Small groups – close encounters

Travelling on a small expedition ship offers a more relaxed atmosphere, greater focus on the destination and more time ashore, compared to travelling on board a larger ship. Imagine, viewing a seal on an ice floe in a group of 10 - 50 passengers, or to do so in a group of 200 - 500 passengers. 

Unique trips & flexible routes

No two trips to Svalbard are the same and that's the charm of being on an expedition cruise. There are many extraordinary places in Svalbard and the captain and expedition leader will do their outmost to maximize your great polar adventure.

Less waiting – more to explore

Travelling in a small group allows us to maximize the time spent ashore and the quality time for each guest “out in nature”. We can quickly get into the Zodiacs (rubber boats) and head out on excursions. On our 12-passenger ships we have two Zodiacs and on the 51-passenger M/S Quest we have five.

Homely atmosphere

On board all our small expedition ships, there is a relaxed and homely atmosphere. There is space for all passengers in the lounge, on deck and in the dining room.

Get closer to nature

There are few places on earth where you are so reminded of the smallness of man and greatness of nature as in Svalbard. Perhaps you'll never be as disconnected from civilization, digital devices and everyday life as you are here. Exploring the remote wilderness of the Artic in a small group is one of the most exclusive nature experiences you will ever have.

What are you most looking forward to on the trip?

- Like all PolarQuest expeditions in Svalbard, it is the uncertainty of what you will see that makes me want to do more trips. To be there later than almost everyone else makes the sense of adventure greater than any other time of the year. Since the sun has started to drop below the horizon, we have the opportunity to enjoy magnificent photo light at sunrise and sunset. I dream of some of the large mammals in light you never get during summertime. I have always said that the landscape in Svalbard is most beautiful in the spring, but the fall can also be incredible. When the peaks and slopes start to get a thin layer of snow.

At this time of the year, we have also chance to reach some places that we can't reach on earlier expeditions. If the weather and itinerary allow, I hope we can go ashore at Moffen, a place that few people have visited as you are not allowed to land there earlier in the season. There are guides who have worked in Svalbard for 10 years but still haven’t been there. I have been fortunate to make a landing at Moffen once and hope to share the experience with others this fall!

Please note: We always follow strict wildlife guidelines to ensure that we do not cause any disturbance.

High jumps
The humpback whale is known for its high jumps, often bringing its entire large body above the water's surface. It is an impressive sight. When it falls back, it does so with a huge splash, sending signals to other humpbacks.

Sings
Another characteristic of the humpback whale is that it sings. This usually happens during the mating season, so one theory is that males sing to attract females. All male whales in the same population sing the same song and it is gradually built up with new phrases. Researchers have also seen evidence of local songs "migrating" to other parts of the world and being picked up by other populations, making it even more complex.

Impressive size
A humpback whale can grow up to 16 meters long and weigh between 25 and 40 tons. Males are slightly smaller than females. A newborn calf is about 5 meters long and weighs about 1 ton. The pectoral fins, which are white underneath, can be up to 6 meters long and stick up like giant paddles as the whale rolls around.

Why it is called a humpback whale
The name humpback whale comes from the small bumps located on the head, pectoral fins and lower jaw. The bumps are transformed hair follicles that are often covered with barnacles. There is a large hump on the back, hence the name humpback whale.

Filtering the food
The humpback whale belongs to the baleen whale species, which means it has a baleen instead of teeth. It is a comb-like organ used to filter food such as krill and small fish from the water. The humpback whale has a relatively small esophagus and cannot chew as it has no teeth. This means that it cannot eat any larger fish.

Only eats during half the year
The humpback whale only eats during half the year. The rest of the year it lives on its own fat reserves. During the bright summer months, it moves to the far north or south to feed, and during the winter it moves to warmer waters around the equator.

Special hunting method
Humpback whales use a special hunting method that involves circling their prey while blowing out air. In this way, they form a so-called 'bubble net'. This means that schools of fish are trapped in a net of bubbles and cannot escape. The whales then swim upwards in the bubble circle with their mouths open, consuming lots of fish at the same time.

Long-distance swimmers
The humpback whale is a real long-distance swimmer, moving between the colder waters at the poles in summer and the more tropical ones closer to the equator in winter. In one year, it can swim up to 16 000 kilometers.

Feeding their calves in tropical seas
During the winter months, humpback whales move to warmer waters around the equator to mate and give birth. Here there are no dangerous predators, like the orcas that live in colder waters, which makes it safer. While the female stays at the equator with her calf, she doesn't eat anything but lives on her fat reserves. The calf, which is around 5 meters long when it is born, feeds on its mother's fat milk and eats almost all the time.

Forming friendships
Humpback whales live in loose groups, but it has been shown that females form friendships with each other. They forage together and then continue to find their way back to the same individuals year after year.

Shortly after breakfast we boarded the Zodiacs for a cruise along Alkefjellet - Svalbard's largest bird mountain. About 65,000 pairs of Brünnich's Guillemots nest here along with thousands of Black-legged Kittiwakes. The bird mountain is a vertical cliff that plunges into the sea which is a truly impressive sight.

Among all the birds, we also managed to spot an Arctic Fox foraging along the steep slope.

After this fine morning, the journey continued to the eastern side of Hinlopen and into Wahlbergfjorden while the guests enjoyed a lunch. Once in the fjord we were met by pack ice. While M/S Stockholm carefully navigated among the ice floes, the guides were constantly looking for wildlife, which at times was hampered by fog.

After a couple of hours we saw a female polar bear with her young cubs some distance away. They followed the starboard side of the ship for a short while before moving on into the foggy pack ice again. A fantastic experience and a memory for life for everyone on board.

Later in the afternoon, we again joined the Zodiacs for a cruise among the pack ice. The fog that surrounded us added a certain mystique to the adventure into the unknown.

Please note: We always follow strict wildlife guidelines to ensure that we do not cause any disturbance.

At Faksevågen the walk started with a relatively steep switch-back up the first ridge but already after a few steps we were stopping to look at the plant life. Vegetation was hiding in every little crevice where it could find enough shelter to flourish despite the harsh Arctic environment.

The Purple Saxifrage was almost bloomed out in places, this soon after the snowmelt. This is one of the earliest flowering plants we see at this latitude. This sturdy plant can grow up to 1000 m in altitude.

As we continued, we came across several Moss Campion plants in bloom. It’s a cushion flower of the Sline family with beautiful purple flowers.

During the walk on the tundra, among the small trees, we spotted two species of the Salix: the Polar Willow and the Net-veined Willow.

Another flower we recognized from home was what we in Svalbard call Mountain Sorrel. Back in the day this was an important anti-scorbutic, for the explorers but more importantly for the indigenous people that lived around the Arctic. The taste of the leaves is slightly acidic.

Eventually we reached the last ridge and another glacially carved valley opened up. The glacier spilling out in front of us had taken the shape of a Piedmont glacier. Svalbard is like a glaciological textbook, right there in front of us.

The Arctic summer heat inspired us to brave the cold waters in the form of a polar plunge as we came back to the vessel. Conveniently the hot tub was hot, because the water is still really cold, even in the Arctic Summer.