2016 Trip to the Arctic

Map courtesy of Quark Expeditions

We really enjoyed our Antarctica trip and within a few weeks of our return started thinking about a summer 2016 Quark Expeditions trip to the north polar region. The timing of this trip gives us plenty of time to replace the lost winter clothing that was packed in one of our Antarctica duffel bags that never arrived at San Francisco's baggage claim.

We looked at Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard itineraries but soon narrowed our focus on Norway's Svalbard archipelago. This area is known for sightings of polar bears, walrus, seabirds, whales and reindeer. This Svalbard itinerary also avoids allocating several days to open ocean crossings over the Denmark Sea, Barents Sea or Greenland Sea. Although all expedition ship itineraries are somewhat flexible, this should help maximize our zodiac and landing opportunities.

The 13 day trip will start in Longyearbyen and sail around Spitzbergen and disembark in Longyearbyen. The trip will be hosted on the Sea Adventurer, the same Quark ship that we sailed on during our Antarctica trip. Actually, we will be in the same exact cabin as we were in Antarctica. Booking this trip as soon as the Arctic itinerary was announced by Quark yielded us an early booking discount and a previous passenger discount for a total 30 percent off the published price for two passengers in a cabin.

We're still in reasonably good health and thought that its best to enjoy participating in some of the longer shoreline hikes while we can. Moreover, Quark Expeditions conducts a terrific polar adventure that is informative, safe and provides access to some of the most beautiful scenery and wildlife in the world.