Polar Winter · Mid-October to Mid-January
Natural Selection
Orcas, auroras and the long night, met on the wild's own terms, from a heated catamaran that never asks you to be tougher than you are.
6 nights · 7 days · From Tromsø · 6–8 guests · Oct–Jan · From 75,000 NOK per person
Inaugural voyage sold out; 2027–28 now booking
≈ US$8,000 · £6,000 · €7,100 · A$11,400 · approx. onlyA week inside the polar night, built around the headline act of the northern winter: snorkelling with wild orcas in the herring grounds beyond Tromsø. Around it: auroras hunted whenever the sky opens, a wild night ashore of fire, sauna and snow shelter, quiet snowshoe hours on frozen shorelines, and food pulled straight from the sea. Not a cruise, and not a survival test. The Arctic sets the pace; you choose how deep to go.
Your hosts
Cruise & Storm Ferreira.
Between them, 40,000+ nautical miles under sail, formal Arctic outdoor and survival training, professional cooking, wildlife photography, and marine safety and crisis certification.
Our story →Sample itinerary
A week the wildlife writes.
This is a curated collection of the Arctic winter's best standalone highlights: each delivered when conditions are right, each fully optional, none dependent on the one before it. Three full days sit in the middle of the week for the orca grounds alone, so a single weather day can never cost the headline experience.
Day 01
Lines off in the blue light
Get fitted for your drysuit and cold-weather kit at the gear shop in Tromsø, then board the Arctic Dream at 10:00. A safety briefing, time to settle in, and lines off by late morning as the polar twilight turns blue. Lunch underway, and the first dinner from the galley, cooked from scratch with local ingredients, as we reach the orca grounds.
Nature selects the moment. The itinerary stays responsive to sea state, herring runs, orca movement, aurora and light; the experiences are the promise, the exact order is not.
Made for mixed groups
Three ways into every day: pick yours as it comes.
Every activity block has three ways in. Full participation: in-water encounters, cold plunges, snow-cave nights, longer snowshoe hikes. Modified: orca-watching from deck or tender, sauna without the plunge, a shorter walk, sleeping aboard after the shore evening. Or full basecamp: the heated vessel, meals, wildlife watching, photography and the social heart of the week, with no physical exertion required at all. Every day carries an explicit stay-aboard alternative; no one is excluded, only redirected into the version of the expedition that fits them that day.
The vessel as basecamp
A heated basecamp inside the polar night.
Home for the week is a 2024 Lagoon 51 catamaran: heated, comfortable, and quietly capable, with four en-suite guest cabins for up to eight guests. It carries you into remote anchorages with no road access, then becomes the warm centre you return to after every immersion, every aurora session, every long day on the water.
More on the boat →Who leads it
Small crew, deep experience.
You travel with the Ferreira brothers, Cruise and Storm. Between them, 40,000+ nautical miles under sail, formal Arctic outdoor and survival training, professional cooking, wildlife photography, and marine safety and crisis certification. Cruise runs the galley as a chef-guide; Storm leads the photography and in-water side. Small crew, deep experience, and a family history in the water with the ocean's largest predators.
Our story →
Who it's for
No cold tolerance is required for orca snorkelling; full drysuit systems are provided and fitted, and cold exposure only applies to the optional plunges. Moderate fitness helps for full participation (2–4 hours of snowshoeing at a relaxed pace), but every activity carries a full onboard alternative. No sailing, diving or winter experience required. Open to solo travellers, couples, and families with teens (13+, subject to screening).
The facts
- Season: Mid-October to Mid-January (peak Nov–Dec)
- 6–8 guests
- Departs & returns Tromsø
- Minimum age 13
Book this expedition
Upcoming departures.
Shared cabin
from 75,000 NOK per person
≈ US$8,000 · £6,000 · €7,100 · A$11,400 · approx. onlyPrivate cabin
from 85,000 NOK per person
≈ US$9,100 · £6,800 · €8,100 · A$13,000 · approx. onlyWhole boat, up to 8 guests
from 445,000 NOK
≈ US$47,000 · £36,000 · €42,000 · A$68,000 · approx. onlyThe whole boat. Take the catamaran for your own group of up to eight, on one of our scheduled departures, or on dates arranged with us. It suits families, groups of friends, dive clubs and photography groups: with one group aboard, the week is shaped around you rather than around strangers.
Enquire about full boat →Choose a departure and send a request. Nothing is charged now; we confirm your spot personally, then send a secure payment link.
Book a custom trip or private departure
Own dates, own group, own itinerary; we'll build the voyage around you.
Enquire →Prefer to talk it through? Speak to Cruise or Storm directly.
Choose a departure to see pricing.
Travel agencies
Full operational dossier (day-by-day itinerary, wildlife protocol, three-tier participation model and commission terms) is in the Agent Portal.
Agent Portal →