Arctic Expedition Holidays

Bathed in perpetual daylight during the summer months, the Arctic region is a pristine wilderness that only the most intrepid of travellers venture to. Accompanied by expert guides and like-minded adventurers, your Arctic expedition holiday onboard a state of the art ice-rated ship is sure to both educate and amaze.

There are numerous definitions of the Arctic region, however the boundary is generally considered to be north of the Arctic Circle (66° 33’N). Socially and politically, the Arctic region includes the northern territories of the eight Arctic states, including Lapland, although by natural scientific definitions much of this territory is considered subarctic.

Call our polar travel experts to discuss your Arctic expedition holiday in detail.

Shortlist.com:: Comments on the BBC Wildlife documentary series 'Frozen Planet' and explains you too can visit The Real Frozen Planet (November 2011).

Extract from Expedition Leader Paul Goldstein’s log from June 2010 

It shouldn't have got any better, but astonishingly it did as the Polar late show threw up three more bears, three more new bears  sashaying across the ice like pneumatic Russian ice maidens bathed in a boreal glow only the privileged, bold few ever get to see. The weather lifted today, the ghostly stygian portals parted to reveal priceless treasures, this was one of those days, this was one of those expeditions, today was a selfless gift that kept on giving.

We were not even meant to come North on this expedition, we were only going to give this fjord a cursory glance and go out for an hour or so. Gambles like this one are bold plays, they court disaster yet this flirtation can fortune the brave. This was a power play on epic levels, seldom can there have been Zodiac rides like it.

Let's revisit it again: twelve bears including tiny cubs, one dead whale, two score of Glaucous gulls, three dozen fulmars, one troublemaking skua, three terns, two Snow buntings and one hundred awe-struck Arcticians. This was not a cameo on a charcoal-coloured beach or a Churchill vagrant trawling over landfill sites but an extravaganza set in a vast towering amphitheatre with every Polar pantone colour accessible, these were not Ursus Maritimus but Ursus Maximus - ivory clad gladiators in a glittering Coliseum. Just remarkable and no, not normal.

Remember this day, remember it on the train, tube, M25 or North Circular. Remember it when others are describing their tedious holidays and remember it when you talk to your children and then their children. Today was not usual but it was worked for, proper work: no line-managing, all day meetings, PowerPoint presentations or focus groups by stripy shirted consultants, just good honest graft. It paid off. In spades.

Spitsbergen

A journey around the spectacular Arctic region of Norway's Spitsbergen (Svalbard) Islands takes you into a remote land of dramatic icy peaks and glistening glaciers. Spitsbergen boasts a magnificent array of wildlife and encounters with polar bears, Arctic foxes, whales and walruses are highly likely.

North Pole

Embark on the ultimate Arctic expedition – the quest to reach the top of the world. The islands of Franz Josef Land are a bird watcher’s paradise and sightseeing by helicopter offers awe-inspiring aerial views of the icebreaker crushing through the Arctic Ocean’s pack ice.

Ed Grenby of The Sunday Times  writes: Wildlife and a Cold Snap in the Arctic (Oct 2011)
Nick Smith of The Telegraph writes: North Pole: Top of the World (May 2010)