Passagem do Noroeste

Welcome to Aurora Expeditions’ Northwest Passage expedition. Journey east from the western Canadian Arctic to Greenland on a late-season expedition through the Northwest Passage. Inuit history provides the essential thread: from the copper-working traditions of the Inuinnait and the oral knowledge that helped reveal the fate of Franklin’s ships, to Greenlandic communities whose lives remain closely connected to ice, sea and wildlife. Explore sites associated with European polar ambition, including King William Island and the storied waters of Bellot Strait, while watching for polar bears, walrus, musk oxen, seals, whales and the returning northern lights. Every day is shaped by weather, sea ice and opportunity.

Dia 1 Chegada a Calgary

On arrival in Calgary, you will be met by an Aurora Expeditions representative and transferred to the group hotel. Visit the Aurora Expeditions hospitality desk to collect your cabin luggage tags and speak with our ground operations team. They will share important pre-embarkation information for tomorrow’s charter flight and can assist with local dining suggestions or last-minute purchases.

O resto do dia é livre para você aproveitar. Todas as refeições de hoje ficam por sua conta.

Hospedagem: hotel em Calgary (a confirmar).

Dia 2 Voo para Kugluktuk e embarque

Transfer to Calgary Airport and board our charter flight to Kugluktuk, Nunavut. Please ensure your main luggage is fitted with the cabin tags provided and keep valuables, travel documents, medication and anything required during the day in your hand luggage.

Kugluktuk, meaning ‘place of moving water’, stands near the mouth of the Coppermine River in the homeland of the Inuinnait. Copper gathered in this region was fashioned into tools for generations, giving rise to the historical English name ‘Copper Inuit’. Transfer to Sylvia Earle, settle into your cabin and join the mandatory safety briefings before meeting your Expedition Team and crew.

Dia 3 Port Epworth e no mar

We hope to begin with a Zodiac cruise or landing at Port Epworth, on a coast shaped by ancient geology and a long record of Inuit travel and seasonal use. Depending on conditions, we may explore the shoreline and search for archaeological traces that reveal how people moved through and lived within this western Arctic landscape.

Later, we set a course east. Watch from deck for seals, whales and migrating birdlife as the Expedition Team introduces the human and natural history of the Northwest Passage.

Dia 4 Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq) e no mar

Iqaluktuuttiaq, or Cambridge Bay, means ‘place of many fish’ and reflects the rich waters that have long drawn Inuit families to this part of Victoria Island. Today it is a vibrant regional centre where Inuinnaqtun language, harvesting traditions and contemporary northern life meet.

The harbour is also linked with Roald Amundsen’s ship Maud, which remained here for decades after becoming trapped in ice and sinking. A locally guided visit may explore community history and culture before we return to the ship and continue east.

Dia 5 Ilha King William

We aim to explore the western side of King William Island, known to Inuit as Qikiqtaq. This landscape is central to the Franklin story, but its history is far older and richer than the European search for a passage. Inuit travelled, hunted and camped throughout the region for generations, developing knowledge that later proved crucial to understanding the fate of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

Weather and sea ice will determine our landing place. On shore, the Expedition Team may interpret archaeological features, expedition relics and the oral histories that connect this coast with one of polar exploration’s most enduring mysteries. We will also watch for caribou, Arctic foxes, seals and polar bears.

Dia 6 Região do Estreito de Bellot

Bellot Strait is one of the most storied waterways of the Northwest Passage. Barely two kilometres wide at its narrowest point, it separates Somerset Island from the Boothia Peninsula and is swept by strong tides and shifting ice. Safe conditions may allow us to transit or explore in the vicinity of Fitzroy Inlet, Bellot Strait or Strzelecki Harbour.

Zodiac cruises and tundra walks reveal an austere landscape of cliffs, coves and tidal channels. This was a formidable obstacle for early navigators, yet part of a well-known homeland and travel network for Inuit. Scan the shore and water for polar bears, seals, beluga and seabirds.

