Join us on an Arctic Cruise onboard the M/V Hondius, in the Svalbard Archipelago.  This mostly untouched arctic wilderness is known for its rugged, yet fragile, and desolate terrain comprised of dramatic snow-covered mountain peaks, vast untouched glaciers and frozen tundra, that shelters its polar bears, Svalbard (short legged) reindeer, caribou and Arctic foxes, while its iceberg-scattered coastlines are home to seals, walruses and migrating whales in late summer.  Humpback whales, Orcas, Beluga Whales and Narwhals all frequent its waters.  Svalbard is also renowned for its large diversity of bird life, including Arctic Terns, Arctic Fulmar and Puffins.  

There are no trees on these islands and the most common vegetation is a brownish green moss that sprouts in patches on the mountainsides.  However, many exotic Arctic flowers bloom here during the warm season.  The islands have a stark and eerie beauty all of their own.   Nearly two-thirds of Svalbards area is protected in nature reserves, national parks and bird sanctuaries and most of the island’s visitors come here to experience its raw and rugged nature.  

Svalbard is the Arctic land as you always imagined it.  From the seemingly endless Arctic night to the perpetual sunlight of summer there’s a special magic surrounding these islands. It’s one of Europe's last great wildernesses, home to more polar bears than people, and a land rich in legends of polar exploration.