SMART SPENDING
Destination Arctic cruise
Six things to do
1. Admire: the huge array of wildlife in the Svalbard Islands. Reindeer wander around Ny-Alesund. Arctic foxes are very hard to spot as they scamper along the rocky black beach of Bjornsundet or Bear Sound. Polar bears with their cubs were wonderful to see. In Alkefjellet there is a 100m cliff face that serves as a breeding colony for Brunnich’s guillemots – it is estimated there are 1 million birds swirling above the sea. There is also the colourful Atlantic puffin. While visiting the Hinlopen Strait we discovered a walrus haulout. Walrus are easily startled so you have to be silent so they don’t swim away.
the Svalbard Islands, which are part of Norway. You fly into Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen. The cruise ships tend to be small with around 180 guests as you need to get into narrow fjords and channels to experience the area.
