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In Antarctica, keep your camera on-hand for unforgettable encounters with penguins, seals and whales, and occasionally leopard seals or orcas. In the Arctic, prepare to paddle under nesting bird colonies, past massive glaciers and around large iceberg. Crossing south of the Arctic Circle, we visit the Vega archipelago, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.
Day Norwegian Voyage: Northbound Bergen to Kirkenes
Tromso is another Norwegian destination known as a hub for aurora borealis viewing. In late January, there's a northern lights arts festival featuring top artists in various musical genres. As we explore your cruise itinerary together, you'll be able to sample various treats of the region in our on board restaurants - trying out local delicacies, with options for both lunch and dinner. Cruise & Travel is the UK’s highest-selling newsstand travel magazine dedicated to cruise holidays.
Sea Kayaking in Antarctica
Transfer to the pier for embarkation in the late afternoon, when you will have time to settle into your cabin before attending our mandatory safety briefings, and enjoy the thrill of departure as we ‘throw the lines’ and set sail. Officially certified proof of vaccination and booster will be required ahead of travel and we will require that it be emailed to Aurora no later than 15 days prior to departure. As mentioned, the lights like to appear in the wee hours — particularly between 11 p.m. An advantage in Norway is that it's dark enough to see them for a longer period as you get into the fall and winter.
P&O: Norway
Either this year or next is expected to be the so-called ‘solar maximum’, when the Sun’s activity is at its strongest. Planning a northern lights cruise to Norway in 2024 is expected to offer some of the best opportunities in years to witness one of nature's most spectacular displays. While it's difficult to book a northern lights Alaska cruise since cruises only sail during summer season, you may get lucky enough to see them if you take to the seas in September, which is the earliest you can expect the Aurora to appear.
P&O Cruises
And this is especially true in the Nordic region when the nights are at their longest. Unlike much of central Europe, where you can travel through many countries and only have to use the euro as currency, the Scandinavian countries within the Northern Lights region use their own version of the krone. If you’re travelling on a cruise holiday to see the Northern Lights in Norway, be sure to bring enough krone for the amount of time you’ll be there.
The Norwegian-owned Havila Voyages operates four newer environmentally friendlier coastal cruise ships that carry both people and cargo between Bergen and Kirkenes, year-round. The hybrid ships run on liquified natural gas and, for up to four hours, on 86-ton battery packs, for emissions-free sailing (the packs can be charged in ports with clean electricity). Done up in decor inspired by Norwegian landscapes, the vessels carry up to 468 overnight cruise passengers. The spectacular northern lights is a natural phenomenon that is most commonly seen in the sky above the Arctic Circle, between late autumn and early spring. As we are near North Cape in northern Norway, keep a close watch in hope of witnessing this dazzling spectacle in the night sky. The North Cape is located at a latitude of 71° 10´ 21 and is Europe’s northernmost point.
See wildlife unobtrusively
Our Northern Lights cruise sticks to the aurora zone in the Arctic Circle, but seeing the lights dance is only one part of your Northern Lights adventure. Viking Cruises’ 13-day In Search of Northern Lights itinerary, travels from London (Tillbury), England to Bergen, Norway (and in reverse), with multiple on-board lectures about the myths and science of the northern lights and tips on best photographing them. Passengers can opt-in for overnight wake-up calls, so they can get some sleep without worrying about missing a Northern Lights sighting. Seeing the northern lights on a cruise isn’t guaranteed (although at least one cruise line, Hurtigruten, does issue a guarantee for certain cruises. See below). But you will increase your odds of seeing the northern lights by being in the right place in the Arctic Circle at the right time. More days means more to discover, with extension packages you can add before or after your Viking cruise or cruisetour.
Hand-crafted Arctic Cruises
Visit the Lofoten Seafood Center and learn about the impressive cod fisheries and perhaps sample some local seafood. In true expedition style we encourage exploration and adventure, offering flexibility in challenging environments in a way that puts you among the action to see and do as much as possible. This itinerary is only a guide and subject to change due to ice and weather conditions. Aside from volcanoes, glaciers and geysers, one of the main reasons people have Iceland on their travel bucket list is because they dream of seeing the Northern Lights on display. Iceland is a sparsely populated country, so you don’t have to go far to get away from light pollution. It is most frequently visible in high-latitude regions in the Arctic and Antarctica, but most accessible between 10° and 20° of the North Pole in a band called the ‘auroral zone’.
Northern Lights cruise: An ultimate guide for 2023 - Good Housekeeping uk
Northern Lights cruise: An ultimate guide for 2023.
Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
There travelers can ride the Ofoten Railway for a day trip to Sweden, hike to Frostisen Glacier, or ski at the Narvikfjellet ski resort. The final port town on the itinerary is Stavanger, where the most popular attractions relate to the community’s maritime history. Quark Expeditions’ Northern Lights–themed sailings begin and end in Iceland, where sightings of the dancing aurora borealis are common in winter. The superb wildlife-viewing opportunities are endless in the astonishingly biodiverse nature reserves we visit.
Over the next few days we explore parts of Norway’s remarkable 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) coastline. Starting in North Cape, in the very north of the country, we make our way south, stopping in the Lofoten Islands and visiting mesmerising Mount Torghatten, famous for the hole through its centre. When the northern lights do appear, "more than likely the ship will turn off most of the exterior lights," Weber says. "But you can prepare as soon as you board the ship by scouting out the darkest spot outside, and up top on the ship." That may be away from the ship stairways and public rooms.
Havila Voyages and HX both offer a Northern Lights promise on cruises that depart from the scenic town of Bergen, Norway. However, most Northern Lights cruises visit just Norway, Iceland, and Greenland because those countries have open waterways that aren’t frozen over. Add another layer to your once-in-a-lifetime holiday and make the most out of your time in some of the most remote places on earth.
The temperature will be kept warm on the ship, so you’ll need lighter clothing too. We didn’t do any of the free excursions on this trip as we chose to walk around town on foot, but plenty of the cruise guests did the free excursions. This was one of our last sea days and it was a bit rocky from the ocean waves, so we hung out on the lower decks to minimize our seasickness. This is a good time to remind everyone to bring motion sickness pills as you never really know if the open ocean will be calm or not. We decided to arrive a couple of days early and explore the wonderful city of London. Staying in the center of the city at Covent Garden, it felt like walking through a movie set while we strolled through the elaborately decorated streets.
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