trip specifics

price

Two countries, one midnight sun - this is the Arctic few have visited. The ghosts of Royal Canadian Mounted Policemen and the ancestors of the Inuit may haunt the activities planned for the shore landing on Devon Island. You'll cruise in Zodiacs through a polynya, a naturally occurring opening in the sea ice on the south shore of Coburg Island. Have binoculars and camera handy for the cruise along the base of a seabird cliff where Murres and Fulmars will dart and swoop overhead.Midway through the expedition, you may find yourself about 10 degrees from the North Pole. Now that is the High Arctic! You'll soar in the ship's helicopters to watch the icebreaker crush the pack ice we expect to find at this latitude. When the icebreaker calls at Qaanaaq, a plaque will be presented to the community, to commemorate the ship's final visit to the capital of Northwestern Greenland. Join us on an End of an Era voyage that contrasts countries and cultures in the High Arctic.

Day 1 - Arrive Ottawa

After arriving independantly to Ottawa, Canada you will spend the night in Ottawa before your charter flights to Resolute the following day.

Accommodations: Fairmont Chateau Laurier or similar
Included Meals: none

Day 2 - Embarkation, Resolute

En route to Resolute - Qausuittuq –the place of no dawn - you will discover that your fellow travelers have a passion for the North equal to your own. In Resolute, well above the Arctic Circle, you will embark the polar –class icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov, at anchor in the bay. From this day until you disembark, there will be only a few hours of twilight each night, as you will be sailing under the midnight sun.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: dinner

Day 3 - Devon Island

The ghosts of Mounties and the ancestors of the Inuit may haunt the activities that we plan for our visit to Devon Island. In the Maxwell Bay region, you will visit a Thule site, where the ancestors of the Inuit lived. You will hike, and cruise in Zodiacs. At Dundas Harbour, be alert for wildlife. Walrus and musk oxen inhabit the area. The ghost settlement you visit was once a Royal Canadian Mounted Police depot. Don’t think of it as abandoned. In the cemetery you will visit, every year a detail of Mounties arrive to tend the graves of fallen comrades.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Days 4 - Coburg Island

Wildlife in the Arctic depends on polynyas to survive. They are naturally occurring openings in sea ice that enable whales to rise to the surface to breathe and birds to fish for food. Murres and Fulmars will soar overhead as you cruise in a Zodiac along the base of high cliffs. Thousands of seabirds nest in Nirjutiqavvik National Wildlife Area established to protect wildlife of the Lady Ann Strait polynya along the island’s southern shore. Be sure to carry your camera and binoculars!

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 5 - Grise Fjord

The only settlement on Ellesmere Island is Grise Fjord. The citizens of Aujuittuq – the place that never thaws – will entertain and educate you with cultural demonstrations that are based on 4,000 years of tradition. The tiny hamlet – the most northerly community in Canada – has only 140 residents – that is slightly more than 1 resident per traveler aboard our icebreaker.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 6 - Smith Sound

Smith Sound separates Greenland from Ellesmere Island. An international boundary runs up the middle. As the expedition moves northward you will be sailing through Canadian waters. When the ship begins its southbound journey, you will cross the invisible boundary into the home-ruled state of Greenland.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 7 - Cane Basin

While pushing northward the Expedition Team will talk about Elisha Kane, after whom the Basin is named. An American from a prominent family, he earned his medical degree, then joined the US Navy, as an Assistant Surgeon. In 1850, he became the senior medical officer of the Grinnell Arctic expedition. His illustrious career as an Arctic explorer had begun. Sixty years before Shackleton, Kane abandoned an icebound ship to lead his men on an 83-day march across the frozen Arctic to Upernavik, Greenland. Although they were carrying invalids, Kane only lost one man on the journey in what is acknowledged as one of the greatest feats of Arctic exploration.The ice north of the Kane Basin is impenetrable most of the year. Sometimes an icebreaker can push farther north, if the local conditions are just right. Our Expedition Leader will consult with the icebreaker’s Captain to determine if the vessel should attempt a northward push.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 8 - Fort Conger

