East Greenland cruise

Environment

We work hard to protect and conserve the destinations we visit around the world and the fragile Arctic ecosystem is no exception. In protecting the Arctic and instilling a sense of environmental stewardship in our clients, we employ a range of successful methods and initiatives.

We firmly believe that by offsetting the average CO2 emissions for each trip, we can help combat the effects of global climate change in the Arctic. As a result, we are the only travel company to offset the carbon emissions generated by your polar trip at our own expense and we also automatically offset the carbon emissions of flights booked through us for polar voyages. The funds generated from this initiative go directly into Rainforest Concern’s new Rainforest4Climate programme, helping reforest tropical rainforest habitats in South America.

Whilst on these trips, your-on board natural history expert, through guided walks and evening talks, reveals not only the wonders of the Arctic realm and its wildlife but also some of the conservation issues which this fragile habitat and its species face.

Community

Some voyages we offer are so remote that there is no indigenous village / community – as is the case in Spitsbergen, outside of the main town Longyearbyen. In Greenland however, the Inuit have a rich and colourful culture. On our Greenland voyages we visit local museums and small shops, but where these do not exist we often radio the head of the village to check if a visit is welcome – which it invariably is. Most recently in Greenland, the head of the village (who spoke 5 languages) invited all 15 of us to tea and cake at his house – then we visited the local school, where our expedition leader was proud to point out 2 of the school books he had written on the shelves! Wonderful win-win scenarios for which language is no barrier.

Where opportunities exist, we encourage guests to purchase souvenirs – other than shells and polar bear related goods. In the Arctic and in particularly in Iceland, we advise strongly against the purchase of whale meat in the local restaurants, which showcases the whaling trade (by the tourist) when the local population do not themselves eat whale meat.