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Faint green aurora in a deep blue twilight sky over the sea off East Greenland, seen from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

The North Atlantic gateway · 63° to 71° North

Iceland and Jan Mayen

Where most Arctic voyages begin or end, and where the best of them linger: the Westfjords, the whales of Húsavík and the volcano that rises alone out of the Greenland Sea. Two nights in Reykjavík either side, and the whole of the North Atlantic between.

Highlights

Why Iceland and Jan Mayen

Iceland is the Arctic that is easy: a capital with direct flights, a coast of fjords and bird cliffs within a day of it, and the richest whale waters in the North Atlantic off Húsavík. Jan Mayen is the Arctic that is not: a Norwegian volcanic island 600 kilometres north-east, with Beerenberg rising 2,277 metres from the sea, eighteen people on a weather station and a landing permit that only a handful of ships hold. The voyages that join them to Greenland and Svalbard are the longest and the most varied in the north.

Northern gannet gliding low over grey water at sea, photographed from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Gannets and puffins on the cliffs

Whale tail fluke lifting above the water during a day at sea off the Labrador coast on a Swan Hellenic expedition cruise

The whales of Húsavík

Pink and mauve sunset over distant mountains seen from SH Vega at sea off East Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Beerenberg out of the Greenland Sea

Green aurora borealis glowing low on the horizon off East Greenland, seen from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

The aurora from September

Aerial drone view of a pod of orcas swimming at sea off East Greenland, photographed from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Orcas in the Denmark Strait

Signature locations

Where the voyages go

Eight places between the capital and the volcano, in the order the ships sail north.

Peggy's Cove lighthouse on its granite headland near Halifax, Nova Scotia, visited on a Swan Hellenic Canada expedition cruise

Reykjavík

The northernmost capital in the world, where most Arctic voyages begin or end. Allow two nights: Harpa, the old harbour, the Blue Lagoon on the way to the airport, and a day on the Golden Circle.

When to go

Pick the month, then the direction

Iceland is sailed from May to September, as the start or end of voyages to Greenland and Svalbard. The direction decides what you see. This is how we read it.

The sail north from Reykjavík to Svalbard by Jan Mayen, with puffins arriving on the cliffs, the midnight sun from mid-June and the sea ice still north of the island.

Wildlife

Who you meet, and when

Iceland holds the largest puffin population on earth and the most reliable whale coast in the Arctic voyages. Sightings are never promised. These are the odds as we know them.

Almost certain off Húsavík from June to September. Blue whales in June and July in a good year, the largest animal that has ever lived.

Things to do

How the days are spent

A town or a landing most days and a crossing between them, with the whales from the deck. All included on the ships we sell, except kayaking, booked in advance.

Guests walking a timber boardwalk across the tundra towards a green outport house on a Swan Hellenic Atlantic Canada landing

Coastal walks to the cliffs

Tidewater glacier front beneath snow-capped mountains seen on a Zodiac cruise in East Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Zodiac cruising below the waterfalls

Guest in an orange Ponant parka at the deck rail facing a glacier front and jagged mountains in Svalbard, on a Ponant Arctic expedition cruise

Whale watching from the rail

Bands of green northern lights stretching across a dark night sky off East Greenland, photographed on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Aurora watches on the open deck

Jagged peaks above an iceberg-strewn channel in the Bear Islands, Scoresby Sund, East Greenland, explored on a Swan Hellenic Greenland expedition cruise

Field notes

What the brochures leave out

Jan Mayen is the stop that sells these voyages and the one least likely to happen. The island is a Norwegian nature reserve, landings need a permit held by the operator, and the swell on the black beach at Kvalrossbukta turns most attempts away. The voyages on this site that plan a day there, aboard Le Lyrial, SH Diana, SH Vega and the Aurora ships Sylvia Earle and Douglas Mawson, all say honestly that the volcano is seen from the sea more often than from the shore. We tell you the odds before you book.

