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Silver Wind

The Silver Wind is a is a modern and luxurious ship providing cosy ambiance for the 240 passengers on board (she has capacity for 254 passengers but only takes 240 to the polar regions). Originally built in 1995, she has undergone refurbishments in December 2018 with a second planned for summer 2020. She is timelessly elegant and full of opulence throughout all of her 6 passenger decks. Her new and improved strengthened ice-class hull makes for ease and adaptable sailing through the Polar Regions for whatever the conditions may bring.

Day 1 Reykjavik, Iceland

Day 2 Sudereyri & Bolungarvik

Suðureyri is a small Icelandic fishing village perched on the tip of the 13 km-long Súgandafjörður in the Westfjords. The community was isolated for years by the huge mountains and rough road that led over them. Now it is connected to Ísafjörður by a 5 km tunnel. The village has tours set up to allow visitors to experience traditional Icelandic life firsthand. This includes going out on original fishing boats or visiting the fish factory in town. You can also go swimming in a geothermal swimming pool.

Bolungarvík is a small town and the only built-up area in the municipality of Bolungarvíkurkaupstaður in the northwest of Iceland, located on the Westfjords peninsula, approximately 14 kilometres from the town of Ísafjörður and 473 km from the capital city Reykjavík. It was one of Iceland’s oldest fishing outposts and is close to abundant fishing grounds as well as a natural history museum where a polar bear specimen and the biggest bird collection in Iceland can be seen. Skálavík bay can be reached by gravel road over a mountain pass. That same road also leads to the top of the Bolafjall mountain (638 m.) with views of the village of Bolungarvík, the Ísafjarðardjúp fjord, the Jökulfirðir fjords and the Hornstrandir nature reserve. The surroundings of Bolungarvík are destinations for hiking, horse riding, sea angling and birdwatching.

Day 3 Siglufjordur

A tiny town in the scenic north of Iceland, cosseted away by a jagged wall of mountain peaks, Siglufjordur is an isolated gem. With just over a thousand residents, Siglufjordur takes its name from the glassy fjord that stretches out nearby. Iceland’s northernmost town, only a single-lane road tunnel, bored through the snow-capped mountains, provides a land link with the rest of the country. Siglufjordur is a historic Atlantic capital of herring fishing, and you can learn of the industry that gave the town its purpose, and powered Iceland’s economy at the award-winning Herring Era Museum. Take a boat out around the scenic fjord, or embark on lengthy hikes out and above this romantically isolated outpost.

Day 4 Husavik

There’s simply nowhere better than Husavilk – the European capital of whale watching – for getting up close and personal with the majestic giants of the ocean. Pretty Husavik is framed by the majestic Húsavíkurfjall mountain, which swells up behind, creating a stunning backdrop for the town’s tiny wooden warehouses, cherry red houses and undulating fishing ships. Sail among gentle giants in Shaky Bay, spotting humpbacks, minke whales and the world’s biggest – blue whales. Hikes and horse rides into the surrounding countryside can take you up around Lake Botnsvatn, to views down from the slopes of the Húsavíkurfjall – where purple spired lupin flowers spill down amongst the emerald slopes. From the summit, look out over views of the bay, reaching out to the crumpled snowy peaks beyond. Or feel the full force of this land of natural power, at Dettifloss Waterfall, one of Europe’s most powerful, thrashing flumes.

Day 5 At Sea

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, whale watching or catching up on your reading, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Day 6 Jan Mayen Island

Humpback and minke whales cavort and feed in the waters around the impressive volcanic island of Jan Mayen with its towering ebony peaks and broad black lava beaches. The primordial landscape is dominated to the north by the 7,500 feet high (2,300 meters) Mt Beerenberg, an active volcano covered in glacial ice that last erupted in 1985. With permission from the Norwegian authorities, a landing is possible at this rarely visited outpost. Visitors may walk to the research and weather station, or beyond, for birds-eye views of the meteorological station and the long black sandy eastern shore of the island. Birds to be seen here may include Atlantic Puffins, Northern Fulmars, and Snow Buntings.

Day 7 -9 Expedition Northeast Greenland

Cruise through several magnificent fjords within the Northeast Greenland National Park- this national park is so huge, that of all European countries, only Russia is larger. Despite its size, there are hardly any residents apart from a handful of scientists and members of the Danish Elite Sirius Patrol. Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord with its mountains reaching heights of close to 2,000 meters will be one of the options for cruising and based on ice conditions landings will be selected for nature walks.

Days 10-13 Scoresby Sund

Scoresbysund is the ultimate fjord system; likely the longest, largest and deepest of any in the world. The massive fjord is tucked into the eastern coast of Greenland and on the icy western edges of the Greenland Sea. Scoresbysund’s scale deserves several days to explore, especially while plying the waters between castle-sized icebergs as they gently drift under the persuasion of the Arctic waters. Scattered in the remote bays and smaller fjords are places to discover; old Inuit settlements, slowly growing over with Arctic willow and dwarf birch. The lower slopes of many mountains are draped in the herbs and grasses favoured by muskox, Arctic fox, lemmings, Ptarmigan, Barnacle Geese, and Snowy Owls. Tundra walks give impressive views of landscape, flora and fauna. Not to be neglected, the waters of Scoresbysund warrant a vigilant eye for sightings of whales, seals, narwhals, beluga whales and walrus.

Days 14 Ittoqqortoormiit

On the northern side of the entrance to the Scoresbysund fjord system stands Ittoqqortoormiit, the only permanent settlement in the region. The population here is approximately 430 people, largely dependent on a subsistence lifestyle. The inhabitants make their living hunting seals, narwhals, muskoxen and polar bears. Ittoqqortoormiit is the northernmost settlement on Greenland’s east coast, apart from a few meteorological and military stations. Brightly colored, quaint little houses and dogsled enclosures dot the rocky slopes of the settlement

Day 15 At Sea

Days at sea are the perfect opportunity to relax, unwind and catch up with what you’ve been meaning to do. So whether that is going to the gym, visiting the spa, whale watching or catching up on your reading, these blue sea days are the perfect balance to busy days spent exploring shore side.

Day 16 Disembark Reykjavik

Today you will arrive back in Reykjavik. Spend the day enjoying the Blue Lagoon thermal baths, visit some local hot springs or walk to city to view the impressive architecture of Reykjavik before heading off for your flight home.