Hurtigruten heads for the Amazon rainforest, Canada and the world’s longest fjord

From the start of 2017, Hurtigruten’s expedition ships will sail to the rainforests of South America, and to Viking settlements and the national parks in Newfoundland. In the Arctic, the Norwegian explorer cruise line’s guests can explore the largest fjord complex in the world.

Hurtigruten bring people together from all over the world to connect with their inner explorer by adding new unique destinations to the program alongside the Norwegian coast, Spitsbergen, Iceland, Greenland and Antarctica. Guests will be taken close to nature with expedition ships MS Fram and MS Midnatsol as well as the new vessel MS Spitsbergen.

- We want to offer our guests unique and meaningful experiences regardless of the water temperature. Hurtigruten let people follow the tracks of the Vikings, Amundsen and Nansen, and Thor Heyerdahl, says Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam.

The demand for adventure tourism is rapidly growing globally. Hurtigruten is an important driver and world leader in offering sustainable nature-based travel experiences at sea.

- People no longer want to spend their vacations being passive spectators. Therefore Hurtigruten offers active and educational voyages. The many unique excursions and lectures gives guests genuine close encounters with the nature and culture of the destinations, says Skjeldam.

Zoomed in on South America

The explorer cruise line take their guests on sailings along both the Atlantic and the Pacific South American coast. Expedition ships will sail along the coast of countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Ecuador. Some routes also include South Atlantic islands such as the Falklands and South Georgia where there will be meetings with locals and with penguins, birds, whales, seals and other wildlife.

Perhaps the most spectacular of the new voyages follow the Amazon River into the rainforest.

On all sailings, experienced expedition teams will guide guests on excursions and a series of popular science lectures from experts in their field will be offered on board.

- We offer travel with meaning. Guests are given the opportunity to learn more about and to give back to the destinations. Many of the areas Hurtigruten sail to are vulnerable. It is important to us to showcase nature in the gentlest manner possible and to encourage our guests to become ambassadors who will help to preserve it, says Skjeldam.

Canadian coastal pearls

Hurtigruten’s Arctic program is stretched to the Newfoundland and Labrador province of Canada. Amongst the many exceptional landings, guests get to visit L'Anse aux Meadows. The small fishing village on the UNESCO World Heritage List is the place where Norwegian Anne Stine and Helge Ingstad and their daughter Benedicte, in 1960 made discovery of a Viking settlement.

- Archeological findings suggest this is the place where pioneer discoverer Leif Erikson went ashore and later named Vinland. Coming here more than 1000 years later has a certain Viking saga ring to it, says Skjeldam.

Today, Benedicte Ingstad (72) is a researcher and professor of medical anthropology. She will participate in selected Hurtigruten voyages to tell about the discovery family did.

Hurtigruten also offer visits to magnificent national parks, the provincial capital of St. John's and to places like Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Red Bay and Battle Harbour.

Extreme fjord adventures

On the east coast of Greenland, Hurtigruten will let guests explore Kangertittivaq or Scoresby which is the longest fjord in the world, extending 350 kilometers into the vast island. Trips to this special fjord are combined with visits to Iceland, Jan Mayen with the northernmost volcano of the world, Beerenberg and Lofoten.

- We will give Hurtigruten guests close-up experiences of glaciers calving huge icebergs and volcanoes smoldering at the same time as making home visits to whales, dolphins, seabirds and musk oxen, says Skjeldam.

There will also be Arctic expedition sailings to the remote town of Thule on the northwestern tip of the island.

Viking sailings westward

The new explorer vessel MS Spitsbergen will take adventurous guests westward to the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands and the Faroe Islands, and to ports such as Lerwick, Kirkwall and Thorshavn.

- The program for the archipelagos in the North Atlantic is the most extensive our guests have ever been able to select from, say Skjeldam.

Polar expeditions North and South

Around Spitsbergen Hurtigruten offer sailings to the ice edge and circumnavigations around the archipelago.

Hurtigruten also strongly reinforces its commitment in Antarctica. From winter 2016, the service offer is tripled as also MS Midnatsol sails to the southern hemisphere for the southern summer season. The Chilean fjords, Cape Horn, Magellan Strait and the South Pole continent are some of the highlights.

The voyages are adapted after seasonal variations and follow the wildlife in the area, ice conditions and the local cultural history. Guests can join in hikes on thousand year old glacial ice, walks among penguins, kayaking between seals and snorkeling in icy water.

- Weather, wind and ice conditions set the framework for these extreme experiences, says Skjeldam.

About 500 guests engage in contrasting travel experiences on the MS Midnatsol Antarctica cruises. The voyage starts and ends in Punta Arenas, allowing guests to explore the deep fjords of Chile, the spectacular scenery and nature in Patagonia, and Cape Horn – to then immerse themselves in the highlights of Antarctica.

MS Fram safeguards the legacy of the original expedition ship Fram and lets about 200 guests engage in more extreme experiences sailing out of Ushuaya in Argentina. The ship is smaller and offers adventurous travelers virtually inaccessible places at close range.