A picture diary of my week spent in the Arctic!

I had the most incredible time sailing with Hurtigruten on their newly refurbished ship; the MS Trollfjord! We sailed the Svalbard Line, which is part of Hurtigruten’s Coastal Signature Voyage Collection. These Signature Voyages are superb, offering an elevated front-row experience to Norway’s highlights, along with the comfort of premium all-inclusive food, drink and a great onboard experience team.

We embarked on a five night voyage, from Tromso, sailing up the coast line to Honningsvag, Longyearbyen and finally Ny-Alesund, before returning back to Tromso for our journey home.

Day 1:

Our cruise began in Tromso, which surprisingly for mid-September was unusually warm. This meant clear blue skies and lots of sunshine. Something, which we were not expecting. We spent the first day relaxing and exploring the ship. That evening, was one of the highlights of the whole trip for me. The weather could not have been more perfect, with clear skies, calm waters and the amazing Northern Lights! The experience of seeing the Northern lights in their full glory, sailing in the Artic is simply incredible. A huge bucket list moment for everybody on-board.

Day 2:

We spent the next day docked in Honningsvag, which is 33km from the North Cape. This town is Norway’s most Northern city, also known as the Summer city, with only 2200 inhabitants. Again, the weather was perfect with temperatures of around 18 to 20 degrees.

This port is such a beautiful and picturesque place, with stunning mountain backdrops, a beautiful harbour and local town.  We wandered around the quaint harbour, taking lots of pictures, watching the locals and mooching around the shops. We then decided to hike part way up the mountain for the fantastic views down below. The scenery was just incredible.

That evening we had a fantastic 5 course taster meal with wine pairing! This took place in the speciality restaurant Rost. During dinner we sailed passed the famous North Cape. We went out on the top deck to take lots of pictures and watch the incredible sunset. I have never seen a sunset so vibrant and beautiful before, it was another pinch me moment on-board.

Day 4:

We spent the morning sailing towards Longyearbyen, in Svalbard. We could definitely tell that we were now fully immersed in the Artic. The temperatures had really dropped, the seas were a lot more choppy and all the surrounding mountains were covered in ice. The scenery was so beautiful, despite the freezing temperatures.

When travelling to Svalbard, the daylight hours are determined by the Midnight Sun, and Polar Nights. During the midnight sun, which is from the April to August each year the sun does not set and there is complete day light. The Polar nights start from October through to February, where the towns are immersed in complete darkness. The town celebrates on the 8th March which is the day the sun appears over the mountains.

We arrived into Longyearbyen that afternoon. The town has a population of 2300 inhabitants. It was established in 1906 as a mining town and it's airport was built in 1974.

There were several excursions on offer here. Some of the group went on a husky tour, whilst our group went on an e-bike tour exploring all that Longyearbyen had to offer. This was a fantastic way of seeing the beautiful town, and surrounding areas. Again the stunning mountain back drops offered some amazing views. We stopped along to way to take lots of pictures, and learn more about the local way of life, before having a wander around the town.

Day 5:

Today was our final stop in the Arctic, Ny-Ålesund.

There are strict rules in place for anybody sailing here. We had to make sure all our devices were switched off, within a certain mile radius. This is due to Norway’s Mapping Authority’s nearby geodetic station. This meant we were without Wi-Fi for around 24 hours! We were also expected to attend a safety briefing, in order to get off the ship.

This town is the highest inhabited settlement in the world, high up in the Artic Circle. It is in the Tundra which means a permafrost all year round and is situated above tree line. Ronald Amundsen departed from here for the first flight to the North Pole!

You realise just how special this place is when you step foot off the ship. It is so serene, so peaceful, and so breathtakingly beautiful. Your eye instantly takes you to the beach’s either side of the dock, with calm and icy waters, colourful wooden houses and shops, and rugged glacial scenery, backed by the neighbouring fjords of Krossfjord and Kongsfjord.

Due to mining traditions, everyone has to take their shoes off when entering buildings and shops!! I visited the local post office, which is the highest most Northern post office in the world. We then were taken by the expedition team to a cordoned off area by the water’s edge to see whether we could spot any polar bears and other wild life.

Before getting back on the ship, some of the group took a swim in the arctic waters!

Overview

I felt incredibly sad, when our trip came to and end. Each port just seemed to get better and better, offering a real in depth experience, the more North we sailed. I would encourage anybody to go and fully immerse yourselves in this kind of Itinerary, even if you haven’t thought about a cold weather cruise before. You would get so much out of it, the main highlights being the amazing scenery, the ever changing views of the mountains and sea, the sunsets that go on for hours, if you’re lucky the famous Northern lights, and all the wild life opportunities. I found it hard to do anything else, but take lots and lots of pictures! It was all just incredibly beautiful. I think this is one of my favourite cruise experiences so far, really authentic, and on a par with some of the safari trips I have previously been on.