Spitsbergen Hiking Tour and Indian Summer

The planned itinerary

Day 1 (14.09.23): Oslo
A scheduled flight from Germany, Austria or Switzerland takes you to Oslo, where you spend one night at the Radisson Blu Airport Hotel.

Day 2 (15.09.23): Longyearbyen
In the morning, continue your flight to Longyearbyen, where you will be met at the airport and taken to embarkation on board the „Cape Race“. If there is still some time left (depending on arrival), you will have the opportunity to explore Longyearbyen. The Svalbard Museum is certainly worth a visit and an ideal introduction to the days to come.

Day 3-9 (16.09.- 23.09.23): Northwest Spitsbergen
Like a “real” expedition, we will explore the north-west of Spitsbergen in the coming days. We do not follow a fixed itinerary, but arrange the days flexibly, depending on weather and ice conditions. Animal observations from sea and land and hikes in the autumnal glowing landscape are the focus of the trip.

The following places may be among our destinations in the coming days

Vesle (“little”) Raudfjord – Alicehamna
The lonely bay Alicehamna is located in the east of the Raudfjord. Here you will find the Raudfjordhytta, an old trapper’s hut built in 1927 by Sven Olsen, who spent many years in the Raudfjord. On this side of the Raudfjord there are beautiful hiking opportunities, e.g. to Solanderfjellet, which at 334 metres above sea level offers a fantastic view over the fjord with its majestic mountains and glaciers.

Hamburgbukta
Even though Germany played only a minor role in whaling in the far north, the name “Hamburgbukta” is a reminder of former whalers from Hamburg who used this sheltered bay as a base station. The entrance to the small bay, which lies about 3 kilometres south of the Magdalenenfjord, is only about 100 metres wide and 2 metres deep, so it is only accessible to small ships. Remains of old huts and graves here are reminders of the long-gone days of whaling.

Bockfjord, warm springs
Glaciers and sharp mountain peaks in the west, rounded red sandstone in the east and the extinct volcano Sverrefjellet together form a contrasting landscape panorama in the southern part of the Bockfjord. The 506-metre-high extinct volcano Sverrefjellet probably erupted under the glacial ice a few 100 000 years ago. This relatively recent volcanic activity is still noticeable today in the form of a few small warm springs.

Danskøya (Kobbefjord)
Kobbefjord (“Seal Bay”) is located in the west of the rocky island of Danskøya. In the 17th century, Danish whalers maintained a whaling station in Kobbefjord. In addition to the remains of whaling, Postholmen, a skerry at the entrance to Kobbefjorden, reminds us of an old tradition: passing ships deposited their mail on a nearby headland, and those who passed by here on their way south took it with them to Norway.Beverlysund

Day 11-12: (24.09.- 25.09.23): Disembarkation Longyearbyen, return journey.
Disembarkation in the morning and transfer to Longyearbyen airport. Return flight to Oslo and from there on to your home airport.

Notes:
This is the planned itinerary for the nature cruise. The local weather conditions at the time of the cruise have a decisive influence on the actual itinerary. As with all nature cruises (especially in Arctic waters), the route and landings are influenced by weather and ice conditions; the itinerary and programme are therefore expressly subject to change.