Rannoch Adventures - Awaken the explorer within...

DISCLAIMER:  All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on local ice and weather conditions and in order to take advantage of opportunities to see wildlife.  Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.

Day 1: After arriving in Longyearbyen, the “capital” (actually the administrative center) of Spitsbergen, you may wish to visit the Svalbard Museum, which has an interesting collection on the history of Spitsbergen, the mining industry and polar exploration. In the afternoon you will set sail aboard the tall ship Noorderlicht, heading for Alkhornet, a seabird cliff with a large colony of kittiwakes. Below the cliffs is a den with arctic foxes that scavenge off fallen eggs and chicks. The ship continues to Trygghamna to visit the remains of a 17^th century English whaling station and an 18th century Russian Pomor station.

Day 2: You will leave Tryghamna early in the morning and sail through the Forlandsundet. Weather permitting, you will go ashore at Fuglehuken where the first Western Europeans (the expedition of Willem Barentsz) set foot on Spitsbergen. Here you can see the graves of whalers and visit colonies of common guillemots, Brünnich’s guillemots, little auks and kittiwakes. Nearby, you may be able to visit a haul-out of harbor seals and walruses.

Day 3: Today, you will visit the remains of Smeerenburg, the largest 17th century whaling settlement on Spitsbergen. The ship will also land on Ytre Norskřya where there are many graves dating from whaling days.

Day 4 to Day 15: Today, you will sail either to Sorgfjord, where you have a good chance of seeing walruses, or to Murchison Bay, on the north side of which there is extensive dry tundra, home to many reindeer. There is also is a Swedish research station here.

Day 16: You will depart by scheduled flight from Longyearbyen to Oslo.