Antigua (Barquentine)

SPITSBERGEN

North of Norway, not even 1000 kilometres from the North Pole, you find the island-group Svalbard which was named Spitsbergen by Willem Barentz in the year of 1596. The rough islands are scarcely inhabited. Life is hard, with long, cold winters without any daylight for months. The landscape is rough, but the attraction of this environment, far away from our daily lives, is magic.

Climate, fauna and flora

Two-thirds of the land is covered with ice and glaciers. Influenced by the warm Gulf Stream, in summer the climate is relatively mild with average temperatures around 5?C. There is hardly any rain and in summer the sun doesn´t set and its light around the clock. Early in summer a lot of ice is drifting on the sea. As the season progress, the ice masses are much smaller. In winter almost the whole island group is surrounded by pack ice.

Spitsbergen is one of the last wildernesses in Europe. It has a rough coast with fjords, high mountains with snow-covered tops and immense glaciers. From the ship we will daily go ashore with Zodiacs. The vegetation is scarce, but very special. On the numerous cliffs there are enormous breeding colonies of sea-birds. On land you find mammals like polar foxes, reindeer and polar bears. The seas are inhabited by seals, walruses and several kinds of whale. On excursions on the land you are always accompanied by experienced guides, who are armed because of the polar bears. They can point you to extraordinary plants and animals and tell you about the history and geology of the country.

Sail along

You can book for the following cruises:

AN01. Tromsø – Longyearbyen
On board: 13 July, 17:00 hour in Tromsø
Off board: 26 July, 08:00 hour in Longyearbyen
Duration: 13 nights
Price: € 2.850,- meals included, exc. transfer
Stretch: South coast, west coast and 4-day crossing with a stop at Bear-island


AN04. Longyearbyen – Longyearbyen
On board: 25 August, 16:00 hours in Longyearbyen
Off board: 4 September, 08:00 hour in Longyearbyen
Duration: 10 nights
Price: € 2.350,- meals included, exc. transfer
Stretch: West and north coast


AN05. Longyearbyen – Longyearbyen
On board: 4 september, 16:00 hour in Longyearbyen
Off board: 14 september, 08:00 hour in Longyearbyen
Duration: 10 nights
Price: € 2.350,- meals included, exc. transfer
Stretch: West and north coast


AN06. Longyearbyen – Tromsø
On board: 14 September, 16:00 hour in Longyearbyen
Off board: 29 September, 08:00 hour in Tromsø
Duration: 15 nights
Price: € 3.150,- meals included, exc. transfer
Stretch: Westcoast, north coast and by way of Hinloopenstreet and the east coast to Tromsø