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Nuuk's houses, apartment blocks and harbour with the snow-capped Sermitsiaq mountain rising behind, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise

Arctic Guides

Getting to the Arctic from Australia: Gateways, Charters and Paperwork

Oslo, Paris, Reykjavík or Toronto, then a charter north. The journey in two stages, the visas, the insurance and the two rules we never bend.

The Arctic is the far side of the planet from Sydney, and the journey is the part of the trip most guests worry about and most brochures skip. It is long, it is in two stages, and it is entirely manageable if it is planned as one booking. This is how we do it: the gateways, the charters, the paperwork and the mistakes we see people make.

In short

Every Arctic voyage from Australia has the same shape: a long-haul flight to a European or North American gateway, a night there, and a charter or short scheduled flight to the ship the next morning. Around 24 hours in the air, two nights before you board, and a time difference of 8 to 14 hours.

The gateways, by coast

  • Svalbard: Oslo, Copenhagen, Paris or Helsinki, then a three-hour flight to Longyearbyen. Aurora flies from Oslo, Swan Hellenic from Copenhagen, Ponant from Paris, Quark from Helsinki, each with the charter in the fare. Oslo also has scheduled SAS and Norwegian flights for guests who want to arrive early.
  • West Greenland: Reykjavík, Paris or Copenhagen, then a charter to Kangerlussuaq or a flight to Nuuk, which has taken direct flights from Copenhagen since its new airport opened in late 2024.
  • East Greenland and Iceland: Reykjavík, and the ship sails from the harbour. The easiest Arctic start there is.
  • The Northwest Passage and Canada: Toronto, Calgary or Edmonton for the charters to Resolute, Cambridge Bay or Kangerlussuaq, or Reykjavík and Paris for the voyages that start in Greenland. Halifax and St. John’s for the autumn coast, home via Toronto or Montreal.
  • The North Pole: Paris, and Ponant’s charter to Longyearbyen.
Rooftops of historic timber houses in the Colonial Harbour with the red cathedral spire beyond, in Nuuk, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise
Yellow timber house in the foreground with the red Nuuk Cathedral and its spire behind, in the Colonial Harbour district of Nuuk, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise
Colourful kayaks stored on wooden racks by the shore with the houses and apartment blocks of Nuuk behind, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise

Getting to the gateway

From the east coast of Australia, Europe is one stop away through Singapore, Doha, Dubai or Abu Dhabi, around 22 to 24 hours door to door to Oslo, Copenhagen or Paris. Reykjavík adds a connection in London, Copenhagen or Helsinki. Perth is two to three hours closer. For the Canadian routes, Vancouver is 14 hours direct from Sydney and Toronto or Calgary a further four to five. We book the long-haul flights around the charter, never the other way round, because a missed charter means a missed ship.

Two rules we do not bend. Arrive at the gateway at least one full day before the charter, two if you can, because a delayed long-haul connection with no buffer is the one risk on this journey that cannot be fixed on the day. And fly home from the end of the voyage, not the start: Reykjavík, Halifax and Paris all have direct connections, and the day in the city on the way home is the best recovery from a fortnight in the ice.

The charter, and the luggage

The charter is included in most fares and it is the leg people forget to plan around. It leaves early, it is often from a different terminal, and it has a luggage limit, typically around 20 kilograms checked plus a cabin bag, which the operator confirms with the documents. The parka and boots are waiting on the ship, so you pack less than you think. We send a packing list with every proposal, and our packing guide covers the detail.

Red and green timber houses on grassy slopes of Sisimiut's old quarter under low mist, with the harbour beyond, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise
View over the colourful rooftops of Sisimiut down to the harbour and sea under a clear blue sky, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise
View from shoreline rocks across still water with ice floes to the houses of Sisimiut and snowy hills, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise

Passports, visas and the paperwork

  • Norway, Iceland and the Schengen area: no visa for Australians for stays under 90 days. Svalbard sits outside Schengen, so you pass a passport check on the way back into Norway. The European Union is introducing ETIAS, an online travel authorisation for visa-free visitors; we tell you whether it applies to your dates.
  • Greenland: no visa for Australians. Greenland is Danish territory outside Schengen, so carry your passport ashore.
  • Canada: an eTA, applied for online in minutes before you travel.
  • Saint-Pierre and Miquelon: a French territory off Newfoundland; no visa, passport required.
  • Your passport: valid for six months beyond the voyage, with blank pages. Carry it ashore in Greenland and Canada; the villages are international borders.

Insurance, and why it is not optional

Every line we sell requires polar travel insurance as a condition of boarding, with cover for medical evacuation from the Arctic, which can run into six figures. Most standard Australian policies cap evacuation or exclude expedition cruising. We arrange a policy that meets each line’s requirement and put it on the proposal. Take it before you pay the deposit, so the cancellation cover starts from the first dollar.

Houses and harbour of Sisimiut beneath misty, snow-dusted hills on a grey day, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise
Sisimiut and its pointed mountain mirrored in perfectly calm water under a blue sky with white clouds, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise
Dark glacier-polished rocks framing a narrow inlet that leads towards the houses of Sisimiut and snowy hills, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise

Time zones, jet lag and the light

Svalbard and Paris are eight hours behind Sydney in the Australian winter, Reykjavík ten, Greenland twelve, Nunavut fourteen. The first two nights at the gateway are not a luxury; they are how you board the ship awake. The light is the other adjustment. In June the sun does not set anywhere you are going, and the cabins with proper blackout blinds matter more than the ones with the largest windows. We know which ships have both.

How we build it

One proposal, in Australian dollars: the voyage with the charter, the long-haul flights around it, the nights at the gateway, the insurance, the days you add in Reykjavík or Paris, and the transfers between all of them. One specialist holds every moving part, and one number reaches us from the airport if anything moves. That is the whole point of booking the journey rather than the cruise.

Colourful houses of Sisimiut spread across rocky tundra towards the sea on a bright, cloudless day, West Greenland, on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega expedition cruise

Sisimiut on a cloudless day, seen from the rocky slopes on the edge of town. Photographed on a Swan Hellenic SH Vega voyage. © Swan Hellenic

Questions we are asked about the journey

How long is the flight from Sydney to Svalbard?

Around 24 hours to Oslo or Paris with one stop, a night there, and three hours to Longyearbyen the next morning. Door to door, two days.

Can we fly direct to Greenland?

Not from Australia. Nuuk takes direct flights from Copenhagen since late 2024, and the charters from Reykjavík and Paris reach Kangerlussuaq. We route you through whichever gateway suits your sailing.

Do we need a visa for the Arctic?

No visa for Norway, Iceland or Greenland for Australians, an eTA for Canada. Keep an eye on ETIAS for Europe; we tell you if it applies to your dates.

What if the long-haul flight is delayed and we miss the charter?

That is why we build in a full day at the gateway and why the insurance covers missed connections. With a day in hand it almost never happens, and if it does, we are on the phone before you land.

Tell us your sailing and your home city and we send the whole journey on one page. Start with the expeditions or when to go.

Made to measure

Tell us your Arctic, we build the rest

One Australian specialist matches the month, the coast, the ship and the stateroom to the way you travel, with flights from Australia and our own offers included.