So, you have decided to embark on an adventure and explore the Arctic on an Arctic cruise. The next step is determining the most captivating Arctic destinations you want to see.
Whilst on the surface, there are many similarities between different places to visit in the Arctic, there are also many differences and nuances.
In this guide, I share my knowledge of exploring highlights and differences for each destination to help you plan your Arctic cruise and offer advice about which destination to choose based on your interests.
Top Tip: Choose an expedition style cruise to explore the Arctic to get the most out of your visit. These take place on small ships and involve shore landings and Zodiac excursions with a team of highly experienced polar guides.
The Arctic comprises five main destinations for expedition cruises: Svalbard, Greenland, the Northwest Passage (including the Canadian Arctic), the North Pole, and the Russian Arctic.
Longer Arctic cruises often combine multiple destinations, such as Svalbard and East Greenland or West Greenland with the Northwest Passage. If you have more time, I recommend an expedition cruise that visits multiple Arctic destinations.
As of 2022, it is currently impossible to visit the Russian Arctic due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine.
Striking mountains and glaciers make up the landscape of Svalbard.
If you are a first-time visitor to the Arctic, Svalbard is a great starting point for your next adventure. As far north as you can reach on any commercial flight, it’s the perfect place to explore on an Arctic expedition cruise.
There is a good reason Svalbard is often referred to as the Arctic in a nutshell. This is because it offers a unique opportunity to see all the best the Arctic has to offer in one place. From Arctic wildlife to majestic glaciers, historical sites, sea ice, and towering mountains, Svalbard has it all.
Its relatively small area means there are better chances of spotting wildlife and polar bears than in other places in the Arctic, such as Greenland and the Northwest Passage, where distances are vast.
If you choose an Arctic cruise starting and ending in Svalbard, you will spend very little time at sea and most of your time out on expedition exploring by Zodiac, wildlife watching, and undertaking shore landings.
Svalbard also has one of the longest cruise seasons in the Arctic, starting in Early May and lasting until September, whereas Greenland and the Northwest Passage have a shorter season.
Discover more about our Svalbard Cruises.
East Greenland is home to some of the most stunning landscapes on Earth with endless fjords full of icebergs.
Greenland is the largest island on Earth, with a coastline of over 27,000 miles (44,000 kilometres)—more than the distance around the equator. With narrow fjords, including the longest fjords on the planet, dotted sparsely with remote communities, Greenland is full of epic wilderness waiting to be explored.
Due to the Greenland ice cap and its countless glaciers, the sea and fjords around Greenland are chockablock full of beautiful, and at times mountainous, icebergs. This sight is rarer in other parts of the polar regions and is only witnessed on this scale in Antarctica.
While wildlife is less frequently sighted in Greenland due to its vast expanse and local Inuit hunting traditions, the breathtaking landscapes and never-ending scenery on a scale not seen anywhere else on Earth make this a worthy destination for any nature lover or outdoors enthusiast.
To find our more please see our Greenland Cruises and Icebreaker Cruises.
Polar Bears can be seen on the remote desolate islands in the Northwest Passage.
The Northwest Passage is a vast expanse of wilderness, islands, and narrow channels in the Canadian Arctic. It’s synonymous with early polar exploration and the quest to be the first to navigate the passage.
Today, it’s possible to take an Arctic cruise through the entire length of the Northwest Passage on a modern, small expedition ship built for travel in the polar regions.
The Northwest Passage is a perfect destination in the Arctic for history lovers and those with a passion for exploration.
Wildlife is sighted throughout the passage, including polar bears and beluga whales, albeit less than in Svalbard. The region is known for its glaciers, remote shores, historical graves, and remote Inuit settlements.
Discover our Northwest Passage Cruises.
The most rarely visited place in the Arctic is the Geographic North Pole, with under 800 travellers a year making the expedition. Situated in the middle of the frozen Arctic Ocean, the North Pole is only accessible on a specialist Icebreaker ship for a few months per year.
North Pole Cruises are some of the most expensive and rewarding expedition cruises. Few people can say they have stood at the top of the world.
Much of a North Pole Cruise will involve navigating the Arctic sea ice, which is part of the experience. Exploring this seldom-seen polar habitat is an opportunity to search for wildlife, observe sea ice navigation from the ship’s bridge, and learn about the Arctic from the ship’s expedition team.
You can find out more about our North Pole Cruises.
In the following section I compare each destination and highlight the differences between them to help you plan your Arctic cruise.
Svalbard offers better opportunities to see wildlife, including great chances to see polar bears. Polar bears can be seen in East Greenland (I saw one on an icebreaker cruise), but their sighting is less frequent. As Inuit communities hunt, wildlife is cautious, and due to the large expanse of land, it is more spread out and harder to find.
Overall, Svalbard wins for wildlife, which includes walruses, an abundance of Arctic birds, Arctic foxes, and the Svalbard Reindeer, which you won’t see anywhere else. Greenland does have some unique wildlife not found in Svalbard, including Musk Ox and Narwhal.
