Pole Trance

Day 1: Departure from Longyearbyen.

Arriving in Longyearbyen, we assemble at a designated point and are transferred to our mobile home for the rest of the expedition, our ship – a highly able, impressively furnished and comfortable expedition ship, at around 04:00 p.m. After everyone has arrived and completed the paperwork, we board the ship and depart Longyearbyen. After settling down, we meet for an introductory dinner and discuss the strategy for the rest of the days while our vessel is cruising steadily in a northwesterly direction.

Days 2 to 10: Svalbard Cruise.

From this day onwards, there is no set itinerary for the rest of the Tour until our return to Longyearbyen eight days later.

The progress of the expedition will be largely dictated by the prevailing weather conditions and the sea ice distribution. Every day your Tour Skipper, along with other expedition leaders and the support crew, will monitor the conditions closely using ice maps and other tools, and determine the best strategy and routes to press forward in a safe and enjoyable way.

For most of our wakeful hours, we will stay on the deck and look out for all kinds of wildlife and landscape observation and photography opportunities, with the compactness of our ship, allowing us to access an amazing network of wildlife-rich areas, and the relatively low viewing areas allowing us to feel united with the environment.

When any wildlife is spotted, after getting some preliminary photographs, we will attempt to approach it by climbing onto a Zodiac, if the leadership team finds the situation safe to do so for all parties concerned.

During these approaches, your and the subjects’ safety will be kept in utmost regard, and the expert oarsmen will manoeuvre the boat in a manner that minimizes stress to the subjects and the risk posed by icebergs and glacial edges. Using our Zodiacs, we can also land ashore and enjoy the rare privilege of exploring the islets on foot.

When you are not watching and photographing wildlife, the ship’s solidity and comfort will ensure you have a smooth time relaxing. The vessel features six cabins – all with private viewing facilities, quick access to Zodiacs, panoramic views from the bridge and outer decks, a small library in every room, and, for when you are not firing away with your camera, a ‘weather-sealed’ well-stocked bar atop the deck from where the local scenery can be mixed with foreign spirits and gradually absorbed for good measure. What’s more, it’s protected from the elements, too.

Scrumptious buffet meals feature elaborate vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, and the special requirements of your palate can be satisfied to ensure that your stomach enjoys the experience of Svalbard as much as your eyes do.

Amidst all this, you will also ingest a lot of valuable knowledge through the extremely insightful, inspiring and enriching interactive talks and discussions delivered by the Tour Skipper.

These interactions not only offer a wealth of natural history nuggets and photography tips and tricks, but will also allow you to have your pictures reviewed frequently and take corrective steps if required to shorten the learning curve during just the course of an expedition, making your time indoors as productive as when you’re out spotting wildlife.

Meanwhile the crew will work hard to keep everything running smoothly so your experience of the white archipelago is a truly memorable experience.

Day 11: Return to Longyearbyen.

After hopefully a highly productive time on the enchanting cruise, we return to Longyearbyen at around 09:00 a.m. a satisfied lot, from where we take our flights for home, yearning to share tales and pictures from an eventful Tour with friends and family.