From Scotland to Spitsbergen

The port of Greenock is a historic maritime hub on the River Clyde, renowned for its vibrant culture and architectural charm. Must-do experiences include savoring the local delicacy, Cullen skink, and exploring the bustling Greenock Market. The best season to visit is during the summer months, when the weather is pleasant and local festivals bring the community to life.

Iona is a tiny, luminous island in Scotland's Inner Hebrides, revered as the birthplace of Celtic Christianity where Saint Columba founded his monastery in 563 AD. Visitors should walk the restored Benedictine abbey and Reilig Odhráin royal burial ground, then seek out the island's pristine white shell-sand beaches at Traigh Bàn. The sailing season from May through September offers the longest daylight hours and mildest weather, with June and July providing up to eighteen hours of light that bathes the island in the ethereal glow for which it has captivated artists and pilgrims for centuries.

Callanish in United Kingdom blends maritime heritage, dramatic coastal scenery, and the understated warmth of the British Isles into a deeply rewarding port of call. Essential experiences include walking the coastal paths and sampling the region's thriving artisanal food scene. The most reliable conditions arrive June through September, when long northern days and mild temperatures make exploration a pleasure, though the atmosphere is compelling in any weather. Cruise lines including Ponant feature this port on their most compelling itineraries. Whether you have a few hours or a full day, the port rewards exploration at every pace and in every direction.

Mousa is an uninhabited Shetland island home to the world's best-preserved Iron Age broch, a 2,000-year-old stone tower that now serves as nesting habitat for thousands of storm petrels. Must-dos include climbing the broch's internal staircase, watching seals on the shore, and joining an evening boat trip to witness storm petrels returning after dark. Visit June through July for the peak petrel season.

Brønnøysund, a small service town on Norway's Helgeland coast just south of the Arctic Circle, is the gateway to one of Scandinavia's most extraordinary coastal landscapes — a constellation of twelve thousand islands where the defining landmark is Torghatten, a mountain with a 160-metre tunnel punched clean through its summit by the sea at the end of the last Ice Age, framing a perfect circle of sky. The surrounding Helgeland archipelago rewards island-hopping by small boat, with pristine beaches, ancient Bronze Age rock carvings, and the haunting ruins of medieval trading settlements accessible by kayak or ferry. Midnight sun visits from late May through mid-July; the Svartisen glacier is visible from the coastal route north.

Reine is a breathtaking fishing village in Norway's Lofoten Islands, where red rorbuer cabins cluster beneath soaring granite peaks and the midnight sun illuminates jade-green fjords. Essential experiences include hiking Reinebringen for Norway's finest panorama, tasting traditional stockfish, and exploring the pristine beaches of Bunes and Horseid. June through August offers midnight sun and hiking; September through March brings the northern lights.

Tromsø, perched 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle on its own island in a fjord-carved landscape of breathtaking severity, is the world's finest base for witnessing the northern lights — a phenomenon that illuminates the polar night here from late September through March with an intensity unmatched across Scandinavia. The city's striking Arctic Cathedral, vibrant university culture, and excellent Polar Museum trace Norway's heroic age of polar exploration, while dog sledding, snowshoeing, and whale-watching expeditions provide exhilarating encounters with the high Arctic wilderness. Summer's unbroken midnight sun offers an equally otherworldly experience beneath skies that never darken.

Bear Island is an uninhabited Norwegian outpost in the Barents Sea, halfway between the mainland and Svalbard, where massive seabird colonies of hundreds of thousands nest on four-hundred-meter cliffs above rich Arctic feeding waters. Visit between June and August aboard expedition vessels for spectacular bird cliff Zodiac cruises and encounters with whales and polar bears.

Hornsund is a glacier-carved fjord at the southern tip of Svalbard's Spitsbergen island, where fourteen tidewater glaciers, polar bears, and vast seabird colonies create one of the Arctic's most dramatic expedition destinations. Must-dos include zodiac cruises alongside calving glaciers, polar bear sightings along the shoreline, and visiting the Polish research station. July and August offer the warmest temperatures and best ice conditions, with midnight sun providing endless Arctic daylight.

Balestrand is a tiny, storybook village at the junction of three Norwegian fjords, beloved by painters and royalty since the 19th century for its extraordinary natural setting. Must-dos include dining at the historic Kviknes Hotel, visiting the Jostedalsbreen glacier via Fjaerland, and tasting local apple cider with views across the Sognefjord. Visit June or July for the magical midnight sun illuminating the fjord landscape.

Isfjorden is Svalbard's largest fjord system, home to the surprisingly sophisticated town of Longyearbyen — the world's northernmost functional settlement — and offering access to calving glaciers, Arctic wildlife, and the Global Seed Vault. Must-dos include Zodiac cruising past the Tunabreen glacier, dining on reindeer and Arctic char in Longyearbyen, and visiting the Svalbard Museum. Visit June to July for midnight sun or September for the first northern lights.

Longyearbyen, the northernmost permanent settlement in the world, is a unique port in the Svalbard archipelago, rich in history and breathtaking Arctic landscapes. Must-do experiences include savoring local delicacies like reindeer stew and exploring the stunning fjords of Raudfjord and Liefdefjorden. The best time to visit is during the summer months, when the midnight sun illuminates the stunning scenery.