Dia 7 Baía Radstock

At Radstock Bay, beneath the limestone mass of Caswall Tower, archaeological remains reveal generations of Inuit life. Stone house foundations, caches and whale bones speak to sophisticated hunting practices, food storage and seasonal movement through the region. We hope to hike across raised beaches and tundra while our guides bring these traces into context.

Wildlife also shapes our plans. Walrus may use parts of this coast as haul-out habitat, and access can be restricted to protect them. Musk oxen, Arctic hare, foxes and polar bears are also possible in the wider area, so the Expedition Team may select an alternative site on northwestern Somerset Island if required.

Dia 8 Baía Maxwell

Maxwell Bay (Tasiujaq) cuts deeply into Devon Island and offers a choice of sheltered inlets, including Graham Harbour and Custance Inlet. By late September the tundra has taken on autumn tones and early snow may sharpen the island’s flat-topped mountains and glacial valleys.

We may explore by Zodiac or on foot, watching for musk oxen, Arctic hare and foxes on land, and seals or walrus in the water. Polar bears move throughout this region, although every sighting is a matter of chance. Archaeological remains and historic sites may also reveal how Inuit travellers, traders and later government patrols used these protected waters.

Dia 9 Croker Bay e Dundas Harbour

At Croker Bay, a glacier descends towards a broad Arctic inlet. Conditions may favour a Zodiac cruise among sculpted ice or a landing beneath Devon Island’s distinctive mountains. Ringed seals and walrus may be present, with polar bears occasionally travelling the coast.

We also hope to visit Dundas Harbour, where the remains of an RCMP post and former Hudson’s Bay Company activity represent a recent layer of history. Nearby archaeological features point to much older Inuit use of this coast. A tundra walk may bring encounters with musk oxen, Arctic hare and late-season birdlife.

Dia 10 No mar

We leave Nunavut and cross Baffin Bay towards Greenland. Spend time on deck scanning for whale blows, seals and fulmars, or join presentations that connect the two sides of the passage—from shared Inuit cultural roots and long-distance travel to the ambitions of European explorers and the realities of navigation through ice.

Com a volta da escuridão à noite ártica, o céu limpo também pode trazer a chance de ver a aurora boreal.

Dia 11 Kullorsuaq e o Devil’s Thumb

Our return to Greenland begins at Kullorsuaq, a small community set among islands, mountains and ice in the Upernavik Archipelago. The settlement takes its name from the distinctive mountain nearby: Kullorsuaq, or ‘the Big Thumb’, known in English as the Devil’s Thumb.

A community visit may offer insight into life in one of Greenland’s northern settlements, where hunting and fishing remain closely tied to sea ice, weather and seasonal wildlife. Offshore, icebergs drift through intricate channels used by seals and whales, and the surrounding cliffs may hold ravens and seabirds.

Dia 12 No mar e Nuussuaq

A morning at sea allows time to watch the Greenland coast unfold and to learn more about its geology, wildlife and human history. Humpback and minke whales may be encountered in these waters, while changing ice and weather guide our progress.

Later, we hope to explore around Nuussuaq. The peninsula’s immense basalt mountains and broad valleys preserve evidence of ancient movement and settlement along a coast that has supported Inuit communities for thousands of years. A late-day landing may offer a tundra walk, Zodiac cruise or community visit, subject to conditions and local arrangements.

Dia 13 Ilulissat

Today’s plans will be shaped by ice, weather and local conditions. We hope to visit Ilulissat, where people have lived beside the icefjord for more than 4,000 years. A walk towards the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ilulissat Icefjord reveals a constantly changing procession of bergs calved by Sermeq Kujalleq. The nearby Sermermiut valley preserves traces of successive Inuit cultures and adds a powerful human story to this extraordinary glacial landscape.

Dia 14 Ukivik e Nipisat

At Ukivik, open tundra and an indented coast may offer a final wilderness walk, shaped by weather, wildlife and local conditions.

Later, we hope to visit Nipisat, part of the UNESCO World Heritage property Aasivissuit–Nipisat: Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea. Archaeological layers document more than 4,000 years of human history and reveal how successive cultures adapted to seasonal resources between the Greenland Ice Sheet and the coast. It is a fitting place to reflect on Inuit resilience, knowledge and continuity at the end of our passage.

