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December 14, 2024

Oceanwide Expeditions champions spending as much time ashore as possible, maximizing guest immersion in the polar regions, and gaining a deeper, more impactful insight into the harsh, dramatic, and beautiful polar landscapes in which they operate.

On all Oceanwide Expeditions trips to Antarctica and the Arctic, guests can participate in a variety of shore landings and hikes. However, on Arctic trips, Oceanwide Expeditions offers something unique. Guests can sign up for ‘long hikes‘, going further inland and spending entire days away from the ship. This product, pioneered by Oceanwide Expeditions, gets guests closer to the heart of nature, immersing them in a 360° polar adventure.

What makes a long hike different?

On all Oceanwide Expeditions trips, guests can get ground beneath their feet and explore the landscapes of the polar regions through walks, hikes, and perimeter landings of varying distances and sizes. 

Guests can usually expect beach walks and slightly longer hikes in short loops. These hikes gain elevation and offer the opportunity to encounter wildlife and explore beyond the boundaries of the ship and aboard Zodiacs. Whatever the length, these foot excursions are always led by guides in pre-scouted areas and return to the same landing zone. 

A long hike is something more unique. These excursions are longer, more immersive experiences, taking guests far from the ship, into rolling tundra, to the summit of rocky terrain, and into a world entirely unlike the one they leave behind. Typically, they last upwards of 15km. On a long hike, guests carry their own food for the day, provided by Oceanwide Expeditions, and spend the entire day exploring the polar environment, led by experienced guides. Meanwhile, other guests not taking part in a long hike will be provided alternative excursions on land or by Zodiac. 

After the long hike, guests will be met by the ship at a different location.

Can long hikes be performed in both the Arctic and Antarctica?

Currently, Oceanwide Expeditions only offers long hiking in the Arctic. Antarctica’s terrain is often heavily glaciated, and landing sites are often remote and inaccessible to other means other than by ship. This makes planning safe hiking routes in Antarctica more difficult, especially when considering the varied hiking ability of a typical hiking group. In Antarctica, Oceanwide Expeditions offers their Basecamp experience, combining multiple outdoor activities, such as mountaineering, snowshoeing, and camping, into one dynamic trip.

The landscapes and environment in the Arctic are far more suitable for long hiking experiences. In Greenland, tundra landscapes provide expansive environments where guests can reconnect with ancient landscapes, encountering musk oxen, Arctic hares, and foxes. Beyond the tundra, Greenland has tremendous variation, with rocky slopes, glaciers, soaring mountains, and undulating desolate Arctic expanses. This variation in landscapes is continued in Svalbard, where mountainous terrain provides superb opportunities to experience an alpine Arctic environment full of life and expressive beauty.

In both Svalbard and Greenland, the presence of polar bears is an essential consideration throughout an expedition cruise. On a long hike, this is no different. Guest hikers will be accompanied by an appropriate number of armed guides who are experienced in perimeter scouting and polar bear procedures.

What can you expect on a long hike with Oceanwide Expeditions?

It is one thing to gaze upon spectacular scenery from the deck of one of Oceanwide Expeditions’ ice-rated vessels or aboard a Zodiac. Immersing yourself in an ancient landscape is another, with nothing but wilderness visible in any direction. On a long hike, guests regain a link to our innate human connection with the natural world—there is no link to modernity beyond the group’s cameras. Once the ship is out of sight behind a summit or hillside, you are truly part of these incredibly vast environments. 

Depending on the time of year, guests may find themselves surrounded by the stunning autumnal colors of the Arctic tundra, where vast carpets of Arctic willow, dwarf birch, and cottongrass undulate in patterns of red, gold, brown, and orange, or gazing onto immense fjords, dotted by icebergs or home to breaching whales. They may find themselves lost in wonder amidst stunning geological formations or simply soaking in the absolute silence of the wilderness around them.

A long hike offers the unique chance to explore locations many other operators cannot visit, seek out photography opportunities, and encounter wildlife beyond the standard. While an expedition cruise takes you to some of the most beautiful, inspiring, and life-changing areas on Earth, a long hike into the heart of such places transports you entirely into the polar landscape, like a small human dot in a vast wild world. 

For guests seeking out the details, a long hike is perfect for photographing flowers, plants, and rock formations. They also offer superb wildlife and landscape photography opportunities, alongside a chance to learn about the flora and fauna in a truly interactive and immersive way.

Discover more about the long hike experience with Oceanwide Expeditions

Rounding off this year’s Arctic program, Oceanwide Expeditions successfully completed an exciting long hike trip in Scoresby Sund in September. The trip took guests from the slopes of Milne Land at Ikasakajip Nua, deep into the autumnal tundra between Harefjord and Rypefjord, and across the undulating desolate plains of Jameson Land.,

In 2025, several long hike opportunities are available in both Greenland and Svalbard, with several trips set to return once more to the stunning, iceberg-laden fjords of Scoresby Sund and the dramatic Greenland coast. You can discover more information about long hikes with Oceanwide Expeditions through their website, or by reaching out directly.

Don’t miss updates, news and reviews about Oceanwide Cruises on Cruising Journal.

George Janes

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