You should reach the furthest north of this voyage today. We anticipate that you will be about 10 degrees from the North Pole. Now that is the High Arctic!In sharp contrast to the success of Kane, Aldolphus Greeley lost 19 of 25 men. Tales of cannibalism tainted the reputation of the survivors. You will visit Fort Conger, which was established originally by Greeley, and rebuilt by explorer Robert Peary as a base camp for one of his Arctic expeditions. You will explore Fort Conger, and learn of Greely, Peary and others who followed Kane’s route to the Arctic Ocean.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 9 - Dobbin Bay

The glacier and landscape of Dobbin Bay have inspired artists and photographers. You will experience it from the deck and the air. Kapitan Khlebnikov is equipped with two passenger helicopters that are used for ice reconnaissance, shore transfers and, as they will be in Dobbin Bay, aerial sightseeing. There is no extra charge for group transfers!

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 10 - Skraeling and Pim Islands

At about the same time as the nomadic tribes of Central Asia were domesticating the horse - 4500 BCE - the Dorset People began to populate what is now the eastern Canadian Arctic. The Dorset were replaced by the Thule, who are the direct ancestors of the Inuit, the High Arctic's indigenous people. On Skraeling Island, you will visit the remains of a Dorset community and learn of the meaning of the name the Vikings gave to the local inhabitants. On Pim Island, you will visit Starvation Camp, where 19 of Greeley's 25 expedition members died before rescue. In one day, you will travel through six and a half millennia of the development of humankind.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 11 - Greenland

After sailing across the international boundary, you will enter Greenland, home-ruled under the Danish flag since 1979. Politics play a significant role in the High Arctic of the 21st century. Politics will not be on the program in Qaanaaq. There the local people will introduce you to the distinct culture of the Greenlandic Arctic. Although the language sounds similar to that spoken in the Canadian Arctic, it is different. The broad smiles of welcome, however, are universal.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 12 - Melville Bay

There is a stone monument honoring Robert Peary on top of a glacier in Greenland, near Kap York (Cape York). The onboard helicopters will transfer you from the ship to the glacier - this unique opportunity is not possible on ordinary expedition ships, as access to the site is only from the air.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 13 - Baffin Island

After passing through Canadian Customs, the people of Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet) will welcome you at the Artist's Co-operative. In addition to the community's international reputation for the Fine Art they produce, the people of "Pond" earn their living fishing for Arctic char. You will have time to take photos, explore the hamlet and hike the nearby tundra, before boarding the icebreaker.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 14 - Beechey Island

Lancaster Sound is the eastern end of the fabled Northwest Passage. You will go ashore on Beechey Island, where the first evidence was found that something had gone awry with Sir John Franklin's search for the route to the Orient. Three members of Franklin's crew were buried on the island. Their grav markers are silent witness to the tragedy that continues to consume the imagination of Arctic travelers to this very day.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov
Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 15 - Disembark, Resolute

Disembarkation is in Resolute on Cornwallis Island in the territory of Nunavut. After disembarkation a charter flight is boarded back to Ottawa for your last night before your return flights home the following day.

Accommodations: Fairmont Chateau Laurier or similar
Included Meals: breakfast

Day 16 - Depart

Return to the Ottawa airport for your return flights home.

Accommodations: none
Included Meals: none


Notes on Itinerary: Read this itinerary as a guide only. As this is an expedition to a remote part of the world, our exact route and program varies according to ice, weather conditions, wildlife, availability of anchorages, political conditions and other factors beyond our control. Flexibility is the key to the success of this expedition. Visits to research stations depend on final permission.

Rates: Voyage rates are based on tariffs and exchange rates in effect at the time of printing and are subject to change prior to departure. Substantial changes in tariffs, exchange rates and the price of fuel sometimes increase the cost of expedition arrangements significantly, and we reserve the right to adjust our prices or introduce surcharges accordingly, even if full payment has been previously received.

Single Travelers: Solo travelers willing to share can reserve a triple or twin-shared cabin, where you will be matched with a person of the same gender. If the other cabin berth goes unsold, you will not be penalized. For those who desire single occupancy, cabins are available for single occupancy at 1.7 times the twin rate.

