HIGHLIGHTS
- Follow
the footsteps of polar explorers and experience highlights of the
Canadian Arctic
- Search
for iconic Arctic wildlife such as polar bears and muskox
- Enjoy
flightseeing and heli landings with Ultramarine's two onboard
helicopters
- Cruise
in a Zodiac to get up close to glaciers, fjords, icebergs and more
- Learn
about the environment and wildlife from our onboard polar experts
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person
|
| Start Date | End Date | From EUR | From USD |
|---|
Mandatory Transfer Package Details:Package
Cost: USD 1,995 per person
- One
night's pre-expedition hotel accommodation in Toronto
- Group
transfer from the Toronto hotel to the airport
- Charter
flights between Toronto and Resolute
- Group
transfers between the Resolute airport and the ship
- Group
transfer from Toronto airport to the hotel on disembarkation day
- One
night's post-expedition hotel accommodation in Toronto
Rates are listed per person
|
| Start Date | End Date | From EUR | From USD |
|---|
Mandatory Transfer Package Details:Package
Cost: USD 1,995 per person
- One
night's pre-expedition hotel accommodation in Toronto
- Group
transfer from the Toronto hotel to the airport
- Charter
flights between Toronto and Resolute
- Group
transfers between the Resolute airport and the ship
- Group
transfer from Toronto airport to the hotel on disembarkation day
- One
night's post-expedition hotel accommodation in Toronto
ITINERARY
Day
1 - Arrive in Toronto, Canada
Your
Arctic expedition begins in Toronto. Explore this vibrant city on your
own before spending the night at your well-appointed hotel.
Day
2 - Fly to Resolute and Embark
This
morning, board your charter flight to Resolute. Upon arrival, you may
have a chance to check out some of the town’s sites before
being transferred to your ship via Zodiac or helicopter (depending on
ship location and weather conditions).
Days
3 to 7 - Exploring Canada’s High Arctic
Winding
your way around the remote islands of the Canadian High Arctic aboard
Ultramarine, the newest ship in our fleet, you’ll navigate
the same icy inlets, channels and bays that fascinated legendary
explorers of long ago as they searched for the fabled Northwest
Passage, the great sea route at the top of the world. Designed to give
polar adventurers unprecedented access to the hardest-to-reach places
on the planet—and equipped with two onboard twin-engine
helicopters for unparalleled access to areas only Quark Expeditions can
bring you—this one-of-a-kind ship, in its inaugural year,
will take you beyond the familiar in polar exploration. Throughout your
journey, your Expedition Team will work hard to give you a taste of the
best the Arctic has to offer, immersing you in the heart of the
Northwest Passage in under a week.
Remember
that no two polar voyages are alike, since each expedition presents new
opportunities and different weather and ice conditions. While this
voyage has no fixed itinerary, our objective is to visit as many of the
incredible highlights this season has to offer, using the opportunities
provided by the weather and ice to give you the best experience. Each
day, your highly skilled Expedition Team will read the conditions and
choose the best course to set, but despite their extensive expertise in
these areas, each visit brings something new to discover. That said,
our expeditions will have some elements in common, including daily
Zodiac cruising, land excursions, a robust education program, a
community visit and wildlife viewing opportunities. And thanks to our
onboard helicopters, you’ll also discover the ultimate polar
expedition experience: as stunning as polar landscapes are from your
ship, they’re even more striking from the air! Conditions
permitting, you’ll enjoy ultra-immersive activities like
flightseeing (short sightseeing flights around your ship and
surrounding areas) and heli-landings (flying to places we could not
otherwise access for shore excursions), two breathtaking options that
are unique to Ultramarine and give you an exhilarating polar experience
like no other.
While
this waterway is known to European cultures as the Northwest Passage,
this area has nurtured and sustained the Inuit and their predecessors
who have called these shores home for almost 5,000 years. Moving
through these remote landscapes you will be traveling through the
ancestral homelands of this ancient culture, illuminated in person by
Inuit guides onboard and ashore. Nunavut is an Inuktitut word meaning
“our land” and the Nunavummiut (the people of
Nunavut) are renowned for their incredible resourcefulness,
hospitality, good humor, and a deep knowledge of the land and animals
that has allowed them to thrive in the far north for millennia.
Remote
and rich in history, the Canadian High Arctic is as awe inspiring as it
is informative. Your days spent exploring this mysterious region will
have you traveling back in time to the Age of Exploration. While
following in the footsteps of famous explorers like Sir John Franklin
and Roald Amundsen, you’ll navigate the waters and visit the
historic sites in the area around Lancaster Sound that were key to the
discovery of the Northwest Passage. You’ll also learn about
the scientific, cultural, geopolitical and environmental aspects of the
route from our world-class experts, guides and the local communities.
Reaching remote lands that have lured adventurers for centuries and few
have ever set foot on will be an experience you’ll never
forget.
