Aurora Greenland & Canadian Arctic Northwest Passage (Fly & Sail) 17D16N

Upon your arrival at Toronto, you’ll be met by representatives and transferred to your hotel. NOTE: The cruise route travels in reverse direction from Calgary to Canada. Please refer to a specific departure for the itinerary.

Spend the day unwinding before your great voyage ahead. You’ll stay at a harbourfront hotel overlooking the serene Lake Ontario. Relax in your spacious well-appointed rooms with ensuite bathrooms embracing stunning views of downtown or the lake from the comfort of your room. Rejuvenate at the expansive heated indoor swimming pool, laze at the sundeck or enjoy a game of tennis or squash onsite. Ease the jetlag with a stroll or jog along the harbourfront.

Come evening, you will be briefed about the voyage expedition enjoying a beautiful night with a welcome drink and associate with your fellow voyagers.

Today, be transferred to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, onboard an airplane to board the Greg Mortimer. Before embarkation, you’ll go on a short tour of this small town and meet some of the locals who call it home.

Gather on deck as we sail out of the Sondre Stromfjord and adore the sights of the majestic towering mountains that encloses it.

Eternity fjord, also called Evighedsfjorden, has one of the world’s most magical fjord complexes in West Greenland due to its forested landscape.

Breathe in the fresh crisp mountain air and be captivated as you take a walk along its forested valley. Marvel at the spectacular hills and mountains as glaciers and how they get snow-capped. A magical sight to witness! Find out about the spectacular natural show of thunderous sound of calving glacier breaking the silence around you.

This is the region where most icebergs can be found on earth. It’s dazzling scenery draws in explorers as it is spell-bounding as you stand in awe of its immensity. Hike to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed ice fjords, kayak afloat sea ice and icebergs, also enjoy a zodiac cruise along these scapes, conditions permitting.

Sermeq Kujalleq, also known as Jakobshavn Glacier, which is the most productive glacier in the entire Northern region. It produces about 20 million tonnes of ice each day, all floating into the Ilulissat ice fjord and Disko Bay.

Enjoy a Zodiac cruise at the mouth of the fjord and kayak through sea ice and icebergs if the weather is suitable. An optional 90-minute helicopter flight is available (at additional cost) for those who wish to see aerial views of all of Ilulissat.

On a hike with your tour guide, see the mountainous glaciated shorelines and bathe in the glorious aura of the black sandy beaches, hot springs and dramatic lava formations. Take a zodiac cruise in Disko Bay, famous for marine life including humpback, fin, minke and bowhead whales.

Our team of experts will keep you entertained with informative talks about wildlife, landscapes and the epic stories of early explorers such as Franklin and Amundsen. You then cruise up to Baffin Island, where fortunate souls may come across Greenland’s famous icebergs. Look out for an unspoiled world of various land and sea wildlife, such as humpback, sei, fin, sperm whales and also different species of seals, such as ring and harp seal.

Take the route from the east coast of Baffin Island as you make a stop at Isabella Bay. Visit a ground well known to serve as a large population of bowhead whales, their important summer and autumn feeding ground.

Come afternoon, discover the coastline of Bylot Island, filled with ice fields, steep cliffs, mountains and glaciers. Bylot provides a home to a large number of nesting animals. A number of unique species of arctic birds like thick-billed murres and black-legged kittiwakes’ inhabit this island. Their numbers are up to 74 different species. This island was included in the Sirmilik National Park, established in 2001, because of its natural arctic habitats and its beauty and diversity of the landscape.

Breathe the fresh chilly air of one of the largest members of the arctic archipelago at a latitude of almost 75 degrees north. This proves we are now at the High-Arctic where there is an abundance of support of wildlife through the nutrient- rich waters, that gives the area the nickname ‘Wildlife Super Highway’ of the arctic.

Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island on earth with its features of glacial valleys, and its stunning geology and majestic mountains giving it its uniqueness.

We may sail and explore Croker Bay or Maxwell Bay, both a good spot for zodiac cruising where we can hopefully spot beautiful walruses. Dundas Harbor offers smooth tundra walks and the area is great for birdwatching.

Learn the history and absorb the sights at the end of the west coast of Devon Island, Beechey Island, named after Frederick William Beechey. The island is one of Canada’s most spectacular arctic sites and is a designated Canadian Natural Historic site.

It holds a known historic event about the Franklin expedition that happened in 1845-1846. Franklin attempted to sail through the Northwest Passage but was unsuccessful with the terror of 3 of his men dying there. Roald Amundsen landed at Beechey Island in 1903. The first explorer to sail successfully during a voyage to fully transit to Northwest Passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

In true expeditionary style, the following days adventure relies in favorable weather and ice conditions with hope to discover the following amazing locations.

Prince Leopold Island: Floating away from Beechey Island, on your way towards the Southern side of Lancaster sound, beyond lies the towering bird cliffs of Prince Leopold Island. A historic site that holds the memories of the English explorer James Clark Ross where he searched for the missing Franklin expedition in 1948.

Prince Leopold Island is a land habituated by birds in the Canadian Arctic, with approximately 500,000 birds nesting in the summer. Ringed seals can also be spotted on the sea ice around the island and the polar bears are often sighted. The shallow grave beds attract beluga whales, who come to molt in this part of the Arctic every summer.

Cunningham Inlet: Check out the amazing scenery of hundreds of whales shedding their skin on shallow sandy banks. The local scenery makes a great place to take walks while being guided along waterway trails that lead to waterfalls and higher ground. All these take out on the north coast of Somerset Island.

Prince Regent Inlet, Fort Ross: On your way down the east coast of Somerset Island, there would be the beluga whales and narwhals on the large numbers of arctic char that enter Creswell Bay in late summer.

The Bay also serves as a bird area, as it attracts different species like black-bellied plovers, king eiders and white-rumped sandpipers. At Fort Ross, you get to see an abandoned Hudson’s Bay company trading outpost founded in 1937, which had to close up in 1949 because supply ships could not get through the thick sea ice.

Ballot Strait: This region has a deep, windy waterway bordered by steep slopes. Its windy currents are usually strong, swirling and tidal that requires an expert to navigate around the slack water (four times a day). It is important to note that, due to the strong currents that are up to 10 knots, Bellot strait is better transited during the Eastbound voyage, because if the path is blocked, there is an alternative to navigate North through Peel sound. On a West bound voyage, it would be necessary to navigate North through Prince Regent Inlet.

Coningham Bay: Across Victoria strait, Coningham Bay lies on the shores of Prince of Wales Island. This houses polar bears where these majestic creatures come hunting on beluga whales often trapped in the rocky shallows at the entrance of the bay. It is normal to find the shorelines littered with whale skeletons and huge, well-fed polar bears.

King William Island: Remains of the Franklin expedition have been found at 35 different locations on King William Island and on nearby Adelaide Peninsula. Then in 1859, a Franklin expedition tent camp was discovered at Cape Felix. South of Cape Felix, in Victoria Strait, we plan to visit Victory pint and get close to where the HMS Terror were abandoned in 1848.

Say your farewells to the crew, expedition team, fellow voyagers at Cambridge Bay, before a zodiac shuttle takes you ashore. You’ll be transferred to the airport to board a charter flight heading for Calgary, where you will stay the night at the beautiful Delta Hotel Calgary Airport.

Savour your final moments over breakfast before your journey back home, holding your spell-bounding memories and records of your amazing experience.

**NOTE:** This itinerary is provided as an example only – prevailing conditions and local arrangements may cause variation.