Anyone who’s spent constructive hours
roaming the world with an atlas has
probably pondered Russia’s Arctic north,
which spans 11 time zones and 135 degrees
of vastly remote longitude, a bracing
reminder that the earth may be almost
completely explored, but huge swaths
of it are seldom, if ever, visited.
Our voyage aboard the sturdy and comfortable Kapitan Khlebnikov takes us through one of the rarest of the world’s waterways, the Northeast Passage, from Russia’s far east through the Bering Straits, along the roof of Asia, to Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Russian efforts to link the country’s extremes by sea began in 1525, but not until the mid-1930s was the waterway officially (and fitfully) opened. The history of the many explorations and disasters during those 400 years holds a prominent place in Russia’s national mythology, especially the rescue in 1934 of the icebound Chelyuskin. Fans of the Arctic, or just fans of the faraway, will perk up at the great and evocative names of the places we visit and explore during our three-week voyage: the Bering Straits (with a look at America’s Little Diomede Island, from which it’s possible to walk over winter ice to Russia); the last redoubt of the woolly mammoth, Wrangel Island, to which we’ll make a helicopter visit; the polar bear haunts of the New Siberian Islands and Severnaya Zemlya; Cape Chelyuskin, the Asian mainland’s northernmost point; historic Novaya Zemlya; and, of course, Murmansk.
Our voyage aboard the sturdy and comfortable Kapitan Khlebnikov takes us through one of the rarest of the world’s waterways, the Northeast Passage, from Russia’s far east through the Bering Straits, along the roof of Asia, to Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Russian efforts to link the country’s extremes by sea began in 1525, but not until the mid-1930s was the waterway officially (and fitfully) opened. The history of the many explorations and disasters during those 400 years holds a prominent place in Russia’s national mythology, especially the rescue in 1934 of the icebound Chelyuskin. Fans of the Arctic, or just fans of the faraway, will perk up at the great and evocative names of the places we visit and explore during our three-week voyage: the Bering Straits (with a look at America’s Little Diomede Island, from which it’s possible to walk over winter ice to Russia); the last redoubt of the woolly mammoth, Wrangel Island, to which we’ll make a helicopter visit; the polar bear haunts of the New Siberian Islands and Severnaya Zemlya; Cape Chelyuskin, the Asian mainland’s northernmost point; historic Novaya Zemlya; and, of course, Murmansk.
Day 1: fly to Anchorage • Day 2: fly to Anadyr Russia • Days 3-5: Chukotka Peninsula • Days 6-7: Wrangel Island • Days 8-14: New Siberian Islands • Days 15-19: Severnaya Zemlya and Novaya Zemlya
• Days 20-21: Franz Josef Land • Days 22-25: Barents Sea, arrive in Murmansk, charter flight to Helsinki, return to USA.
The Northeast Passage
Trip Details
- There are currently no departures for this trip
25 daysActivity Type:
Expeditionary Voyaging
Trip Price:
From $24,700
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