After visiting Antarctica with Silversea many people asked me “why are you going back to the cold?” My answer – to complete my goal of visiting both the North & South Pole! As a lover of expedition travel, visiting both poles was a bucket list item. Even though the destinations may appear the same at first, they are two different worlds.
When to visit the Arctic
Expedition cruises only operate during the summer season (May -July) as the ice can be too thick the rest of the year. In the summer months the temperature ranges from 37°F – 45°F allowing ships to pass through the Fjords and up towards the North Pole.
Packing List
Having the right gear was VERY important! Surprisingly there were very few cold days in the Arctic and many days where we experienced warm weather. Some hikes I only had on leggings and a dry fit long sleeve shirt – no jacket.
What to bring on your Arctic cruise
- Double layered jacket- we were required to buy the signature red jacket from the cruise line
- Waterproof pants & Thermal leggings
- Dry Fit long sleeve top
- Bathing suit – for the polar plunge..if you dare!
- Ski Hat that covers your ears and neck sleeve to cover your nose & mouth (it gets windy!)
- Waterproof Boots (above your ankles for those wet landings) and Hiking Shoes if you want to go on an intense adventure
- Light Sweaters to roam the ship – most expedition cruises have a very relaxed dress code
- Sunscreen – it’s still summer time and you can get burnt out there
- Professional Camera or Phone (get a lanyard phone case to protect it from falling in the water)
- Binoculars – to spot a Polar Bear!
How to get to the Arctic Circle, Norway
To catch our cruise we flew from Miami to Oslo, Norway and then hopped on a 3 hour Silversea charter flight to Longyearbyen, Svalbard the world’s most Northernmost settlement.
If you’re considering an Arctic cruise, here’s a few expedition lines to check out. Note – this is not a cheap destination!
If you don’t have the chance to take a cruise, you can drive to the Northern most post of Norway and catch a bit of the Arctic Circle or view the Northern lights (September – March).
As part of your expedition cruise, you will have 2 activities each day called landings. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. There’s never time to be bored!
Things to do in the Arctic
Find the King of the Arctic – Polar Bears! The #1 reason people go to the Arctic is to see a polar bear in the wild. From all the photos of polar bears, you’d think these guys are strolling around everywhere but it’s actually really difficult to find them, there’s only about 3000 roaming the fjords and sheets of ice. Svalbard has the Arctic’s highest concentration of Polar Bears and is in the top 3 places in the world to spot one alongside Churchill, Canada. Most people will actually never get to see one in the wild!
Our Silversea expedition team on board spent every waking moment trying to find a polar bear so be prepared to run outside once they make the announcement on the loudspeaker. If you’re lucky enough to find one, be prepared to use your binoculars, you cannot get close to them. We were lucky enough to spot 2 polar bears on our cruise. The first one was a bit hard to see but the second one (photographed above) was a perfect sighting. Checkout our polar bear encounter here.
Visit the North Ice cap– In order to make it all the way to the North Pole your ship needs to have an ice breaker leading the way. While our cruise ship was a polar class vessel we were only able to go to the tip of the ice cap – about 645 miles away from the North Pole. We did have a chance to get off the ship and cruise alongside the ice cap. Going through the ice on our zodiac and hearing it crack underneath was surreal!
Zodiac ride through the stunning fjords searching for wildlife and getting up close with sky scraper glaciers is always incredible sight. Our guide mentioned some of the glaciers will melt in just 30 years due to climate change – crazy!
Kayak through glacier ice- I was faced with a tough decision, head out on a kayak or climb a glacier. I picked the glacier while my brother in law headed out on the kayak excursion. Upon return he said it was a must do, incredible experience – next time!
Hike a Glacier – this was one of the coolest experiences I had on the cruise. It was simply incredible to think I was standing on top of this huge piece of ice in the wilderness.
During the trip there was also be plenty of other hikes varying in difficulty from a casual walk to an intense hike. Don’t forget your hiking shoes!
You will also get the opportunity to do the polar plunge, basically a right of passage when visiting Antarctica or The Arctic. I chickened out on my trip to Antarctica – my fear of jumping into near freezing water (2°C or 35°F) took over me. On this trip there was no turning back, I had to get it done!
My husband refused to jump initially but then the FOMO hit him and he made it. It actually wasn’t as bad as we envisioned, no hypothermia or unbearable tingling in my body – I’m happy I finally did it.
For my polar plunge I wore long leggings and a full bathing suit, some people were out there in regular bikinis! Before you make the jump you’ll be required to sign a waiver. The lead up to the plunge is pretty fun, everyone is in their robes, the crew plays music and passes around shots of alcohol. Anything to get you warmed up and hype for this adventure. Someone from the ship will be taking photos and video for you along with passengers cheering you along on the upper decks. Checkout our polar plunge experience here.
What wildlife do you see in the Arctic, other than Polar Bears?
Unfortunately there are no adorable penguins up in the Arctic Circle but you do have a chance to see many other cute animals – harp seals, Arctic Fox and Reindeer. Orca’s, humpback and sperm whales are commonly found here but per usual we didn’t see any! (We really have 0 luck with whale sightings) If you’re really lucky you might even see a Narwhal known as the unicorns of the sea.
Walrus -These huge animals (over 3700 lbs!) have been around for millions of years and love to rest on the ice or beach during the summer months.
I had no idea these large animals could swim so far! They can even dive over 200ft to the ocean floor searching for clams, easily sucking them out from their shell.
Birds – There are over 200 birds that live in the Arctic, some like the Arctic Tern migrate over 12,000 miles from Antarctica to breed. These birds can live up to 30 years and make this round trip twice a year! – that’s almost 50,000 miles per year!
Throughout the trip I had so many moments where I just sat in silence and reflected on where I was and where I came from. I’m still in awe that this girl from a St.Lucia – a tiny island in the Caribbean has to journey to some of the world’s most picturesque places. If you get a chance, I highly recommend visiting not only Norway but the Arctic Circle, North Pole.
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