Svalbard - Beyond The North Cape & Greenland - V247A

Tromsoe, the home of the famous Northern Lights, is situated a mere 2000 km from the North Pole, on the same latitude as Northern Siberia and Alaska. Most visitors are surprised by the prominence and sophistication of this fascinating port. On offer are high-quality theatre, arts and music, which contrast with the boundless and vast wilderness surrounding the city. The city centre contains the largest number of wooden houses in northern Norway as well as the oldest house. Read more about Tromsoe, Norway

Storstappen Island is one of three uninhabited islands that constitute the Gjesværstappan group, at the very north of mainland Norway. The small island lies 17 km to the WSW of North Cape, the (second) most northerly point of mainland Europe, and favourite of cruise liners that often pause off shore at the cape. Storstappen Island covers about one square kilometre, and is 508 km north of the Arctic Circle. At the right time of the year, and weather conditions permitting, one can see the aurora borealis, and of course the midnight sun. Read more about Storstappen Island, Norway

Skarsvåg is a village in Finnmark county in Arctic Norway, on the island Magerøya. The island is joined to the European mainland by the 6.87 km subsea North Cape Tunnel. Magerøya features a bleak, barren, tundra-covered landscape devoid of any trees (except for a few small pockets of mountain birch), with steep cliffs along the coast, and dramatic mountainscapes in the interior. The waters around the island are ice-free all year round. Read more about Skarsvag, Norway

Skarsvåg is a village in Finnmark county in Arctic Norway, on the island Magerøya. The island is joined to the European mainland by the 6.87 km subsea North Cape Tunnel. Magerøya features a bleak, barren, tundra-covered landscape devoid of any trees (except for a few small pockets of mountain birch), with steep cliffs along the coast, and dramatic mountainscapes in the interior. The waters around the island are ice-free all year round. Read more about Skarsvag, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Heraklion is the largest urban centre in Crete, the capital of the region, and the economic centre of this Greek Island. It is a town with modern buildings, but it is probably the surrounding area of amazing beaches, delightful villages, and impressive gorges that accord it its popularity. Heraklion is home to some of Greece's most important archaeological sites. Just five kilometres south of Heraklion is Knossos, one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe, and remains the legendary centre of the Minoan civilization from 1900 to 1400 BC. Read more about Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Longyearbyen lies on the river Longyearelva on the Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen high in the Arctic. It is the world’s northern-most town, as all settlements further north are research or meteorological outposts. The modern town, fringed by abandoned mining detritus, enjoys a superb backdrop including two glacier tongues, Longyearbreen and Lars Hjertabreen. The small community of about 2,000 has developed from being a mining community into a community with a number of businesses and industries and a wide range of cultural activities and opportunities. Read more about Longyearbyen, Norway

Longyearbyen lies on the river Longyearelva on the Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen high in the Arctic. It is the world’s northern-most town, as all settlements further north are research or meteorological outposts. The modern town, fringed by abandoned mining detritus, enjoys a superb backdrop including two glacier tongues, Longyearbreen and Lars Hjertabreen. The small community of about 2,000 has developed from being a mining community into a community with a number of businesses and industries and a wide range of cultural activities and opportunities. Read more about Longyearbyen, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Jan Mayen Island is an elongated volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean and part of the Kingdom of Norway, lying 1,000 km west of the North Cape and at the same latitude. Its closest land mass is Greenland 450km distant, and 550km to the SW is Iceland. The island was discovered so often in ‘modern’ times – mostly by whalers – it has been given a dozen names. In the 20th C countries fought over control of its meteorological base. Read more about Jan Mayen Island , Norway

Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the SE corner of the North Sea. Helgoland's rust-coloured sandstone cliffs jut dramatically out of the North Sea some 70 kilometres from the mainland. Lange Anna, a single finger-like rock formation, covered by breeding sea birds in the spring, should not be missed. Heligoland is a fine destination even in the middle of winter, while in the summer visitors can enjoy swimming here due to its unique natural setting and subsequent mild maritime climate. Read more about Heligoland, Germany

Bear Island is an island in the Svalbard archipelago in the Barents Sea of Norway. It lies isolated midway between North Cape on the European mainland, and Longyearbyen. It was on this island that a polar bear was sighted – hence the island’s name – by Constantine Phipps, who first described polar bears in his voyage to Svalbard Archipelago. Apart from a few sandy beaches, the coast is steep, with high cliffs and erosion such as caverns and isolated rock pillars. Read more about Bear Island, Norway

Ittoqqortoormiit (“Big-House Dwellers”) is a settlement of around 450 (and declining) at the mouth of Scoresby Sund (Kangertittivaq fjord) in east Greenland. It lies 440 km due north of Iceland. The location had been settled in earlier times by Inuit, evidenced by ruins and other archaeological remains. Ittoqqortoormiit was founded in 1926 with most settlers translocating from Tasiilaq, 860 km to the SW. Read more about Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland

The capital of the Westfjords of Iceland is Isafjordur. The landscape is majestic, with fjord after fjord towering above shore and sea, but each and every fjord has its own distinctive character. Tiny fishing villages nestle at their foot. On arrival take a stroll through the streets of the town. Read more about Isafjordur, Iceland

Vigur is an island in the Ísafjardardjúp fjord in Western Iceland, offshore from villages such as Hamar, Kobleinseyri and Trod. It is the second largest island in the fjord, and it is filled with bird life, being a nesting ground for Puffins, terns, guillemots and several other species. There’s an historic building on the island known as the Viktoriuhus that acts as a small museum of items from the Westfjords Folk Museum. To reach Vigur there are trips by boat from Isafjordur during the summer months. Read more about Vigur Island, Iceland

Reykjavik, the capital and largest city of Iceland, is the gateway to Iceland's stunning natural wonders, which range from ice fields to boiling thermal pools. The landscape on the island seems to be in a continual process of transformation much like its society, which blends Nordic tradition with sophisticated technology. On the waterfront see the open-air history of shipping disasters. In town walk past parliament building, city hall, Tjörnin pond, Höfði House(where Gorbachev and Reagan met in 1986 to end the Cold War), Hallgrímskirkja (the largest church in Iceland), and Laugavegur (the main shopping street) Read more about Reykjavik, Iceland