Day 1 LEITH
We begin our voyage in Leith, the port town of gracious Edinburgh.
Day 2 THE ORKNEYS
This is a day of bird watching and archaeological sites - Standing Stones of Stennes, Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae and Maes Howe. In Kirkwall we visit St. Magnus Cathedral and the museum.
Day 3 SHETLAND ISLANDS
We visit nesting areas of seabirds including Puffins, Kittiwakes, Razorbill and Guillemots as well as the archaeological site of Jarlshoff, 4200 years old.
Day 4 BERGEN (Norway)
We explore the old quarter with its quaint Hanseatic houses and visit Edward Griegs home and museum.
Day 5 RUNDE & ÅLESUND
We take an early morning Zodiac cruise at the island of Runde, for a close up experience of the sights and sounds of the seabird nesting grounds with Sea Eagles cruising overhead. Later we visit the picturesque community of Ålesund, with its Art Nouveau architecture and canals and visit the aquarium.
Day 6 TRONDHEIM
We take a guided tour of this city, the first capital of Norway, including the lovely cathedral and nearby Monks Island. We then head for Austråt to visit a well preserved castle and WWII German gun emplacement.
Day 7 TORGHATTEN
We plan to spend most of this day enjoying nature with hikes that may that takes us through the large hole in the mountain.
Day 8 TRÆNA ARCHIPELAGO
On Lovund a morning walk takes us to a place noted for its density of Puffins. On Sanna we walk to the village, the cathedral cave and perhaps the DEWS radio station. Back onboard we cross the Arctic Circle.
Day 9 LOFOTEN ISLANDS
This enchanting archipelago is a collection of picturesque villages by the sea in a setting of jagged granite mountain peaks. We visit several villages, Viking museum and blacksmith artist at work, and in the evening take a cruise in Trollfjord.
Day 10 TROMSØ
Past the bird island of Bleiksøya and whale watching areas, we come to Tromsø to visit the dramatic Arctic Cathedral, Polar and Tromsø museums and a cable car ride up to the tundra for a stunning view of the region.
Day 11 NORDKAPP
Onboard today we start with bird watching at Gjesværstappen and then steam around the northernmost point of Europe. Depending on the day we will go Zodiac cruising to watch for birds and reindeer.
Day 12 BEAR ISLAND
We will take a dramatic Zodiac cruise among the stacks, caves and towering bird covered cliffs and hope to visit the radio station on the northern shore and take an escorted hike across the boggy tundra. Continuing north we expect to spend time cruising through drift ice.
Days 13 -14 SPITSBERGEN (Svalbard)
Reaching Svalbard we spend these two days exploring part of this Arctic archipelago with its deep fjords, stunning mountains and massive sheets of ice that cover much of the land. Svalbard is home to walruses, whales, seals, reindeer, Arctic Foxes, the rare Ivory Gulls and majestic Polar Bears.
Day 15 LONGYEARBYEN
We arrive here in time for early morning flights for international connections.
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