Alberta/Ontario/Greenland
The Legendary Northwest Passage: An Arctic Expedition
Program No. 21408RJ
Set sail for the storied Northwest Passage, the explorers’ Holy Grail that wasn’t discovered until 1906, and witness unbelievable arctic environments on this extraordinary expedition.
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Protecting the Environment
We offset a portion of the emissions created by your travel. Learn more
20 days
19 nights
56 meals
19B 18L 19D
2
Explore Yellowknife
Yellowknife
3
Charter Flight to Kugluktuk, Embark Ocean Endeavour
Kugluktuk (Coppermine)
4
Kitikmeot Region, Sail the Northwest Passage
Kitikmeot Region
5
Kitikmeot Region, Sail the Northwest Passage
Kitikmeot Region
6
Kitikmeot Region, Sail the Northwest Passage
Kitikmeot Region
7
Kitikmeot Region, Sail the Northwest Passage
Kitikmeot Region
8
Ikirahaq (Bellot Strait)
At Sea
9
Beechey Island
Beechey Island
10
Tallurutiup Imanga (Lancaster Sound)
Lancaster Sound
11
Tallurutiup Imanga (Lancaster Sound)
Lancaster Sound
12
Aujuittuq (Grise Fiord), NU
Aujuittuq (Grise Fiord)
13
Smith Sound
Smith Sound
14
At Sea
At Sea
15
Northwest Greenland
Northwest Greenland
16
Northwest Greenland
Northwest Greenland
17
Ilulissat Icefjord
Ilulissat
18
Sisimiut Coast
At Sea
20
Program Concludes
Toronto
At a Glance
As long ago as the Age of Discovery, European explorers dreamed of a northern sea route to the Pacific. This “Northwest Passage” would not be successfully transited, though, until the legendary adventurer Roald Amundsen did it between 1903 and 1906 — spending nearly two of those years immobilized by ice. Soon, the long-hoped-for possibility of using the passage as a shipping shortcut may become reality due to climate change. Now is the time to sail this storied route and experience the otherworldly Arctic environment on an expedition aboard an ice-rated small ship.
Activity Level
Keep the Pace
Walking and standing for up to three hours per day over hilly, rocky, uneven terrain. Climbing stairs between decks on board as well as external gangway stairs to transfer between the ship and Zodiacs. Most embarkations and disembarkations will be via Zodiac, which require stepping up or down about 12 inches. Zodiac landings will generally entail disembarking onto rocky or gravelly beaches, and in windy weather can make for rather splashy rides.
Small Group
Love to learn and explore in a small-group setting? These adventures offer small, personal experiences with groups of 13 to 24 participants.
Best of all, you’ll…
- Visit the "place that never thaws," Canada's Aujuittuq.
- Sail the Ilulissat Icefjord via zodiac, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the world's fastest-moving glacier.
- Enhance your knowledge with unique access to Adventure Canada's seasoned onboard staff, each professionals in their fields including culturalists, photographers and naturalists.
General Notes
The itinerary is subject to change based on weather and ice. The program is limited to 24 participants and the ship holds 198 passengers.
Suggested Reading List
(53 books)
Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
The Legendary Northwest Passage: An Arctic Expedition
Program Number: 21408
Fatal Passage: The Untold Story of John Rae, the Arctic Adventurer Who Discovered the Fate of Franklin
The Arctic Sky: Inuit Star Lore, Legend and Astronomy
The Gates of Hell: Sir John Franklin's Tragic Quest for the Northwest Passage
Inuit: glimpses of an Arctic past
Who Owns the Arctic: Understanding Sovereignty Disputes in the North
Uqalurait: an Oral History of Nunavut
Across the Top of the World
From Magic Words to Word Processing: A History of the Inuit Language
Ice Ship: The Epic Voyages of the Polar Adventurer Fram
Qikaaluktut: Images of Inuit Life
Arctic Eden
Twenty-Five Brave Men: Tales from an Arctic Journey
Tammarniit (Mistakes): Inuit Relocation in the Eastern Arctic, 1939-63
The Big Thaw: Adventures in the Vanishing Arctic
What We Know about Climate Change
The Last Gentleman Adventurer
Franklin's Lost Ship: The Historic Discovery of HMS Erebus
True North: Peary, Cook, and the Race to the Pole
Narwhals: Arctic Whales in a Melting World
Harpoon of the Hunter
Native peoples of Québec. Michel Noël, Redaction
Ghosts of Cape Sabine: the Harrowing True Story of the Greely Expedition
The legend of Kiviuq as retold in the drawings of Nancy Pukirnak Aupaluktug. Preface by Diane Webster
Dead Reckoning: the Untold Story of the Northwest Passage
The Future History of the Arctic
In the Shadow of the Pole: An Early History of Arctic Expeditions, 1871-1912
Inuit Stories: Pvungnituk/Légendes inuit: Povungnituk
A Naturalist's Guide to the Arctic
Across Time and Tundra: the Inuvialuit of the Western Arctic
Arctic Dreams and Nightmares
The Magnetic North
Inuit Studies Reader: an Intuit Anthology
Inuit: The Story of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference
Arctic Dreams
Our Ice is Vanishing/ Sikuvut Nunquligtuq: A History of Inuit, Newcomers and Climate Change
The other side of Eden: hunters, farmers and the shaping of the world
Paper Stays Put: A Collection of Inuit Writing
Give Me My Father's Body: The Life of Minik the New York Eskimo
Eden of the North
Gossip: a Spoken History of Women in the North
Inuit Women Artists: Voices from Cape Dorset
The Last Imaginary Place
Race to the Polar Sea: The Heroic Adventures and Romantic Obsessions of Elisha Kent Kane
Northern Voices: Inuit Writing in English
The Right to Be Cold: One Woman's Story of Protecting Her Culture, the Arctic, and the Whole Planet
The Voyage of the Narwhal
In Order to Live Untroubled: Inuit of the Central Arctic, 1550-1940
Lady Franklin's Revenge: A True Story of Ambition, Obsession and the Remaking of Arctic History
Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition
Vikings: the North Atlantic Saga
Canada's Relationship With Inuit: A History of Policy and Program Development
Boundless
The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole
