Logo
Turquoise meltwater and floating ice in front of the Croker Bay glacier, Devon Island, on a Swan Hellenic Arctic Canada cruise

Nunavut · Lancaster Sound to the Bellot Strait · 70° to 76° North

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.

Highlights

Why the Passage

Nowhere else in the Arctic does the history sit so close to the deck. The three Franklin graves of 1846 still stand above the beach at Beechey Island. The Hudson’s Bay post at Fort Ross was abandoned when the ice beat the supply ships. Erebus and Terror were found on the seabed in 2014 and 2016. Around it all is the largest wildlife corridor in the Canadian Arctic: the narwhal and beluga of Lancaster Sound, the bears of Somerset Island, the walrus and bowheads of Baffin Bay. And the ice decides, every year, how far anyone gets.

Franklin expedition graves on the gravel shore of Beechey Island, Nunavut, visited on a Swan Hellenic Northwest Passage cruise

The Franklin graves at Beechey

Aerial view of the crevassed Croker Bay glacier meeting the sea on Devon Island during a Swan Hellenic Arctic Canada cruise

The glaciers of Devon Island

Polar bear beside the old Hudson's Bay Company hut at Fort Ross, Somerset Island, photographed on a Swan Hellenic Northwest Passage cruise

Fort Ross and the Bellot Strait

Polar bear mother with cubs on a dark rocky shoreline in the Canadian Arctic, photographed from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic cruise

Polar bears on the Somerset shore

Smiling Inuit elder in a traditional fur-trimmed parka at Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, during a Swan Hellenic community visit

The Inuit communities of Nunavut

Signature locations

Where the voyages go

Ten places between Baffin Bay and the Bellot Strait. The ice sets the order, and some years it sets the limit.

Iceberg drifting below the snow-covered mountains of Bylot Island near Pond Inlet, Nunavut, on a Swan Hellenic Arctic Canada cruise

Pond Inlet

Mittimatalik, around 1,600 people on the north coast of Baffin Island, with Bylot Island and its icebergs across Eclipse Sound. The gateway to Lancaster Sound and the place to buy beadwork from the artist who made it.

When to go

Six weeks, and when to take them

The Passage opens in August and closes in September. The ice decides the route, and no two years are alike. This is how we read it.

Lancaster Sound clears first. Long days, sea ice still in Peel Sound and the Bellot Strait, bears close to the floes. The ships that sail now see the most ice and reach the fewest western sites.

Wildlife

Who you meet, and when

Lancaster Sound is the richest marine corridor in the Canadian Arctic, protected since 2019 as Tallurutiup Imanga. Sightings are never promised. These are the odds as we know them.

Likely. The Somerset and Devon coasts in August are among the best bear shores in the Arctic, with mothers and cubs on the beaches of Prince Regent Inlet.

Things to do

How the days are spent

Two outings a day, with Inuit bear guards ashore and the Zodiacs along the ice. All included on the ships we sell, except kayaking, booked in advance.

Guests gathered on the beach at Radstock Bay, Devon Island, after a Zodiac landing on a Swan Hellenic Arctic Canada cruise

Beach landings with bear guards

Guests hiking across the tundra past weathered whale bones at Radstock Bay, Devon Island, on a Swan Hellenic Arctic cruise

Tundra walks among whale bones

Guests in blue expedition jackets walking through the hamlet of Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, during a Swan Hellenic community visit

Community visits in Nunavut

Towering blue glacier ice wall under soft evening light in Croker Bay, Devon Island, on a Swan Hellenic Arctic Canada cruise

Zodiac cruising at the glacier fronts

Aerial view of fog rolling over the hills and turquoise shallows of Dundas Harbour, Devon Island, on a Swan Hellenic Arctic cruise

Field notes

What the brochures leave out

The Passage is the one Arctic voyage where the brochure route is a hope, not a plan. Some years the Bellot Strait is open by mid-August; some years the ice never lets go of Peel Sound and the ship turns at Beechey. The lines we sell here, Ponant, Quark Expeditions, Aurora Expeditions and Swan Hellenic, all run Polar Class 6 ships or better with ice pilots, and we tell you how each one handles a closed strait. Ask which year the ship you are considering got through.

The practical things. Voyages start in Greenland or in Canada, with charter flights from Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton or Reykjavík to Kangerlussuaq, Resolute or Cambridge Bay included in the fare. Nunavut is fourteen hours behind Sydney in August. Every community visit is arranged with the hamlet and the bear guards are local. There is no mobile coverage between the hamlets, only the ship’s satellite Wi-Fi. August days sit between 2 and 8 degrees, and the wind off the ice makes the parka the ship gives you the most used thing you own.

  • 6 weeks a year
  • 3 graves, 1846
  • 8 knots in the strait

How we plan it

Four decisions, in the right order

A Passage voyage is decided by the year, the ship and the direction. This is the order we work in with every guest.

Mid to late August gives the best odds on the strait. We tell you which sailings sit in it and what each ship did in the last two seasons.

What a Northwest Passage voyage costs

From A$36,870 per person for nineteen nights aboard the Ponant sister ships from Kangerlussuaq to Nuuk, Beechey Island and the Bellot Strait included, with the Paris flights at each end.

