Russian Arctic Wrangel Island Cruise

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Tour Dates
7 – 21 August 2013
21 August – 4 September 2013

Costs
From £7,425 per person in a twin cabin with shared facilities

Why Join This Cruise

With an average of over 100 polar bear sightings for the few trips your chances of seeing bears are exceptional as Wrangel and Herald islands are renowned for their high densities of denning mothers and cubs
Accompanied by the local researchers in small groups you can walk to within a few hundred meters of the Arctic’s mightiest predator, their intimate knowledge allows for these close encounters
Sea cliffs of wheeling kittiwakes are also home to large breeding colonies of guillemots, razor bills and puffins
On Wrangel you can see hunting snowy owls and possibly snow geese
Combining exceptional wildlife with stunning scenery, ancient whaling communities, cold war history and visits to the Chukchi peoples who inhabit this remote corner of North-eastern Russia

Trip Overview
A 15 day voyage to explore the remote north-eastern corner of Russia. From Anadyr bay, whose waters harbour Beluga whales, head out into the Bering Sea where you can encounter Grey, Orca and Humpback Whales. Stopping off at whalebone alley you may be lucky enough to see brown bears feasting on the tundra berries during the short summer.

At Cape Dezhnev stand at the very eastern edge of the Asian continent looking out across the Bering Straits to Alaska, with the Diomede Islands straddling the date line. Visit the Chukchi town of Uelen where traditional skills meet modern Russia. Koluchin Island is where you hope to encounter large walrus colonies in their haulouts below cliffs that are coated in nesting birds and possibly your first polar bear sightings.

Anticipation builds as your head further north to Wrangel and Herald Islands, here you will pick up local researchers who will be your additional guides for your extended stay in this region. With the world’s highest density of denning sites for polar bears you can encounter these magnificent creatures as they await the return of the sea ice. With such a high concentration of bears they have learned to be rather more tolerant than those encountered in other regions of the Arctic, as a consequence most bears are relaxed with human company. Thanks to their intimate knowledge of bear behaviour the researchers will allow you to approach within a few hundred meters of the bears as long as they look comfortable - an experience you will never forget.