Itinerary Expand all Day 1 Start Helsinki, overnight in hotel. Our journey starts in Helsinki where we spend the night at a centrally located hotel. Day 2 Charter flight to Murmansk, Russia; board ship and embark. From Helsinki, a charter flight will take you to Murmansk, Russia, where you’ll embark on the voyage to the North Pole and get acquainted with 50 Years of Victory, the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker. Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Days 3-6 Travel north in the Arctic Ocean, with the ship breaking through the formidable pack ice. Watching Victory crush through the Arctic pack-ice is a sight you’ll never forget, made even more memorable by taking a helicopter flight for a thrilling aerial view of Victory and expansive Arctic Ocean. You can expect the days, and hours, to present variable sailing conditions this far north. The crossing from Murmansk to the North Pole can take us anywhere from 5 to 8 days. Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 7 90° North, with time to celebrate reaching the top of the world. All the anticipation of the prior days reaches a climax as we reach the North Pole! Many travelers find themselves overcome with emotion, while others are in a festive and celebratory mood.Take photos, wave a flag, enjoy the moment! Later, everyone enjoys a champagne toast and a BBQ on the ice. Take a Polar Plunge into the icy waters marking the North pole. Add an exclamation to your success by rising high in a hot air balloon to commemorate this great moment (weather dependent). Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 8 Travel south in the Arctic Ocean. As 50 Years of Victory makes her way back through the churning pack ice, we may spot Polar bears on the hunt with Ivory gulls following close behind - eager to dine on leftovers. Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 9 Visit Franz Josef Land; helicopters and zodiacs are used to transfer ashore for landings. This group of 191 islands forms the most northerly archipelago in Eurasia, and lies entirely within the Arctic Circle. Here we'll explore Cape Flora, and discover historic remains from three ill-fated Arctic expeditions. When conditions permit, Zodiac trips beneath towering cliffs will explore remote seabird rookeries. Onboard helicopters again provide aerial sightseeing and our Zodiacs transferyou to seldom visited landing sites. This part of the Arctic Ocean is so remote that Franz Josef Land was discovered after Antarctica. It is the most northerly archipelago in Eurasia and lies entirely within the Arctic Circle. We may see walrus and Polar bears on these islands, which we'lll explore on Zodiac excursions and helicopter sightseeing rides. Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Days 10-11 Southbound at Sea. During our southbound journey, as it was on our journey north, we keep a vigil for Polar bears on ice. No two Polar bear sightings or North Pole voyages are the same. Meals included: Breakfast Lunch Dinner Day 12 Disembark in Murmansk; charter flight to Helsinki, night in hotel. The return to Helsinki requires a charter flight from Murmansk and just the right tide conditions for docking the ship. Overnight in Helsinki, in a centrally located hotel. Meals included: Breakfast Day 13 End Helsinki. Our adventure finishes after breakfast in Helsinki. Meals included: Breakfast
Russia All nationalities require a visa for Russia. These requirements will vary depending on your nationality. For British nationals visa applications must now be made in person at a visa processing centre, located in London and Edinburgh. At the time of application, fingerprints will be taken. We will be providing a new type of service to assist with the application process; however we will no longer be able to submit the application on your behalf. It is your responsibility to arrange a visa prior to travel, but we will provide you with more information after booking to help and advice with this. The cost of the visa is currently GBP108.40. For more information please go to http://www.exodus.co.uk/assets/travelink/Russia.pdf Please note: The visa application takes approximently 5 working days. You can arrange for your passport to be posted back to you or returned to the visa processing centre to collect it in person.
Russia There are no mandatory vaccination requirements. Recommended vaccinations are: Tetanus, Hepatitis A, Yellow Fever.
50 Years of Victory The Journey to the North Pole is offered on the 50 Years of Victory, which is an Ice Breaker. Please visit the Polar Fleet page (www.exodus.co.uk/polar-holidays/polar-fleet) for Ship Information and Deck Plans. The Icebreaker The 50 Years of Victory is an actual icebreaker – an enormously powerful ship, carrying the highest ice rating in the world, and equipped with helicopters for aerial sightseeing. Some of our most extraordinary journeys are only made accessible on very grown up Polar-Class icebreakers.
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Reviewed July 2016 Meena Agrawal Trip: Journey to the North Pole Journey to the North Pole Great trip! Our first sighting of a polar bear was amazing. Watching the icebreaker ship going through the dense pack ice was awesome. Standing and spending several hours on the North Pole was a wonderful experience made more special as we reached the North Pole on the day of the summer solstice. We stayed overnight at the Pole on the icebreaker and spent several hours the following day on the north pole. Once in a life time experience! What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Approaching and standing on the North Pole was an amazing experience.!! What did you think of your group leader? Our Quark expedition leader was very good but all members of the expedition team were very good and worked extremely well as a team. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Read about the trip and tripnotes before you go . Having 24 hours of daylight can be difficult for some travellers though it didn't bother me at all. Some of the excursions eg zodiac cruises and helicopter flights (and optional hot air balloon flights at the Pole ) may be cancelled at short notice if the weather conditions and visibility are poor. Is there anything else you would like to add? Enjoy the trip! It is expensive but it is a once in a life time trip!
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