The practical things. Reykjavík is the easiest Arctic gateway from Australia: Sydney to Reykjavík in around 26 hours with one stop, and flights home the same way. Iceland is ten hours behind Sydney in summer and uses the króna, though nobody carries cash. Summer days sit between 8 and 15 degrees with wind and rain possible at any hour. Add two nights in the city at either end: the Golden Circle, the Blue Lagoon and a good restaurant are the right way to begin or end a polar voyage, and we book them with the ship.

  • 2,277 m volcano
  • 8 million puffins
  • 2 nights in Reykjavík

How we plan it

Four decisions, in the right order

An Iceland voyage is decided by where it goes next. This is the order we work in with every guest.

North to Svalbard in spring, west to Greenland in summer, or home from the ice in September. We tell you which gives you what you want.

What an Iceland voyage costs

From A$19,812 per person for ten nights aboard Sylvia Earle from Reykjavík to the Westfjords and Scoresby Sund in September, with the Reykjavík hotel night included.

From A$22,525 for ten nights aboard SH Diana or SH Vega from Reykjavík to Longyearbyen, and from A$20,900 southbound for thirteen nights aboard Le Lyrial from Longyearbyen to Reykjavík by Scoresby Sund.

From A$18,810 for thirteen nights aboard the Ponant sister ships from Reykjavík to Nuuk, and from A$28,414 for fourteen nights from Longyearbyen to Reykjavík aboard the Aurora ships.

Flights from Australia to Reykjavík, the nights in the city, kayaking on most lines and travel insurance are the usual additions. Many of these departures carry offers we hold for Arctic Cruise guests and do not publish. Call us and we quote the whole journey with them, in Australian dollars, on one proposal.


Expeditions

Expeditions from Iceland

Scoresby Sund under the aurora, the sail north to Svalbard by Jan Mayen, the crossing south from Longyearbyen, and the Greenland routes that begin in Reykjavík. Tell us the direction and we tell you which sailing, which ship and what we can do on the fare.

All expeditions
10 Nights
Aurora Expeditions
From A$19,812

Iceland and East Greenland, Under the Northern Lights

Reykjavík to Reykjavík in September, with a hotel night in Reykjavík included. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$19,812 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

10 Nights
Swan Hellenic
From A$22,525

Sailing North to Svalbard

Tromsø or Reykjavík to Longyearbyen. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$22,525 per person, charter flight home from Longyearbyen included, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

13 Nights
Ponant
From A$20,900

From Svalbard to Iceland

Longyearbyen to Reykjavík aboard Le Lyrial, by way of the north-west fjords of Spitsbergen, Jan Mayen and Scoresby Sund in East Greenland. One sailing, 4 to 17 August 2028, with the Paris to Longyearbyen charter flight included. From A$20,900 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

14 Nights
Aurora Expeditions
From A$28,414

Jewels of the Arctic: Svalbard and East Greenland

Oslo to Reykjavík, or the reverse, with the charter flight to Longyearbyen included. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$28,414 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

13 Nights
Ponant
From A$18,810

Expedition to the Edge of the Ice Sheet

Reykjavík to Greenland aboard a Ponant sister ship: Tasiilaq and the east coast, Prins Christian Sund, the Norse ruins of the south, Nuuk, Disko Bay and the Eqi glacier. Four sailings across 2027 and 2028, the Greenland to Paris flight included. From A$18,810 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

11 Nights
Swan Hellenic
From A$23,500

Viking Routes: Canada, Greenland and Iceland

Halifax to Reykjavík in May, Greenland to Canada in September. Sailings in 2027 and 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$23,500 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Go further

Pair Iceland with the rest of the Arctic

Reykjavík is the door to East Greenland, Svalbard and the west coast of Greenland. These are the destinations the voyages reach.

All expeditions

East Greenland

The longest fjord system on earth, the largest national park on earth and a coast with one settlement in a thousand kilometres. September brings the aurora. Ten days here changes what you think a fjord is.