Wildlife
sightings are almost guaranteed, as many of the areas we hope to
explore are home to a surprising number of birds and mammals that
thrive in this challenging environment. You’ll likely see
polar bears, muskoxen and several bird species, such as gyrfalcons and
dovekies (little auks). If you’re lucky, you may even spot
the elusive narwhal or arctic wolf, though sightings of these iconic
creatures in the wild are rare, even in places where we have the
highest chances of encountering them.
Coburg
Island, for instance, is a wildlife reserve for such birds as snowy
owls and peregrine falcons, while the impressive vertical cliffs of
Prince Leopold Island are dotted with nesting seabirds like northern
fulmars and black guillemots. The sheltered shores and steep cliffs of
Arctic Bay, a hamlet located off of Admiralty Inlet, provide an ideal
nesting habitat for various High Arctic birds such as snow geese,
thick-billed murres (Brünnich’s guillemots) and
kittiwakes. Occupied by Inuit nomads for almost 5,000 years, this
traditional community is also an ideal spot to go ashore and learn more
about the Inuit culture, sampling the local cuisine and mingling with
artists, perhaps picking up carvings or other handicrafts as a memento
of your polar adventure.
Devon
Island is another possible locale for wildlife encounters, as walrus,
polar bears and muskoxen inhabit the area, which is also the location
of the remains of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police outpost, established
at Dundas Harbour in 1924 to curb foreign whaling and other activities.
Nearby is a small cemetery, one of Canada’s most northerly,
still maintained by the RCMP to this day. Another exciting excursion
your Expedition Team might offer, conditions permitting, is the
opportunity to fly up to explore the Devon ice cap, one of the largest
in the Canadian Arctic.
At
the western end of Devon Island, windswept Beechey Island might be
small, but it’s steeped in history, as its flat beach and
safe anchorage made a suitable stopover for Arctic expeditions.
You’ll want to pay your respects to the ill-fated Franklin
expedition of 1845–46 at the small marked graves of three
crew members on the island, one of Canada’s most significant
Arctic sites. This is also where Norwegian Roald Amundsen stopped to
pay his own respects to his childhood hero, Franklin, during his
1903–06 voyage, which became the first successful transit of
the Northwest Passage in history.
History
buffs will be further intrigued by the chance to explore an abandoned
Hudson’s Bay Company trading post at Fort Ross, at the
southern end of Somerset Island.
Nearby
is the Bellot Strait. One of the goals of this expedition is to transit
this famous channel, one of the most narrow and challenging of the
passage. If we’re successful, at the midpoint
you’ll sail past Zenith Point, the northernmost point of
continental North America. Named for Frenchman Joseph Bellot, one of
several explorers who set out in the 1850s to search for
Franklin’s doomed expedition, the strait separates Somerset
Island from the Boothia Peninsula on mainland Canada. (On Beechey
Island, you can visit the memorial to Bellot, who disappeared during
his search for Franklin.)
Those
looking for even more excitement may have the opportunity to cruise by
Zodiac along the face of an active glacier near Croker Bay, Devon
Island and possibly even witness the wonders of calving ice, at a safe
distance. Listen closely for the steady crackle and loud roars as
pieces of ice break off and crash into the water below.
You’ll also want to be on the lookout for the walrus that are
often seen in the area.
There
is no shortage of natural beauty, wildlife and history in
Canada’s High Arctic. Each day, you’ll discover
something new and inspiring, whether it is admiration of the tundra
flora to survive the rugged environment, a rare bird species soaring
overhead, a polar bear on the hunt in its natural habitat, or the
remains of a century-old hut.
Day
8 - Disembark in Resolute, Canada & fly to Toronto
After
disembarking in Resolute, you’ll be transferred to your
charter flight to Toronto, where you’ll spend the night at
your included hotel.
Day
9 - Depart Toronto
Today,
make your way to the airport to catch your homeward flights, or spend
the day exploring this fascinating city.
(Click image to view Ship details)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Shipboard
accommodation with daily housekeeping
- All
meals, snacks, soft drinks and juices on board
- Beer
and house wine during dinner
- All
shore landings per the daily program
- Leadership
throughout the voyage by our experienced Expedition Leader
- All
Zodiac transfers and cruising per the daily program
- Formal
and informal presentations by our
- Expedition
Team and special guests as scheduled
- Photographic
journal documenting the expedition
- Waterproof
expedition boots on loan for shore
- landings
- Official
Quark Expeditions® parka to keep
- Coffee,
tea and cocoa available around the clock
- Complimentary
reusable water bottle
- Hair
dryer and bathrobe in every cabin
- Comprehensive
onboard materials, including a map
- and
an informative Arctic Reader
- All
miscellaneous service taxes and port charges
- throughout
the program
- All
luggage handling aboard the ship
- Emergency
evacuation insurance to a maximum
- benefit
of US$500,000 per person
- Greenland
voyages cruise passenger tax
ADVENTURE
OPTIONS
- Kayaking:
USD 695
- Paddling: USD 195
- Flightseeing: Free
- Heli-landing: Free
