Spitsbergen, Svalbard Holidays

Can’t -it was magic!! So very glad l went.

Sheena Campbel Arctic Saga: Spitsbergen, Faroes & Jan Mayen

Everything was perfect -food, expedition leader, guides, hotel staff. Perfect weather too. 8 polar bears and 8 blue whales too and all these rest. The trip was excellent through and through.

gaynor sharp Spitsbergen In Depth: Big Island, Big Adventure

What you see on a trip such as this is always dependent on being in the right place at the right time. However the hard work and depth of knowledge of the expedition guides made for a memorable experience. They were always up, (if they ever went to bed), scanning the land and sea and sea ice, out early in the morning in zodiacs looking for the best opportunities to see wildlife, and using their experience to take us to amazing places. As a result we had good encounters with five polar bears over three days, saw hundreds of Walrus, thousands of sea birds, whales, seals and dolphin. Although not seemingly planned, the captain and expedition leader decided a complete circumnavigation of Svalbard was possible, so that’s what we did. It felt like a true expedition and that we were in the hands of experts. If anyone tells me that we were lucky to see and do so much, I would reply that one definition of luck is preparation meeting opportunity and the efforts of the guides and leader ensured we were prepared to take advantage of every opportunity that arose.

David Scott Spitsbergen Explorer: Wildlife Capital of the Arctic (2024)