Svalbard on MV Hondius

Northern Spitsbergen: The Summer Solstice, Arctic landscapes and Sea Ice

An opportunity to explore Northern and Western Svalbard and visit the edge of the Pack Ice

On this exciting voyage, there is the opportunity to spend a week on MV Hondius exploring Northern Spitsbergen with the plan to also visit the Arctic Pack Ice north of the archipelago.

The cruise begins just before the Summer Solstice and with the likelihood of getting north of 80°N, those joining this expedition will enjoy 24 hour daylight and a fantastic opportunity to explore the northern and western sides of this amazing Arctic wilderness.

Each cruise is different with the itinerary determined by factors such as ice, weather and wind but over the course of the week, the sightings could include Polar Bear, Reindeer, Walrus, Arctic Fox and Beluga plus a great selection of birds with Ivory Gull, Brunnich’s Guillemot, Little Auk and King Eider all possible.

Sailing along both the continental shelf edge and the edge of the Pack Ice will add the possibility of more cetaceans with the ice-loving Bowhead Whale, as well as Fin and Minke Whales, amongst the possibilities.

Please note: WildWings act as agents for many of the premier expedition ships visiting Svalbard so if you are interested in a different itinerary or travelling on different dates please contact the office to discuss your requirements and check out the WildWings website for more information. We do, however, only offer trips on the vessels we would travel on ourselves.

Tour Dates & Prices

Sat 20th June 2026

Sat 27th June 2026

Tour Cost: 8 Days from £3775 *

Deposit: £950 Single Supp: £4025* Group Size: 15

Enquire about this tour

* The price and deposit quoted above is per person for a berth in a quad cabin. The "single supplement" shown is the difference in cost between a single and twin in a twin porthole cabin. Please contact us for full price details if you would like a single.

What's Included?

Seven night voyage aboard the expedition ship MV Hondius
WildWings/Limosa guide assuming sufficient bookings are made
All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea
All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage
Use of rubber boots
Programme of lectures by naturalists and services of expedition staff
Transfers and baggage handling between the airport, hotels and ship for those booking the recommended group flights to and from Longyearbyen
All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the programme
AECO fees and governmental taxes
Comprehensive pre-departure material

Cost Excludes

Any airfare, any pre- and post-voyage arrangements (eg hotel in Longyearbyen), passport and visa expenses, arrival and departure taxes, meals ashore, travel insurance and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar and telecommunication charges, gratuities for stewards and other service personnel aboard

Additional Information

The Cruise Cost is the amount you will pay Wildwings. For all expedition cruises, we work very closely with a dedicated agent at Travel Counsellors, Sacha Barbato, who is essentially now our “in house” flight consultant and we recommend using him for your flights. Sacha is a highly experienced independent ATOL bonded travel agent, and his contact details are as follows: [email protected] and 01603 360099. He will be able to advise you which flights we are recommending for each cruise and will be able to book these for you. This will also sometimes give you the option to travel from a regional airport if you prefer.

Please note that for all expedition cruises, Wildwings is acting as agent for the ship operator and you will need to sign up to their terms and conditions.

CABIN OPTIONS AND PRICES 2026 For full details please click on the ‘trip info’ tab below:

Quadruple Porthole: £3,775
Triple Porthole: £4,700
Twin Porthole: £5,250
Single Porthole: £8,925
Twin Window: £5,700
Single Window: £9,690
Twin Deluxe: £6,000
Single Deluxe: £10,200
Superior: £6,825
Single Superior: £11,600

Please note all prices are per person.

Tour Highlights

Explore the North and West of Spitsbergen looking for Polar Bears, Arctic Fox, Walrus, Beluga and Reindeer plus King Eider, Little Auk and Brunnich's Guillemot
Visit the Arctic Ice Edge at up to 80N looking for whales and seals
Zodiac cruise in fjords and see glaciers
Enjoy walks on the tundra and other dramatic landscapes of this remote Arctic wilderness

Outline Itinerary

Enjoy a morning exploring the fascinating town of Longyearbyen. Boarding will be in the late afternoon with departure in the early evening. Night on MV Hondius
Explore Western and Northern Spitsbergen with the plan being to also visit the edge of the Arctic Pack Ice and cruise part of the continental shelf edge for cetaceans. Six further nights on MV Hondius
Disembark in Longyearbyen after breakfast for flights departing in the afternoon. Fly to Oslo and onwards to UK.

