Norway
An Arctic archipelago where polar bears outnumber residents, then a cliff marking the end of continental Europe
Norway
A journey to the far north of Norway, far from Bergen and the Lofoten Islands: Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago home to around three thousand residents and over two thousand five hundred polar bears, a density that requires carrying a weapon outside inhabited areas, then the North Cape, a rocky promontory plunging over three hundred metres into the Arctic Ocean and symbolically marking the northernmost point of continental Europe accessible by road.
When
June to August
Price
From 4 600€ excl. flights
(based on 2 people sharing)
How long
7 nights
Ideal length
Days 1-2
The first chapter unfolds on Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago located halfway between the mainland and the North Pole, where the polar bear population, estimated at over two thousand five hundred individuals, far outnumbers the roughly three thousand human residents spread across the archipelago's few settlements. This proximity to the world's largest land predator imposes a strict rule, almost unique in the world: anyone leaving the limits of the main town of Longyearbyen must be accompanied by a firearm or an armed guide, a precaution that testifies to the genuinely wild character of this territory.
Day 1
A cruise in search of polar bears
A boat trip along the Svalbard coastline, accompanied by an armed naturalist guide, in search of polar bears, seals, and walruses in their natural Arctic habitat.
Day 2
Longyearbyen, the world's northernmost town
A visit to Longyearbyen, the archipelago's main town and one of the world's northernmost settlements, whose historic cemetery was closed after it was discovered that the permafrost prevented all decomposition.
Days 1-2
The road to the North Cape, a rocky promontory plunging over three hundred metres into the Arctic Ocean and symbolically marking, though not geographically accurately, the northernmost point of continental Europe accessible by road. The site, visited as early as the 16th century by English explorers seeking a northern sea route to Asia, offers between May and July the spectacle of the midnight sun, a phenomenon during which the sun remains visible twenty-four hours a day above the horizon.
Day 1
The North Cape's iconic globe
A visit to the North Cape plateau and its iconic metal globe, installed in 1988, then a walk along the cliffs that plunge directly into the Arctic Ocean.
Day 2
The midnight sun over the Arctic Ocean
A night observing the midnight sun from the North Cape plateau, a phenomenon during which the sun remains continuously visible above the horizon between May and July.
Other trips built in the same spirit — more to draw inspiration from.
5 nightsNorway: Bergen, Fjords & the Lofoten Islands
From Bergen's colourful houses to the northern lights
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5 nightsNorway: Tromsø and the Northern Lights
The "gateway to the Arctic," one of the world's best cities for observing the Northern Lights
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