The northernmost part of the earth, the final frontier, the home of Santa Claus – sometimes the Arctic seems to exist more as a state of mind than a real place.
It can be a little tricky to wrap your head around, but basically the Arctic starts from the North Pole – the literal ‘top’ of the world – and extends out in all directions to the edges of the Arctic Circle. Remember the five circles of latitude from school? Put it this way: if Earth was an orange and you sliced parallel lines across it – east to west – the Arctic would (roughly) be the slice right at the top. This line of latitude shifts with the earth’s orbit, so consequently the Arctic Circle isn’t at a fixed position.
While Antarctica is its own continent, the Arctic is made up of the Arctic Ocean and nearby seas, plus territory that belongs to Canada, Russia, the USA, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. You can find out more about the countries that have claims on the Arctic here.
Click here to read more Arctic FAQs
Our tours in the Arctic
7 Days
From
4700
Take a voyage across the Arctic Circle via the Svalbard Archipelago and north-east...
16 Days
From
10600
Discover the exquisite wilderness of the Russian Arctic on this 16-day exploration.
22 Days
From
14100
Polar deserts, shimmering glaciers and unique wildlife – the Arctic has it all.
14 Days
From
6050
Embark on an Arctic expedition to Scotland, Denmark and Spitsbergen.
14 Days
From
9400
Departing from Oslo, explore incredible Spitsbergen in search of polar bears, reindeer...
Tailor-Made trips
Take two or more on an exclusive trip and tailor your itinerary
14 Days
From
8200
An Arctic expedition through East Greenland and Iceland is the perfect opportunity to...
15 Days
From
9650
See all the highlights of the east, south and west coasts on this Arctic voyage around...