Overview

Itinerary

Trip Info

Beluga Whales, Spitsbergen © Elke Lindner, Oceanwide Expeditions

On this exciting voyage, clients will spend a week exploring Northern Spitsbergen with the opportunity to look for some fantastic wildlife including Polar Bear, Arctic Fox, Walrus and Beluga Whale, as well as enjoying spectacular Arctic scenery and the chance to reach the Pack Ice.

The cruise begins just before the Summer Solstice and with the likelihood of getting north of 80°N, those joining this expedition will experience 24-hour daylight and a fantastic opportunity to explore the northern and western sides of this amazing Arctic wilderness.

There may be opportunities to visit cliffs where Brunnich’s Guillemot nest or scree slopes which are favoured by Little Auks and with time at the edge of the Arctic Pack Ice, there may be the chance of an encounter with Bowhead Whale and possibly even the largest animal to ever live on our planet, the mighty Blue Whale. Indeed, our clients who did a combination of two voyages in 2024 did not see Blue Whale on the first voyage but on the subsequent expedition enjoyed a Blue Whale surfacing extremely close to the bows – a truly incredible experience !!!

The cruise will also be a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the stunning landscapes of this remote Arctic wilderness with guided walks ashore where we may visit a Walrus haul-out or see Arctic Fox or Reindeer. There are likely to also be both zodiac and ship cruises in some of the stunning fjords and bays of Western and Northern Spitsbergen, where King Eider, Beluga and Minke Whales are amongst the possibilities.

Bearded Seal, resting on a piece of ice at Gravneset, Spitsbergen © Franco Banfi, Oceanwide Expeditions

Day 1
ARRIVE LONGYEARBYEN, BOARD SHIP AND SAIL
Our expedition begins in Longyearbyen, the administrative centre of Spitsbergen (which is the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago) and depending on the arrival time of your flight, there should be an opportunity to explore around this former mining town where there is a great chance of finding Reindeer as well as birds such as Purple Sandpiper, Snow Bunting and Eider.

Board M/V Hondius in the late afternoon and in the early evening the ship sails out of Isfjorden, where there are chances to spot the first Northern Minke Whales of the voyage.

Days 2-7
EXPLORING WESTERN AND NORTHERN SPITSBERGEN AND THE PACK ICE
Having departed Longyearbyen, we have a week to explore the remote shorelines of rugged West and North Spitsbergen as well as heading for the Arctic Pack Ice outside of the territorial waters of the Svalbard archipelago.

The sites we visit will be determined by factors such as ice and weather conditions, but these could include the following:

Monaco Glacier
Depending on the weather and sea ice, we may sail into Liefdefjorden, land at Texas Bar and cruise within sight of the 5-kilometre-long (3.1 miles) face of the very impressive Monaco Glacier. The waters in front of this glacier are often a favourite feeding ground for thousands of Kittiwakes, and the base of the ice is a popular Polar Bear hunting ground.

Hinlopen
Hinlopen Strait is often home to Bearded and Ringed Seals and, from time to time, Polar Bears can also be found here. At the entrance, there is even the possibility of spotting the extremely rare Blue Whale. After cruising among the ice floes of Lomfjord, there may be an opportunity to visit the bird cliffs of Alkefjellet where thousands of Brünnich’s Guillemots breed. If the ice and weather conditions are suitable, it is possible to land on the eastern side of Hinlopen Strait at Nordaustlandet where we may find Reindeer, Pink-footed Geese and Walrus.

The Seven Islands
The northernmost point of the voyage may be North of Nordaustlandet at Chermsideøya or Phippsøya, in the Seven Islands. Here we may reach 80° north and will be just 870 kms (or 540 miles) from the geographic North Pole. Polar Bears inhabit this region, so the ship may stop for several hours in the Arctic Pack Ice before heading back West again.

Sailing the Continental Shelf Edge While retracing our route West, there will be more chance to look for Polar Bears and even the rare Bowhead Whale. About 40 nautical miles west of Spitsbergen, we hope to sail the edge of the Continental Shelf where Fin and Minke Whales come to forage during the summer months as the upwellings of cold, nutrient-rich water coming up from the depths provide rich feeding for these species and other cetaceans.

Forlandsundet, St. Johns Fjord and Alkhornet
Walruses sometimes haul out in Forlandsundet at Sarstangen or at Poolepynten and another possibility will be to sail into St. Johns Fjord or South to the mouth of Isfjorden and land at Alkhornet. Seabirds nest on these cliffs and this encourages Arctic foxes which come to scavenge for fallen eggs and chicks whilst Reindeer graze the sparse vegetation.