Svalbard

Nine islands halfway between Norway and the Pole, where the bears outnumber the people and the sun does not set for four months. We have sailed every coast of it.

West Greenland and Disko Bay

The coast where the ice sheet reaches the sea. The fastest glacier in the northern hemisphere, the icebergs it sends into Disko Bay, towns of coloured houses on the rock and, in September, the aurora over the ice. The easiest Arctic to reach, and the one with the most icebergs.

Humpback whale surfacing in a cloud of spray in front of an iceberg, photographed on a PONANT Northwest Passage expedition cruise from Kangerlussuaq to Nome

Questions

Iceland and Jan Mayen, your questions answered

The crossings, the whales, Jan Mayen and getting there from Australia. If your question is not here, we are a call away.

Fly to Reykjavík, around 26 hours with one stop in Europe or North America. We book the long-haul flights, two nights in the city before you board and the hotel on the way home, so it is one booking with one specialist.

Sometimes. The island is a nature reserve with a landing permit held by a few operators, and the swell on the beach decides on the day. The voyages we sell that include it plan a full day there and see the volcano from the sea when the landing is off. We tell you the odds honestly.

June and July for the puffins, the whales and the midnight sun. September for the aurora and the southbound voyages from the ice. May for the sail north to Svalbard with the sea ice still close.

The Denmark Strait and the Greenland Sea are open ocean and can be lively for a night and a day. The Icelandic coast is sheltered. We tell you which ships and which cabins ride it best.

Sylvia Earle for an Australian team and the September aurora route, SH Diana or SH Vega for the sail north with the smallest group, Le Lyrial for the French crossing south from Svalbard, the Ponant sister ships for the Greenland crossings. We have sailed them all and we say which suits you.

Between 8 and 15 degrees in Iceland in summer, with wind and rain possible. Colder at Jan Mayen and across the strait. The ships provide the parka and boots. Bring layers, a waterproof shell and gloves for the deck at night.

Yes, two at least. The Golden Circle, the south coast, the Blue Lagoon and the restaurants of Reykjavík are the right way to begin or end a polar voyage, and we book them with the ship.

We have sailed these ships from these waters, we know which suite to ask for, and we hold offers on many departures that are only available by talking to us. One Australian specialist plans the whole journey and stays with you until you are home.

Made to measure

Tell us your Arctic, we build the rest

Every guest sails differently. Tell us what you are hoping for, the ice, the wildlife, the light, who you are travelling with, and we match it to the right sailing, the right stateroom and the right year, with flights from Australia and our own offers included. One Arctic Cruise specialist stays with you from the first call until you are home.

The Arctic, by destination

Other Arctic destinations

Seven coasts, each with its own season, its own ships and its own page. Tell us which one you are drawn to and we tell you how it fits with the others.

All expeditions

Svalbard

Nine islands halfway between Norway and the Pole, where the bears outnumber the people and the sun does not set for four months. We have sailed every coast of it.

East Greenland

The longest fjord system on earth, the largest national park on earth and a coast with one settlement in a thousand kilometres. September brings the aurora. Ten days here changes what you think a fjord is.

Northwest Passage and the Canadian Arctic

The sea route that Franklin died looking for and Amundsen took three winters to sail. Today it opens for six weeks a year, and the ships that go in come back with stories no other coast gives. Ice decides the route, every year, every morning.

Labrador and Newfoundland

The autumn coast, where the polar bears come down to a shore of red tundra, the Vikings built the first European houses in the Americas and a piece of France waits at the end. September, when the colour is on the tundra and the bears are on the shore.

West Greenland and Disko Bay

The coast where the ice sheet reaches the sea. The fastest glacier in the northern hemisphere, the icebergs it sends into Disko Bay, towns of coloured houses on the rock and, in September, the aurora over the ice. The easiest Arctic to reach, and the one with the most icebergs.

The Geographic North Pole

One passenger ship in the world can take you to the top of the planet, and she sails from Svalbard. Three days through the pack ice, two days on it, every direction south, and nothing else like it on any ship.