Spitsbergen polar bear watching cruise

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£4149

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11 Days excluding flights

Countries:Arctic Cruises, Norway, Spitsbergen

More info:This small group set departures onboard the M/S Expedition with up to 126 passengers.

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“An 8 or 11 day expedition around the tundra and fjords of the Svalbard archipelago, with naturalist guides leading you through polar bear paradise.”

Highlights

Description of Spitsbergen polar bear watching cruise

On this trip you will scour the tundra searching for roaming polar bears and herds of grazing reindeer. Discover the far north, exploring the land where polar bears are king and learn how in this harsh land the wildlife has adapted to survive. You will, with the help of your expert guide, watch and listen out for colonies of Arctic birdlife and take in the otherworldly scenery.

Your journey will start in Longyearbyen, where you will board the M/S Expedition for either 8 or 11 days. This ship was newly renovated in 2009 and offers comfortable accommodation combined with spacious common areas and observation decks.

This trip embraces the spirit of expedition and the full itinerary varies on each occasion, dependent on conditions, but may include the areas of Krossfjord, Konigsfjord, Monaco Glacier, Hinlopen Strait, Ny-Ålesund, Northeast Land, Edgeøya, Hornsund and Bellsund.

Travel Team

If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.

01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com

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2021: 12 Jun, 19 Jun, 26 Jun, 6 Jul, 13 Jul, 23 Jul, 30 Jul, 9 Aug
2022: 12 Jun, 19 Jun, 26 Jun, 6 Jul, 13 Jul, 23 Jul, 30 Jul, 9 Aug

Vouchers

Accepted

Responsible tourism

As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.

We always ensure that clients are aware that polar bears are dangerous and wild animals. Clients are given rules to abide by to ensure they do not come into danger and they do not make polar bears associate humans with food. A donation from each trip sold goes to helping preserve polar bears and the environment in which they live, local communities, projects and conservation agencies. We always encourage clients to respect and appreciate the environment they are in: on this trip there are presentations by the experts who lead this expedition who have over 30 years' experience. We reflect this in the running of the office in the UK where everything that can be recycled is and careful consideration is given to the environment. We attempt to do this through recycling of any office waste including, paper, plastic, cans, glass, refuse, in partnership with the Borough of Brighton & Hove.

Responsible tourism is the way forward for travel in the 21st century; as we destroy more and more of our natural environment, we slowly begin to realise how much we need it. When visiting destinations we bear this in mind and remember how privileged we are to be able to see the wildlife and nature that you are visiting.

The Impacts of this Trip

The purpose of our safaris is to contribute to local populations, communities and projects within the destinations. We give our travellers advise on how they might be able to interact with the local populations, flora and fauna in order to minimise any negative impact. We encourage the use of local guides in every destination and with every local agent. Even on our specialist led safaris we try to ensure that a local guide is also used, as we do not believe in taking jobs from local populations in order to provide for western needs. Where possible we will always use local suppliers in preference to others whether this is in the purchase of provisions, accommodation, transport or equipment. We believe the best way to learn about and enjoy the experience of being on safari with us is to make the effort to mingle with the local people, taste new foods and try new experiences.

Environment

Community

The Impacts of this Trip

Climate

1 Reviews of Spitsbergen polar bear watching cruise

5 out of 5 stars

SHOW

Reviewed on 25 Jul 2018 by Val ODwyer

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Seeing polar bears, including one mother with cub, and being in Packice, and among icebergs in a zodiac! An emotional roller coaster.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Throw yourself into all the activities, follow the advice of the expedition team, relish meeting lovely people , including other travellers and the crew.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?

Yes. We spent our pre-embarkation night in a local hostel in Longyearbyen. The expedition took great care to minimise our impact, including recycling, refilling water bottles , reusing towels etc. Also in avoiding disturbing the wildlife and plants. They take part in citizen science, sending information to arctic research projects. Great care was taken not to contaminate the fragile environments we experienced, even shaming those of us who did not clean our wellies properly.
If you weren't already passionate about conservation you would be after such an amazing opportunity .

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Outstanding. Very emotional because of the wildlife, but everything was first class, from the wonderful food to the kindness of the crew , the care taken of us by the expedition staff when on zodiac operations to their knowledge and their patience. Expensive but if you love wildlife highly recommended.