From US$22,871 for sixteen nights aboard Ultramarine with helicopters, or from A$30,601 for fifteen nights aboard the Aurora ships, Greenland to Cambridge Bay or Kugluktuk with the charter flights named in each programme.

From A$30,100 for sixteen nights aboard the Ponant sister ships to Pond Inlet and the Thule district of Greenland, Paris flights included.

Flights from Australia to the gateway city, hotel nights there, 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 through the Northwest Passage

The islands and the strait from Greenland, the full Passage to the western Arctic with helicopters or an Australian team, the Thule route to Pond Inlet and the Baffin coast to Newfoundland. Tell us the year and we tell you which sailing, which ship and what we can do on the fare.

All expeditions
19 Nights
Ponant
From A$36,870

In the Heart of the Northwest Passage

Greenland to Greenland by way of the Canadian High Arctic: Disko Bay, Pond Inlet, Devon and Somerset islands, the Bellot Strait and Beechey Island, aboard a Ponant sister ship. One sailing in 2027, one in 2028, Paris flights included. From A$36,870 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

16 Nights
Quark Expeditions
From US$22,871

Northwest Passage: In the Footsteps of Franklin

Reykjavík to Reykjavík via Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq, flights and helicopter flightseeing included. Two sailings in August 2027, with 2028 and 2029 to follow. From US$22,871 per person in US dollars, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

15 Nights
Aurora Expeditions
From A$30,601

Northwest Passage

Between Toronto or Reykjavík and Calgary, with charter flights to and from the ship included. Two sailings in 2027, two in 2028, with 2029 to follow. From A$30,601 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

16 Nights
Ponant
From A$30,100

Expedition to the Thule Region

Greenland to Greenland aboard a Ponant sister ship, north along the west coast past Disko Bay and the Karrat fjord to Savissivik and Thule, then across Baffin Bay to Pond Inlet. One sailing in August 2027, one in August 2028, return flights from Paris included. From A$30,100 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

13 Nights
Quark Expeditions
From US$12,921

Greenland to Newfoundland: Ice, Inuit and the Vikings

Fly Reykjavík to Kangerlussuaq, sail to St John’s. Four sailings from September 2027 to September 2028, with 2029 to follow. From US$12,921 per person in US dollars, 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 the Passage with the rest of the Arctic

Most Passage voyages begin in West Greenland and the longest ones finish on the coast of Labrador and Newfoundland. These are the routes that join them.

All expeditions
7 Nights
Ponant
From A$17,120

Disko Bay and Inuit Villages

Nuuk to Nuuk aboard Le Lyrial: the Eternity fjord, Disko Island, the Eqi glacier, the Karrat fjord, Uummannaq and the icebergs of Ilulissat in a single week. One sailing in September 2027, one in August 2028, return flights from Paris included. From A$17,120 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

17 Nights
Ponant
From A$22,370

Wilderness from Greenland to the East Coast of Canada

Nuuk to Halifax aboard a Ponant sister ship: Baffin Island, the Torngat Mountains, the Labrador coast, the Norse site of L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland and Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. Three sailings across September 2027 and 2028, the Paris to Nuuk flight included. From A$22,370 per person, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

15 Nights
Quark Expeditions
From US$19,281

West Greenland and the Far North: Ilulissat to Qaanaaq

Reykjavík to Reykjavík via Nuuk, flights across the Denmark Strait included. One sailing in September 2027, one in September 2028, with 2029 to follow. From US$19,281 per person in US dollars, planned with you by Arctic Cruise.

Polar bear mother and cub together on the shore at Croker Bay, Devon Island, photographed from SH Vega on a Swan Hellenic cruise

Questions

Northwest Passage and the Canadian Arctic, your questions answered

The ice, the odds, the bears and getting there from Australia. If your question is not here, we are a call away.

Fly to Toronto, Calgary or Reykjavík, around 22 to 26 hours with one stop, and join the charter flight to the ship that every fare includes. We book the long-haul flights, the night before the charter and the hotel on the way home, so it is one booking with one specialist.

Not always, and anyone who promises it is guessing. The Bellot Strait and Peel Sound are open in most Augusts and closed in some. The ships we sell carry ice pilots and alternative plans, and we tell you what each one did in the last two seasons before you book.

Mid to late August. The ice is at its most open, the bears are on the Somerset beaches with their cubs and the days are still long. September adds colour and the first aurora, and more swell in Baffin Bay.

Very likely. The shores of Somerset and Devon islands in August are among the best bear coasts in the Arctic, and the Zodiacs cruise them at the distance the bears set. No one can promise a sighting, and we never do.

The Ponant sister ships for the islands and the strait with Paris flights, Ultramarine for the full Passage with helicopters, Sylvia Earle or Douglas Mawson for an Australian team, SH Vega for the Baffin coast. We have sailed them all and we say which suits you.

Between 2 and 8 degrees by day in August, lower in the wind off the ice, and below zero in September. The ships provide the parka and boots. Bring thermal layers, waterproof trousers, a down jacket and gloves you can work a camera in.

Yes, usually Pond Inlet and one or two hamlets along the route, arranged with each community. Expect a cultural performance, a chance to buy carvings and beadwork from the artists, and bear guards from the hamlet on every landing nearby.

We have sailed these ships in 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.

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.

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.