Can you go to the North Pole by ship?

It is a question we are often asked: can you go to the North Pole by ship? The honest answer comes in two parts: the Pole itself is reserved for a handful of icebreakers, but Svalbard, the last inhabited shore before the Pole, already offers the Arctic at its most intense.

The North Pole, a point in the middle of a frozen ocean

The geographic North Pole, at 90° north, is not land: it is a point in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, covered by sea ice that is constantly drifting. To reach it by sea, a ship has to break through several meters of ice: only a few very powerful icebreakers go there, on exceptional, long and very expensive expeditions.

Polarfront is not an icebreaker: it is an ice-strengthened expedition ship, designed to sail safely along the edge of the sea ice, not to cross it.

Svalbard, at the gateway to the North Pole

Between 74° and 81° north, the Svalbard archipelago is the last inhabited shore before the Pole. Longyearbyen, where our voyages begin, is about 1,300 km from the North Pole; the northernmost coasts of the archipelago, about 1,000 km.

This is where the High Arctic begins: glaciers calving into the sea, deep fjords, sea ice in spring, polar bears, walruses, Svalbard reindeer and huge seabird colonies in summer.

Svalbard, the starting point of polar expeditions

So close to the Pole, Svalbard long served as a base camp for explorers. It was from Kongsfjorden, the “King’s Bay” that is now home to the Ny-Ålesund research station, that Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile’s airship Norge took off in May 1926 to fly over the North Pole.

Today, Ny-Ålesund still welcomes scientists from all over the world, who study the atmosphere, the glaciers and the climate of the Arctic. Kongsfjorden is part of the itinerary of our voyages along the west coast of Spitsbergen.

Experiencing the Arctic up close to the sea ice

In spring, the sea ice still surrounds much of the archipelago: our itineraries go looking for it, because it is the hunting ground of polar bears. In summer, when the ice retreats, Polarfront can push north and east. Each time, the itinerary adapts to the ice and the weather: nature decides.

On board, there are only twelve guests, with two naturalist guides: enough to experience these landscapes up close, by Zodiac and on foot, far from the crowds.

Our voyages to the High Arctic

• Polar spring in Spitsbergen: 10 days in April and May, all the way to the sea ice;
• Midnight sun in Svalbard: 10 days in August, toward the north and east of the archipelago;
• From Spitsbergen to East Greenland: 11 days at the end of summer, crossing the Greenland Sea to Scoresby Sound.

Any questions? Write to us: an advisor will reply within two business days.

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Polar spring in Spitsbergen

Midnight sun in Svalbard

Autumn escape to Svalbard

Autumn lights in Svalbard