Day 8
DISEMBARK IN LONGYEARBYEN
We will disembark in Longyearbyen after breakfast and there may be time for some further exploring before we head to the airport for our flights home.

PLEASE NOTE: All itineraries are for guidance only. The programme may vary depending on ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. Landings are subject to site availabilities, permissions, and environmental concerns per AECO regulations. Official sailing plans and landing slots are scheduled with AECO prior to the start of the season, but the Expedition Leader determines the final plan. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises.

Svalbard Reindeer, Spitsbergen © Erwin Vermeulen, Oceanwide Expeditions

WHAT TO EXPECT
A seven night cruise on the comfortable expedition ship, M/V Hondius, exploring the northern and western sides of Spitsbergen and, subject to weather and ice conditions, visiting the Arctic Pack Ice edge to the north and west of the archipelago. The vessel is a comfortable expedition ship and has excellent cabins and passenger facilities.

At many places, we will use the ship’s zodiacs (rubber inflatables) to go ashore and getting in and out of these should not be a problem for anyone with reasonable mobility and there will be staff both on the ship and ashore to assist you.

You will receive a detailed briefing about the use of the zodiacs. If you have any concerns about this aspect of the holiday, please call the office as Chris Collins has spent many years working with zodiacs and can provide more information.

The trip will be accompanied by Limosa/WildWings Leader subject to minimum numbers.

You will also be able to join the full programme of activities/excursions offered by the Expedition Team working on the ship which are all included in the price of the trip.

THE SHIP
M/V Hondius was built in 2019 and was the first-registered Polar Class 6 vessel in the world, meeting the latest and highest Lloyd’s Register standards for ice-strengthened cruise ships. Surpassing the requirements of the Polar Code adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Hondius represents the most flexible, advanced, innovative touring vessel in the polar regions, thoroughly optimized for exploratory voyages that provide you the utmost first-hand contact with the Arctic and Antarctica.

It is Dutch flagged and fully complies with the latest SOLAS (‘Safety of Life at Sea’) Regulations.

Hondius offers high-quality accommodation for 170 passengers in 80 cabins all with private toilets and showers. There are six grand suites with balconies, eight junior suites, eight superior cabins, 11 twin deluxe cabins, 14 twin window cabins, 27 twin porthole cabins, two triple porthole cabins and four quadruple porthole cabins.

Please be aware that a small number of cabins may have a partially obstructed view due to the size of the windows and the design of the ship and some windows, for example, may be partly obstructed in the lower half by a gangway.

The vessel has a restaurant and lecture room and a spacious observation lounge (with bar) with large windows, offering a full panorama view.

The ship is equipped with two main engines and can reach a maximum speed of 15 knots.

You can expect to make two landings and/or zodiac cruises on the days around Spitsbergen. The ship is very stable and, on occasions, it may even be possible to use a telescope and tripod on the outer decks.

There is plenty of open deck space making it ideal for wildlife watching, enjoying the amazing landscapes and photography. You can expect good food, a large lounge and bar and a highly experienced staff and crew who are dedicated to ensuring that you have a successful, comfortable, safe and enjoyable trip and that you see as much of the wildlife as possible.

The zodiac drivers will take you safely ashore, and also on more leisurely cruises as well, so you will gain an even more intimate and unique perspective of the seabirds and marine mammals in this stunning wilderness.

In keeping with the spirit of expedition, dress on board is informal, so bring casual and comfortable clothing for all activities. Keep in mind that much of the scenery is best appreciated from the open decks, which can be slippery, so bring sturdy shoes with non-slip soles, and make sure your parka is never far away in case there is an announcement of “whales” over the PA system and you want to dash outside in a moment’s notice.

We recommend opting for layers, as it is comfortably warm aboard the ship though often cold out on deck.

YOUR PHYSICAL CONDITION
You must be in good overall health and be able to walk several hours each day. The expedition is ship-based and physically not very demanding, but we spend as much time as possible on shore. You are, however, welcome to remain aboard the ship if you prefer.

To join most excursions you must be able to get up and down the steep gangway, from the ship to the water level, to board the zodiacs. The ship’s staff will assist you in and out of the boats, and boarding will become progressively easier with practice, but conditions on shore can be slippery and rocky.

Remember, you will be travelling in remote areas without access to sophisticated medical facilities, so you must not join this expedition if you have a life-threatening condition or need daily medical treatment.