Best time to visit the Arctic

The Arctic summer is not as bitterly cold as you might think, with almost 24-hour sunshine and wildflower-filled tundra.![]()

July-August is – for many – the loveliest time in the Arctic, as the sea ice has melted, leaving open waters to cruise through, while migrating whales breach the chilly surface. The Gulf Stream flows up Svalbard’s coast, creating a strangely mild oasis 1,200km north of the Arctic Circle. Earlier on the recently calved icebergs are more colossal, but the later you travel, the further north you can sail. By late September, however, the ice creeps southward again, and the Northern Lights begin to glow. Canadian and Russian cruises barely skim the Arctic Circle; the climate is much chillier, bringing ice – and polar bears – considerably further south.
When to go to the Arctic, month by month
Our Arctic cruising Vacations
Arctic icebreaker cruise, Spitsbergen
Wildlife-focused, expert-led small ship Arctic cruises
From
£2880 to £10230
8 days
ex flights
Arctic sailing voyages, North Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen tall-ship wildlife and natural history sailing
From
€2790
8 days
ex flights
Spitsbergen cruise, 6 days
A 6 day 'taster voyage' to explore Spitsbergen's highlights
From
£1311 to £1705
6 days
ex flights
Arctic sailing voyages, around Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen tall-ship wildlife and natural history sailing
From
€5640
15 days
ex flights
Greenland voyage cruise and northern lights
The world's longest fjord & spectacular Aurora Borealis
From
€3950
9 days
ex flights
Greenland adventure vacation, sea, land and air
Explore Southern Greenland from land, sea and air
From
£6400
9 days
ex flights



Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Arctic cruising or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.

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