Young Pioneer Tours
Svalbard: Soviet Frontier Arctic Cruise
Join YPT on a bespoke tour in the northern reaches of the world on a cruise around Svalbard visiting Russian settlements and abandoned coal mining outposts turned ghost towns! This year, the Summer Solstice is on Tuesday, June 21st, which means you’ll get the opportunity to experience the midnight sun throughout the trip!
Before the group tour starts join our not-to-be-missed Pyramiden tour extension at the beginning of the group tour as you head to an arctic ghost town – the abandoned settlement of Pyramiden, built by the USSR, which is still completely intact with Soviet style architecture and a monument to Lenin! Over 1000 people had lived in the city and was considered quite a successful community with a kindergarten, school, public swimming pool, a football field and a coal mine. In 1998 the coal mine was closed for good and the citizens were asked to vacated within a very short time. Sounds familiar? Very few tourists visit Pyramiden, make the most out of you Svalbard tour by including this extension for only €345.
The group tour will then embark on the m/v Ortelius – the most advanced vessel Polar Class 6 cruise ship which exceeds all the latest green requirements of the Polar Code, and brace yourself for one of the most inspiring natural environments on the planet, as well as ticking off most YPT boxes on this trip.
We begin your adventure in the main town of Longyearbyen where you’ll get a feel for the kind of people who live amongst reindeer and polar bears, before setting sail to the Monaco Glacier, a 5 kilometre long (3.1 miles) wall of ice that you can hear groaning and cracking as it slowly slides into the sea. Named after the first Prince Albert of Monaco, the base of the ice is a common hunting ground for polar bears.
You’ll then reach the northernmost point of your voyage with us within the Seven Islands. Here you will reach 80° north, just 870 km (540 miles) from the North Pole. Along the journey you’ll have the chance to spot mink whales, bowhead whales, blue whales, bearded seals, ringed seals, and various seabirds.
On our return we’ll stop and disembark at Barentsburg, an old Russian mining settlement still populated by about 500 people. Here even though we’re still officially in Norway we’ll see the northernmost statue of Lenin in the world and grab a drink at the northernmost brewery! We’ll then finish the voyage back in Longyearbyen with farewell drinks onboard.
Throughout this tour your guide be conducting a multi-activity programs for our YPT travellers interested in exploring such topics as geology, marine biology, glaciology, and macro-photography.
Pyramiden Tour Extension – €345
Saturday 18th June – Longyearbyen
- Arrival into Longyearbyen which has flights from Oslo or Tromso
- Longyearbyen is the main town in Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, and the northernmost settlement in the world.
- Meet at 6:00pm at our hotel for dinner and pre-tour meeting where you can get to know your fellow travellers and YPT guide
- Relax at Barentz Pub, the world’s northernmost bar. Fortunately being tax-free, a pint in Svalbard is way cheaper than the Norwegian mainland!
- Overnight in Longyearbyen Coal Miners’ Cabins
Sunday 19th June – Longyearbyen
- Breakfast at hotel
- Depart at 8:15am on a Hybrid Electric Catamaran and pass the glacier of Nordenskiöld
- Trip highlight – Arrive in Pyramiden – a former coal mining Soviet settlement which is now completely deserted but hauntingly complete – this former Swedish settlement was sold to the USSR in 1927 and abandoned in 1998
- We explore the abandoned settlement showing how the resident coal miners lived – it is predicted that because of the climate the buildings will remain largely as they are for another 500 years!
- See the world’s northernmost monument to Lenin!
- Check out the Pyramiden Monument, the old coal-fired power plant and Siberian style wooden barracks
- Board the board for lunch and return to Longyearbyen
- Refresh and rest at the hotel, and meet back at the Barentz Pub to meet the new arrivals for the Svalbard tour.
- Dinner and overnight and continue tour on the m/v Ortelius
Svalbard: Soviet Frontier Arctic Cruise Tour
Sunday 19th June – Longyearbyen
- Arrival into Longyearbyen which has flights from Oslo or Tromso
- Longyearbyen is the main town in Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, and the northernmost settlement in the world.
- Meet at 6:00pm at our hotel for dinner and pre-tour meeting where you can get to know your fellow travellers and YPT guide
- Relax at Barentz Pub, the world’s northernmost bar. Fortunately being tax-free, a pint in Svalbard is way cheaper than the Norwegian mainland!
