Arctic Island Odyssey – Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland

From Oslo to the town at the top of the world 

After a flight from Oslo, your adventure begins with an overnight stay in the world’s northernmost town, Longyearbyen.   

A colourful frontier settlement where people are outnumbered by snowmobiles, Longyearbyen is a unique place on the edge of the Arctic wilderness. If you have time, head out to take a look at this special town, before enjoying a relaxing evening at your leisure.   

If you'd like to spend two extra days exploring Longyearbyen and its surroundings before your voyage, see this voyage option. It includes the same sailing itinerary but with additional land-based Arctic adventures.

Explore this colourful frontier town

After breakfast, it’s time to experience Longyearbyen. The town is perfect for exploring on foot. Stroll down the main street and you might even see Svalbard reindeer saunter by.  

Before boarding your ship in the afternoon and continuing your Arctic discovery, join an included excursion and get a glimpse of this isolated and remote region at the top of the world.  

The Expedition Team will give talks about your upcoming adventure and explain important protocols when visiting wildlife habitats and indigenous Arctic communities. 

A land of spectacular beauty

Spitsbergen, Svalbard’s largest island, offers Arctic wilderness at its most striking – sharp-edged mountains, calving glaciers, and remote, rugged shores shaped by ice and wind. Over the next three days, we’ll navigate some of the world’s most dramatic fjords, where the stillness is broken only by the thunderous crack of icebergs breaking free. 

This is polar bear territory. Keep watch along the sea-ice edge where these apex predators roam, hunting seals across the frozen frontier. 

We may chart a course into Northwest Spitsbergen National Park, cruising beneath towering glaciers that stretch into cobalt waters. Or, visit Ny-Ålesund – once the launch point for explorer Roald Amundsen’s daring airship expeditions, now a centre for cutting-edge climate research. 

We’ll make the most of every opportunity to step ashore, using our small expedition boats to reach landings few others can. If conditions allow, there may even be a chance to kayak through the waters in near-perfect silence. 

With the Midnight Sun overhead, daylight lingers – giving us time to explore deeper into this extraordinary landscape. 

Getting ready for Greenland - Kalaallit Nunaat

As we sail into the Greenland Sea on our way to the world’s largest island, it’s time to relax, find your sea legs and get acquainted with the onboard facilities. 

In the lecture hall, you’ll find out what to expect in the epic landscapes of East Greenland National Park and the stunning fjords of Scoresby Sund.  

If you’re feeling active, head to the gym and do a workout with a view. On the other hand, you could sample the sauna, laze in a hot tub or just find a quiet corner to read a book with a hot drink. Love science? Then why not join one of our onboard Citizen Science projects, a fun and engaging way to contribute to global research. 

Explore the wild east

We’ll spend the next eight days exploring Greenland’s remote and pristine east coast. Extending for over 1,740 miles from north to south, this long stretch of coast is cold, isolated, and remote even by Greenlandic standards. The south-flowing East Greenland Current brings lots of sea ice directly from the Arctic Ocean, challenging human settlement but creating a heaven for ice-dependant wildlife, including the polar bear.  

Local weather and ice conditions will dictate our exact route, but our plan is to sail first to Scoresby Sund, the world’s largest fjord system. You’ll feel a deep sense of serenity in this wild and rugged region, with white and blue icebergs floating in mirror-like waters surrounded by looming mountains. If conditions permit, we’ll visit Ittoqqortoormiit – the most remote inhabited community in the Western Hemisphere. 

Should the sea ice be favourable, we’ll continue our journey north to the beautiful Northeast Greenland National Park – the world’s largest national park. Visiting this fragile Arctic wilderness is a rare privilege as only a few visitors are permitted here each year.  

Apart from old trapper huts, some science research stations, and a military outpost, there are very few traces of human life in this 375,000 square mile park. Be assured that this is one of the quietest places on Earth, and you’ll enjoy a feeling of great peace as we explore this beautiful wilderness. 

As this is an expedition cruise, the Captain and Expedition Team will guide us to the most favourable spots on a daily basis. Our goal will be to pack in as many shore landings, small boat cruises, nature walks, kayaking adventures and wildlife sightings as possible. 

Heading to Iceland

After exploring the remote beauty of Greenland, we set our course back for Iceland. Spend the days at sea recapping your experiences with new friends, studying nature in the Science Centre, listening to a lecture or two, or just relaxing on deck. Look out for the seabirds that follow our ship and keep an eye out for whales. 

As you reflect on your cruise, from witnessing the delicate ecology of the fjord systems to the ethereal elegance of the floating ice, east Greenland’s beauty is sure to have left its mark on you. 

End of the expedition 

We say a fond farewell to MS Fram as we end our expedition cruise in the lovely city of Reykjavík. With its interesting museums, stylish galleries, restaurants and geothermal pools, there’s so much to enjoy in Iceland’s capital. 

And if you want to discover more of Iceland, you can join our optional Post-Programme before you head home. Or simply extend your stay to enjoy more of Reykjavík and its surrounding geothermal attractions. It’s a great place to end an epic journey!