Dia 15: Desembarque em Kangerlussuaq e voo para Reykjavík

In Kangerlussuaq, farewell the crew, Expedition Team and fellow travellers before transferring to the airport for our charter flight to Reykjavík. The voyage concludes on arrival at Reykjavík Airport.

Note: Our arrival time in Reykjavík depends on the allocated charter-flight slots, which we expect to receive in March 2028. We recommend allowing flexibility when arranging onward travel.

INCLUSÕES:

• Todos os traslados mencionados no itinerário.
• Uma noite de hotel com café da manhã em Calgary no Dia 1.
• Voo fretado de Calgary para Kugluktuk no Dia 2.
• Voo fretado de Kangerlussuaq para Reykjavík no Dia 15.
• Hospedagem a bordo durante a viagem, com serviço de quarto diário.
• Todas as refeições, lanches, chá, café, refrigerantes e sucos durante a viagem.
• Destilados premium, coquetéis, cerveja, vinho e licores durante a viagem.
• Recepção de despedida do comandante, com jantar de quatro pratos, coquetéis da casa, cerveja e vinho da casa e bebidas não alcoólicas.
• Todas as excursões em terra e passeios de Zodiac.
• Palestras educativas e serviços de guia oferecidos pela equipe de expedição.
• Acesso gratuito ao médico da expedição e à clínica médica a bordo para uma consulta inicial.
• Uma jaqueta polar de expedição 3 em 1 impermeável.
• Uso gratuito de botas Muck Boots durante a viagem.
• Informações completas antes da partida.
• Sobretaxas portuárias, licenças e taxas de desembarque.
• Gorjetas para guias locais, motoristas, locais de visita e atrações durante as excursões e o programa de enriquecimento.
• Wi-Fi*.

* Lembre que viajamos para regiões remotas, onde a conexão pode ser instável.

NÃO INCLUÍDO:

• Voos internacionais ou domésticos, a menos que especificados no itinerário.
• Traslados, a menos que especificados no itinerário.
• Taxas aeroportuárias de chegada ou partida.
• Taxas e custos de passaporte, visto, reciprocidade e vacinação.
• Seguro viagem ou custos de evacuação de emergência.
• Hotéis e refeições – salvo indicação no itinerário.
• Excursões opcionais e sobretaxas de atividades opcionais.
• All items of a personal nature, including but not limited to onboard gratuities*, laundry services, personal clothing, medical expenses, email or phone charges.

*A gratuity of USD $20 per person, per day for the crew and Expedition Team will be automatically added to your onboard account. You may remove or adjust this amount when settling your account. For suite guests, this gratuity is included as part of the Suite Benefits.

Sinal e pagamento

• Sinal: 25% do valor da passagem por pessoa, devido em até 7 dias úteis após a reserva (a reserva só é confirmada depois do recebimento).
• Sinal de atividades (caiaque, mergulho, caminhada com raquetes de neve etc.): US$250 adicionais por pessoa por atividade, reembolsáveis só se a própria atividade for cancelada.
• Pagamento final: devido 120 dias antes da partida. Se a reserva for feita a menos de 120 dias, o pagamento integral é devido na reserva.

Cancelamento pelo passageiro

• 121 dias ou mais antes da partida: perda apenas do sinal.
• 120 dias ou menos antes da partida: 100% do valor total da passagem.

Opção de transferir em vez de cancelar

• 121 dias ou mais antes: o sinal integral pode ser transferido para uma viagem futura (em até 36 meses).
• De 90 a 120 dias antes: 50% do valor total da passagem (não só o sinal) pode ser transferido para frente em vez de perdido.
• Menos de 90 dias antes: transferência não permitida.
• Não há taxa de transferência, e as transferências podem ser usadas várias vezes, desde que cada nova viagem parta em até 36 meses da data original.

Clima / força maior

• Se as condições de clima ou gelo tornarem a viagem insegura, a Aurora pode cancelar e emitir um crédito (não reembolso) do valor total pago, válido para uma viagem futura em até 36 meses. É uma política de crédito em primeiro lugar, e não de reembolso em dinheiro.