Greenland is the best place in the Arctic to see giant icebergs. In Svalbard, the icebergs are much smaller. This is because the ice cap, which covers most of Greenland, leads to highly active glaciers, so you will see ice no matter where you cruise in Greenland.
Both Svalbard and Greenland have active glaciers. Svalbard has over 2000 glaciers in a condensed area so that you will see more glaciers there than in Greenland.
While the Arctic landscapes of Svalbard, particularly Spitsbergen, the largest island, are picturesque, Greenland is home to some genuinely captivating scenery. In the East, mountains rise over 2000 meters from the sea edge. It is home to Scoresby Sund, the longest natural fjord on Earth, and the landscapes are out of this world.
While Svalbard and Greenland have outstanding natural beauty, Greenland is my preferred destination for landscape lovers and photographers.
Whereas Svalbard doesn’t have an Indigenous population (today, around 2000 people from all over the world live in Longyearbyen), these are all immigrants. Greenland has a population of 56,000 spread out over small remote communities, a handful of larger towns, and the capital city of Nuuk.
A significant highlight of travelling to Greenland is learning about its modern and indigenous culture and meeting the people who call Greenland their home. Indigenous hand-made gifts and encountering hunters in remote regions who live a traditional way of life are not possible in Svalbard.
Svalbard has some great historical sites, from Smeerenburg, where the remains of blubber ovens from Dutch settlers in the 15th century are found, to the abandoned former Russian mining town of Pyramiden, which has a deep history of North Pole exploration.
While Svalbard is the best place in the Arctic to see wildlife, the Northwest Passage does, however, offer a chance to see the Arctic Big 5. On Northwest Passage expedition cruises, polar bears, mux ox, beluga whales, walruses, and occasionally narwhals are seen.
Wildlife in the Northwest Passage, like Greenland, is spread out over a vast area, so sightings are less frequent than in Svalbard. Northwest Passage cruises will visit wildlife hotspots with an experienced guide team who knows where to find animals.
The geography of the Northwest Passage is significantly different from that of Svalbard, consisting of multiple waterways and deserted Arctic islands. While you can see glaciers and sea ice in both places, the Northwest Passage offers more chances to get off the beaten track and explore rarely visited wilderness. Traversing the entire passage will give you a true sense of exploration.
A cruise to the Northwest Passage involves visits to remote Inuit communities, such as Pond Inlet, which offer an insight into a remote, traditional Arctic way of life—this is not something you will experience in Svalbard.
Both Svalbard and the Northwest Passage have fascinating histories stretching back centuries.
The history of the Northwest Passage is focused on Early explorers and their quest to find, map, and ultimately transit this challenging seaway. Today, visitors can see the Graves of the Franklin expedition on Beechey Island and other former desolate remote outposts.
Svalbard’s history is focused on early settlers, mining, and the race to the North Pole. Both destinations are perfect for lovers of Arctic history.
Wildlife sightings are more frequent in the Northwest Passage than in Greenland. The chances of seeing a polar bear are higher in the Northwest Passage than in Greenland, depending on your chosen route. For example, in some areas in East Greenland, you are more likely to see polar bears than others.
The geography of the Northwest Passage and Greenland is quite different. Both have glaciers and sea ice. In Greenland, you will encounter larger and more frequent icebergs than in the Northwest Passage.
Some of Greenland’s most impressive places are deep inside fjord systems framed by some of the most beautiful mountains on Earth. The Northwest Passage is often flat in comparison, although it does have some magnificent landscapes, mainly on Baffin Island.
Both Greenland and the Northwest Passage have local Inuit communities you can visit. The communities in the Northwest Passage contrast with the colourful towns of Greenland and are even more remote and cut off from the rest of the world.
Greenland has a varied history, including a Viking church in southern Greenland and various Inuit graves in the Disko Bay area.
The North Pole stands on its own as it is a remote, uninhabited point on the top of the Earth. No one lives there, and you are unlikely to see any animals there. So, how does it compare to other Arctic destinations?
The experience of visiting the North Pole involves undertaking a polar expedition to reach this seldom-visited place. This category is reserved for the most daring explorers. Due to the extreme conditions, most of the time will be spent on an icebreaker rather than exploring Zodiac inflatable boats.
Travellers to the North Pole have often explored other polar destinations, and now they are looking to fulfil the ultimate polar goal. The North Pole is in a league and unique from other Arctic destinations.
I hope this guide has given you a good overview of the differences between Svalbard, Greenland, the Northwest Passage, and the North Pole, helping you plan your next Arctic cruise.
Now that you are armed with new knowledge, you can search our Arctic cruises.
If you need assistance planning your cruise, please don’t hesitate to contact our Travel Experience Team, which has extensive firsthand experience cruising in the Arctic.
Looking for some more inspiration about where to visit in the Arctic? Check out 50 Places You Can Visit In The Arctic.
All our Artic Cruise operators are members of AECO. Learn more about how you can help make your cruise to the Arctic sustainable.
Thanks for reading and happy exploring!
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