Day 1: | arrive Anchorage
fly UK to Anchorage* and transfer by taxi (not included) to the Millennium Hotel or similar for an overnight stay – rest of the day at leisure. |
Day 2: | Anchorage to Provideniya
fly to Provideniya, board ship and set sail. |
Day 3: | at sea aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov |
Days 4-5: | Bering Strait & Yttygran Island
experience the centuries-old mysteries of Whalebone Alley on Yttgran Island. This sacred place for native whalers has an eerie feel about it even today. Ten thousand years ago, North America’s first peoples may have walked across the Bering Strait on a bridge of ice. Now, this narrow stretch of water separating Alaska from Siberia is a pathway for migrating marine mammals and seabirds. Small wonder it has been identified by the World Wildlife Fund as being of biological and cultural significance. |
Days 6-8: | Beaufort Sea
the journey through the fabled Northwest Passage begins. Travel through the Beaufort Sea and past Point Barrow. The Arctic pack ice makes this route almost impossible to navigate; just over 100 transits have been completed. As one of very few polar icebreakers in the world, Kapitan Khlebnikov makes it seem easy and watching the ship cut through ice can be as thrilling as the scenery that surrounds you. |
Days 9-11: | Herschel Island & Franklin Bay
voyage past Herschel Island, once home to the woolly mammoth, and into Franklin Bay. Gaze into the same luminous polar sky as Amundsen, who wintered at nearby King’s Point. During the Zodiac excursion to Pauline Cove, a winter refuge for 19th century ships, keep your eyes open for bowhead whales and polar bears which may be spotted in and around the bay. Take a moment to soak up the vast and humbling northern landscape as well as the wide skies above rolling hills of velvet tundra, coloured with thousands of plants. |
Days 12-14: | Amundsen Gulf & Victoria Island
continue through Amundsen Gulf, now in the footsteps of the great polar explorers. With hot food, comfortable beds and warm thermal parkas, it is difficult to imagine how the early Europeans coped without the comforts of home. And it must have been quite a sight for local inhabitants to see them dressed in cocked hats, tailcoats and buckled shoes! See the remains of Maud, Amundsen’s three-masted schooner in which he sailed across the polar basin during 1922- 24. Make a landing on Victoria Island then continue through the Dolphin and Union Straits, ever on the look out for more whales, polar bears and musk oxen. |
Days 15-16: | Larsen Sound & Boothia Peninsula
sail into Victoria Strait, where the search for the remains of Franklin’s expedition finally ended in 1859. Throughout the journey, visit these and many other historic sites while shipboard experts entertain and educate on the thrilling history associated with every nautical mile. Head north along the Boothia Peninsula via Larsen Sound and into Lancaster Sound, this time watching for polar bears and the rare narwhal. |
Day 17: | Beechey Island
the final stop is a poignant one: Beechey Island, where Franklin and his men spent a winter before disappearing. Today, join the list of the privileged few who can claim to have sailed the Northwest Passage. |
Day 18: | Resolute to Ottawa
travel back to civilization and a final night at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa. |
Day 19: | depart Ottawa
after breakfast spend time at leisure before transferring by taxi (not included) to the airport for the flight home*. |
Note: | *Flights from the UK to Anchorage are normally via either Vancouver or Seattle (these exciting cities are well worth a visit in their own right), with direct flights from Ottawa to the UK – please contact our team should you wish to extend your holiday or discuss flight options. |