole

Longyearbyen to Longyearbyen, through the pack ice to 90° North. Four sailings in 2027, six in 2028, with 2029 to follow. Return charter flights Paris to Longyearbyen included. From A$53,610 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Colourful wooden houses in the village of Aappilattoq, South Greenland, visited on a Quark Expeditions cruise

Dates & prices

Departures, 2027 to 2029

Fifteen days aboard Ultramarine, Helsinki to Helsinki. The 2029 season is yet to be announced. Ask us before you compare: our offers for Arctic Cruise guests come on top, and we tell you which sailing is the best value for the way you want to travel.

The 2027 circumnavigation attempt, at midsummer, when the east coast begins to open. Helsinki hotel nights and charter flights included.

The shorter Quark voyage on the west coast of Spitsbergen, for those with less time. Ask us for the programme.

Quark lists two further circumnavigation sailings between June 2027 and July 2028; we come back to you with the 2028 dates and the Australian fare.

Tell us the month and the cabin you have in mind and we hold your place on our list, then come back to you with dates and Australian fares the day they open.

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 cabin 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.