- Overnight in Longyearbyen Coal Miners’ Cabins
Monday 20st June – Longyearbyen and the Beginning of the Voyage
- After breakfast, we begin exploring Svalbard. We may bump into reindeer but it’s not advisable to leave the town centre without a rifle because of polar bears!
- Head first to the Svalbard Museum which delves deep into the human history and rich natural history of the archipelago
- Lunch in Longyearbyen
- Visit the northernmost church in the world, Svalbard Church
- In the late afternoon we make sure we have all our provisions for the voyage
- Early evening departure on the m/v Ortelius from Isfjorden
- Look out for whales or just take in the scenery as dusk approaches
- Dinner and overnight on the ship
Tuesday 21nd June – Krossfjorden and Blomstrandhalvøya
- Breakfast on the ship
- We’ll continue our course to Blomstrandhalvøya, taking in the expansive fjord spilling with glaciers where we’ll be scanning the waters for ringed and bearded seals. The cliffs and shoreline of this fjord also support thriving seabird colonies, rich vegetation, and the possibility of polar bears.
- Visit Ny Ålesund, one of the northernmost settlements in the world, in the afternoon. Once a mining village, it is now a research center.
- Those who are interested in the history of Arctic exploration have the opportunity to visit the anchoring mast used by Amundsen and Nobile during their exploration journeys in 1926 and 1928, respectively.
- Lunch, dinner and overnight on the ship as we continue north along Krossfjorden, the west coast of Spitsbergen.
Wednesday 22rd June – The Northwest
- Breakfast on the ship as we approach Amsterdamoya, where we can go hiking and check out what’s left of a 17th century whaling station.
- Take in the beautiful scenery of Smeerenburgsleta. Photographers rejoice!
- Head out to the islands around Fair Haven in the afternoon.
- Lunch, dinner and overnight on the ship
Thursday 23th June – Raudfjorden
- Breakfast on the ship
- Arrive at Raudfjorden, located on the northern coast of Spitsbergen. Here you can enjoy the glacier-filled view of an expansive fjord and maybe even encounter some ringed and bearded seals.
- Raudfjorden is known for its thriving wildlife – we will do some wildlife watching from a safe distance.
- Dinner and overnight on ship
Friday 24th June – Liefdefjorden
- Breakfast on ship
- Weather-permitting, we will sail into Liefdefjorden and get see the face of Monaco Glacier. Otherwise, we will take an alternate route along the west coast of Spitsbergen near some great hiking areas.
- Lunch, dinner and overnight on ship
Saturday 25th June – North Spitsbergen
- Breakfast on ship
- We will spend the day doing outdoor activities around North Spitsbergen to be determined by the weather and wildlife situation.
- Lunch, dinner and overnight on ship
Sunday 26th June – Barentsburg
- Breakfast on the ship
- Our last stop before our vorage comes to an end is at Forlandsundet where walruses are well known to be.
- If the waters are in our favour we’ll visit Colesbukta, a former Russian coal mining settlement long since abandoned
- Trip highlight – we arrive in Barentsburg, the only Russian settlement in Spitsbergen still inhabited with a population of about 500 people, almost all of Russian or Ukrainian descent
- Explore this old mining town and meet its very friendly Russian locals, we’ll even head to the Russian consulate – the northernmost diplomatic mission of any kind in the world
- Visit the Barentsburg Pomor Museum, a Soviet era museum from the 1960s. The museum mainly deals with the Pomors – Russian settlers from the Novgorod region – but has great sections on the Second World War and Soviet Era as well as local history. Barentsuburg is named after the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz, who discovered Svalbarg in 1596, though the Russians claim it was Pomors who got there first.
- Get your kit off and swim in the heated seawater swimming pool
- Spot the Communist Star and Slogan “Peace to the World” on the hillside above Barentsburg
- This may be officially Norway still, but we’re still YPT and so we pay our respects to the statue of Lenin! Never will you see a statue of Lenin looking out over a fjord with the colourful Scandinavian style houses in the background.
- Grab a couple of drinks at the northernmost brewery in the world, the Red Bear
- Back aboard our ship for dinner and overnight
Monday 27th June – Longyearbyen
- We’ll arrive back into Longyearbyen at 9:00am
- End of tour with YPT with transfer to the airport according to your flight schedule. We are able to arrange extra activities like hiking or snow mobile expeditions for those who want more of a taste of Svalbard or airport transfer and onward transport.
Tour Extensions
Want to extend your YPT adventure? Join one of our great tour extensions
