Polar Wildlife: Tailormade Tours to 4 Top Destinations

For the opportunity to see the stunning array of polar wildlife, tailormade tours are excellent, providing the safety, comfort and expert naturalist guidance that make a wildlife holiday such an unforgettable experience. There are many excellent destinations in the northern and southern polar regions, but four top choices are Spitsbergen, West Greenland, Finland and the sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand and Australia.

Spitsbergen

The largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, Spitsbergen is just 600 miles south of the North Pole and home to a diverse set of Arctic wildlife. Tailormade tours take to the sea, cruising around the island to search for Polar Bear hunting on the lingering summer pack ice, Walrus, Beluga Whale, Harp Seal and perhaps the rare Bowhead Whale. Huge bird colonies populate the island’s coastal cliffs, including Brünnich’s Guillemots and Little Auks. Inland, Barnacle Goose and Grey Phalarope breed on the tundra. Visiting Spitsbergen in the summer months gives enthusiasts the remarkable experience of the midnight sun, as daylight extends for 24 hours.

West Greenland

The icy expanses of Greenland yield to fertile feeding grounds at its edges, where glaciers calve into the nutrient-rich Arctic seas. As with Spitsbergen, to see the west Greenland wildlife, tailormade tours use the water: cruising past ice cliffs and icebergs where Bearded and Ringed Seals rest, visiting Disko Island and searching for the rare Bowhead Whale that feeds there. Bird life is rich in the region, including Red-necked Phalarope, King Eider, Snowy Owl, Brünnich's Guillemot, Iceland Gull, Long-tailed Skua and Lapland Bunting. The spectacular landscape and rich array of wildlife makes west Greenland a top destination for polar wildlife enthusiasts.

Finland

Turning inland to the boreal forest, Finland is a different yet equally rewarding polar experience. In the forest around Oulu, a town on the Gulf of Bothnia, bird species proliferate, particularly owls: Pygmy Owl, Hawk Owl, Tengmalm’s Owl, Great Grey Owl, Ural Owl, Eagle Owl and Short-eared Owl. In the wetlands around Liminka Bay, birders can sight Citrine Wagtail, Terek Sandpiper and Common Crane. Journeying closer to the Arctic Circle, to the taiga forests, meadows and bogs of Oulanka National Park, wildlife enthusiasts can hope to glimpse Pine Marten, Beaver, Elk, Reindeer and Red Squirrel, as well as the usual range of bird species.

Sub-Antarctica

Turning to the opposite end of the world and its wildlife, tailormade tours to the remote sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand and Australia are an excellent introduction to the even lesser-visited pole. Cruising from archipelago to archipelago, enthusiasts can see the 30,000 breeding pairs of endemic Snares Island Penguin on Snares Island, the 7,500 pairs of Southern Royal Albatross on Campbell Island, the Yellow-eyed Penguin and Auckland Island Shag on the Auckland Islands, and so much more.

Marissa Ellis-Snow is a freelance nature writer. If you’re passionate about wildlife, tailormade tours with Naturetrek include expert-led natural history and wildlife tours worldwide. Naturetrek brings over 25 years of experience to polar expeditions and tours to other spectacular regions on Earth.

Writer and Online Marketing Manager in London.