If you’re planning a trip but are looking for something that’s definitely not run of the mill, an expedition to the Arctic could be right up your street. After all, there aren’t many people who have explored one of the world’s last true wilderness areas.
While other travellers are sunning themselves on beaches in south-east Asia, city hopping around Europe or exploring South America, you could be having encounters with incredible animals like polar bears and taking in spectacular landscapes – sound good?
Read on to find out more about what you can see and do in the Arctic. For further inspiration, check out these itinerary suggestions.
Why Go to the Arctic?
Let’s be honest, there are very few true wilderness areas left in the world, with humans encroaching on an increasing number of habitats. The extreme cold in the Arctic winter means that it’s one of the only parts of the planet that people have yet to extensively colonise.
So, if you’re really hoping to escape from everyday life on your gap year, you certainly won’t find many better places to do so. On top of this, the Arctic region is home to some absolutely breathtaking scenery, from fjords and glaciers to icebergs and towering cliffs.
Of course, you’ve also got the amazing Arctic wildlife to look out for, with a host of mammals and birds found throughout this incredible region.
Best Arctic Tour Companies
• Browse Arctic tours, cruises and expeditions with G Adventures.
Wildlife in the Arctic
Undoubtedly the biggest draw of Arctic holidays is the chance to see wildlife that’s found nowhere else in the world. The mighty polar bear is one of the prime attractions, but so too are the seal and bird colonies that can be observed here during the summer months – when Arctic cruises are typically run.
As well as polar bears, you should keep an eye out for reindeer, caribou, musk oxen and Arctic foxes on land, while in the skies overhead you may spot peregrine falcons, albatrosses and bald eagles.
There are also vast nesting colonies of birds like puffins, kittiwakes and Arctic terns. Seeing and hearing these gatherings is a truly unique experience and one unlike any other. Depending on when in the summer you travel, you may even see fledglings taking their first flights.
The Arctic waters are rich in nutrients and it’s here that you’ll find some of the region’s most impressive animals. Beluga whales, narwahls, orcas, walruses and bowhead whales are just some of the large marine mammals you’ll find offshore.
Adventure
One of the great things about visiting the Arctic is that you won’t be confined to a boat – you’ll have the chance to go ashore and hike in this vast wilderness, too. Many tours of the region head to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, with its largest island – Spitsbergen – offering plenty of hiking opportunities.
Polar bears inhabit this land, so where and when you can go ashore will often be dictated by the wildlife that’s around at the time. Another option to help you get a good view of the Arctic’s animals is to use a small zodiac to bring you closer to shore without actually landing.
Make sure you have your camera ready whenever you head towards land, as you never know what you might see on or around the shoreline.