Arctic Discovery: Iceland, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen

In the centre of Iceland’s sprawling capital city, the modern organ-pipe-shaped Hallgrimskirkja church dominates the top of town. Cosy bars, cafes and shops line the surrounding streets heated by Iceland's geothermal waters. The regenerated harbour is home to a striking modern concert hall. Popular trips include to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa near the village of Grindavik, and the Golden Circle tour taking in Gullfoss Waterfall and the mighty Strokkur geyser in Thingvellir National Park.

Considered one of Iceland’s most impressive, this thunderous waterfall in the Westfjords region gives the impression of a bridal veil as it spreads its tumbling waters down a series of ever- growing cascades. Dynjandi is one of the most photographed sights in Iceland. Walking up to it takes 15 minutes passing five smaller waterfalls. Nearby, Hrafnseyri is the birthplace of Jón Sigurdsson, 19th-century leader of the Icelandic Independence movement. The museum includes an Icelandic turf house.

Surrounded by fjords in the Westfjords region, Isafjordur is a bustling fishing town in northwest Iceland with colourful wooden 18th- and 19th-century houses. Nearby is Sudavik, home to the Arctic Fox Centre. Iceland’s only mammal, the arctic fox lives on the lush tundra of Hornstrandir Nature Reserve - the northernmost peninsula in the Westfjords. Offshore, Vigur Island is a bird sanctuary popular for puffins but also arctic terns and eiders. You will also find Iceland's smallest post office.

In northern Iceland on Eyjafjördur, Akureyri is known for its colourful old town, heart-shaped traffic lights and woodlands. Nearby tours of Lake Mývatn, the most geologically active area in Iceland, include lava formations, hot springs, caves and rifts, boiling mud pools, volcanic craters, the roaring Godafoss waterfall and Game of Thrones locations. Puffins nest on the inhabited island of Grimsey that crosses the Arctic Circle, while Hrísey island is said to have powerful healing energies.

As you cruise to your next port of call, spend the day at sea savouring the ship’s facilities and learning about your destination’s many facets from the knowledgeable onboard experts. Listen to an enriching talk, indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa, work out in the well-equipped gym, enjoy some down- time in your cabin, share travel reminiscences with newly found friends: the options are numerous.

The snow-covered stratovolcano Beerenberg dominates the ice cap and glaciers at the northeast end of Jan Mayen Island. Halfway between Svalbard and Iceland, the only residents on this Norwegian island are members of the Norwegian Armed Forces or working at the meteorological station. During a nature walk to the station, and along the black sandy beach, you can see numerous plant species. Nesting northern fulmars, Brünnich’s and black guillemots and little auks make the island an important birding area.

As you cruise to your next port of call, spend the day at sea savouring the ship’s facilities and learning about your destination’s many facets from the knowledgeable onboard experts. Listen to an enriching talk, indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa, work out in the well-equipped gym, enjoy some down- time in your cabin, share travel reminiscences with newly found friends: the options are numerous.

Blue-and-white icebergs calve from the five-kilometre front of the Monacobreen glacier as it debouches into Liefdefjorden (Love Fjord). Considered one of Spitsbergen’s most beautiful glaciers, it is an unforgettable sight cruising through these ice-filled waters with the occasional beluga whale spotted alongside, the silence only broken by the bergs cracking from the icy glacier. Shore landings include walking above the glacier. Keep your eye out for polar bears prowling the icy wilderness for hapless walrus.

One of the three largest islands in Svalbard, separated from Spitsbergen by the icy Hinlopen Strait, Nordaustlandet is mostly covered in ice caps including Austfonna. Part of the Nordaust- Svalbard Nature Reserve, the coasts are made up of rocky beaches and cliffs filled with seabirds. In the north, you may spot polar bears in their denning area and snorting Atlantic walruses hauling out, while Svalbard reindeer roam the cushiony tundra of this polar desert.

Spitsbergen’s longest fjord - more than 100 kilometres long - now forms part of the Inner Wijdefjord National Park created to protect the rich flora of high arctic steppe vegetation, unique in Europe. The dry, windy climate gives rise to grasses, herbs and willow shrubs such as tufted saxifrage and arctic white campion on the western side in Andrée Land with its old red sandstone landscape. Limited wildlife live here aside from the occasional Svalbard reindeer and arctic fox.

As you cruise to your next port of call, spend the day at sea savouring the ship’s facilities and learning about your destination’s many facets from the knowledgeable onboard experts. Listen to an enriching talk, indulge in a relaxing treatment at the spa, work out in the well-equipped gym, enjoy some down- time in your cabin, share travel reminiscences with newly found friends: the options are numerous.

The world’s northernmost settlement at 79 degrees north, Ny-Ålesund is on the shores inside Kongsfjorden on the island of Spitsbergen. Its location makes it well suited to be a major Arctic research station with scientists from over 100 countries and the Svalbard Rocket Range that launches rockets to investigate earth’s magnetic field. In 1926, Roald Amundsen set off from here on the airship Norge on the world’s first verified expedition to the North Pole.

Longyearbyen is the world’s most northerly town and with it comes the world’s most northerly high street and pub. On Spitsbergen, Svalbard’s largest island, Longyearbyen is home to The North Pole Expeditions Museum which chronicles early efforts to reach the pole by air. The nearby Svalbard Global Seed Vault preserves duplicates of seeds held in gene banks worldwide. The surrounding Arctic waters are populated by whales including bowheads and narwhals, while walruses are regularly seen hauling.