Minimum Age for Children: 12 years

Land Cost Includes: Shipboard accommodation, meals, shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage; Leadership by experienced Expedition Leaders and staff, including shore landings; Zodiac cruising and transfers to and from the ship for shore excursions; helicopter flights and transport. presentations by noted naturalists and other experts; Comprehensive pre-departure information kit; A pair of rubber expedition boots on loan for shore landings; An expedition parka; Hair dryer in every cabin; Group transfers and baggage handling as per itinerary; All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges.

Not Included: Airfares to the embarkation point and from the disembarkation point; RT charter flights between Ottowa and Resolute, Fuel surcharge; passport and visa expenses; government arrival and departure taxes; hotel accommodations; Rubber boots on all other vessels not specifically listed above; baggage, Trip Cancellation Insurance with emergency medical evacuation insurance (required); excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar and beverage charges and telecommunication charges; and the customary gratuity at the end of the voyage for those who have served you aboard (guidelines will be provided).

Reservations and Payment: A deposit of $1,500 per person is required to confirm a reservation on an Arctic Adventure Ship voyage. The deposit may be paid by bank wire transfer, check, money order or major credit card. Final payment due 90 days prior to departure. We do NOT accept credit cards for Final Payment. Final payment can be made by check or bank wire transfer. All prices and payments are in US dollars and no other currencies can be accepted.

Cancellation Policy: A special cancellation policy applies to all Antarctica trips, which is stricter than the AdventureSmith Explorations policy. All requests for cancellations must be received in writing.

Cancellations received:
150 days prior to departure are fully refunded less an administrative fee of $500 per person.
Between 119-90 days, per person deposit amount is forfeited.
Between 89-60 days, per person all deposits and tariffs are forfeited.

Trip Insurance:
Passengers traveling to the Arctic and Antarctica are required to be covered by a travel insurance policy that includes emergency evacuation coverage. AdventurSmith recommend's our travelers protect their investment with Access America Insurance which can be purchased through our office.

Vessel Descriptions: Kapitan Khlebnikov is Scandinavian-built for the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Khlebnikov accommodates 112 passengers, internal stabilizers, and ice-strengthened hull designed specifically for polar travel. Click vessel links for individual vessel descriptions.

Accommodations and Services Aboard: Vessels accommodate passengers in comfortable cabins. Public areas include a Lounge and bar with facilities for slide shows and lectures; Views are excellent from the large, open decks and the navigation bridge, where passengers are always welcome. The chefs produce a varied menu and the comfortable bar is stocked with a good selection of wine. Inform us of any special dietary requirements; however, note that the galleys unfortunately can not prepare kosher meals. The ship officers and crew are all highly experienced in ice navigation. The atmosphere aboard is relaxed and informal, more like a private expedition than a cruise.

Qualifications: This trip will be enjoyed by anyone who is in good health, has full mobility, and leads an active life. The expedition is ship-based and physically not very demanding. Although we spend as much time as possible ashore, you are welcome to remain aboard the ship if you like. To join any off-vessel excursions, passengers must be able to navigate the steep, 30-stair, gang-way, un-assisted both down and up. Daily excursions from the boat will be made in Zodiacs. Trip members will take excursions to specific areas for wildlife observation. Hiking time for most landings will be a couple of hours roundtrip with lots of time to stop to study, photograph and enjoy the flora and fauna. Some landings are dry but many are "wet", requiring cautious footing on slippery rocks. The boat staff will be on hand to assist. You are traveling in remote areas without access to sophisticated medical facilities, so you must not join this expedition if you have a life-threatening condition, or need daily medical treatment.

General Information: This trip is subject to AdventureSmith Explorations Terms and Conditions. Please read this information carefully and call us if you have any questions. A packing list, extensive pre-departure and travel insurance information is sent upon confirmation.

We look forward to having you join us for the trip of a lifetime! Call today.

return to top of page

AdventureSmith Explorations

Travel Specialists  |  Contact Us