Head north to the land of the midnight sun where you can experience the longest summer days you’ll ever see. Imogen Lepere marvels at majestic mountains and spectacular icebergs floating in icy waterways
On the face of it Sermermiut is an unlikely place for a town. About 250km north of the Arctic Circle, the town of Ilulissat is flanked by an ice fjord, which is constantly fed by vast bergs splintering off the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. Yet not only has Ilulissat survived, it has prospered. Although there are nearly as many huskies as there are people, this rainbow-painted town at the end of the world has an astonishingly cosmopolitan air, particularly during the brief summer months when travellers flock to see the midnight sun transform the ice from blue to gold. Wexas Travel’s seven-night Iceberg Town of Ilulissat adventure includes a midnight sail through the ice fjord, weaving in between icebergs that tower up to 100m, a cultural tour of the town and plenty of free time to soak up the fascinating atmosphere. The highlight of the trip has to be the night spent at Eqi Glacier Lodge, 80km north of Ilulissat. You’ll spend the day exploring the lagoons around the base of the glacier and the evening getting cosy in a private wooden hut overlooking the fjord.
Wexas Travel’s seven-night The Iceberg Town of Ilulissat itinerary costs £2,150 including accommodation, flights and transfers (wexas.com).
We’re not going to beat around the bush – getting to the Arctic can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. And that is precisely why you’re likely to have the world’s greatest wilderness to yourself when you are there. Nunavut is one of the most accessible Arctic destinations in terms of transport, and in June the midnight sun keeps temperatures at 8-14C degrees, ideal for hiking and fat biking. The real draw is the wildlife, which is particularly active at this time of year. Thanks to 24-hour daylight, you’ll see polar bears hunting seals and Arctic foxes stalking the tundra round the clock. Quark Expeditions’ eight-night Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge experience is the Arctic trip of a lifetime. It includes a chartered plane from Yellowknife to Somerset Island, where Arctic Watch is the only permanent structure amid 24,786 square kilometres of breathtaking landscape. The most northerly fly-in lodge in the world, it overlooks Cunningham Inlet, where thousands of beluga whales come to nurse their young. There are 16 guest cabins, each with en-suite bathrooms and king-sized beds warmed by hot-water bottles. Feast on Arctic char sashimi and Baffin Bay turbot in the restaurant before taking a bottle of Okanagan Valley wine to the Great Room, where you can delve into the library.
Quark Expeditions’ eight-night Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge adventure starts at £5,400 including charter flight and eight nights’ accommodation, full board (quarkexpeditions.com).
What could be more thrilling than standing on deck with Alaskan breezes blowing the smell of the Arctic through your hair as glaciers shift and fragment all round you? Doing the same thing in the middle of the night with the sun turning the ice ghostly pink is a good place to start. On Holland America’s week- long Inside Passage cruise you’ll sail from Vancouver to Skagway via Glacier Bay, through deep-water fjords in the Alaskan Panhandle and Frederick Sound, where colonies of sea lions and brown bears luxuriate in the sun. On average, there are at least 18 hours of daylight, providing plenty of time to find your land-legs and explore the many fascinating stop-off points dotted along the way. Juneau, Alaska’s capital, can only be reached by air or sea as it is bordered by the misty Coast Mountains and Tongass National Forest. The cafés of its downtown area buzz long into the evening as locals enjoy the extended daylight hours. Don’t miss the opportunity to sample King Salmon in Ketchikan, a brightly painted fishing town built on stilts.
Holland America’s seven-night Inside Passage Cruise costs £558, not including flights (hollandamerica.com).
Iceland could have been designed for landscape photography. It really does have it all – steaming volcanic craters in the Myvatn Basin, glacial lagoons with black sand beaches and tiny islands colonised by nesting puffins. In June the sun floats above the horizon throughout the night, which means that the elusive golden glow of sunset lasts for hours. It’s a fool-proof recipe for spectacular photographs. During Iceland Photo Tours’ 12-night Midnight Sun Workshop two local photographers will guide you through the country’s most epic landscapes, sharing techniques for capturing the unique light. The trip begins in the west, where the Snæfellsnes Peninsula’s fishing villages are silhouetted against the sun as it hovers just above the sea line. Namafjall is a highlight of the north. The contrasts between the textures of its colourful hot springs and geothermal fields are exaggerated by the evening light, creating endless opportunities for happy snapping. The real climax is Vatnajokull National Park, a staggering area of shifting glaciers, blue icebergs on which seals bask and ice crystals that gleam like diamonds under the midnight sun. Myriad memorable images are in the making.
Iceland Photo Tours 12-night Iceland Midnight Sun Photography Workshop costs £4,344 including accommodation on a full-board basis, transfers and two photography guides (icelandphototours.com).
Our fantasy road trip has lots in common with a modern day version of a Jack Kerouac novel: we picture windows rolled down, music turned up and the boundless freedom of the open road. Driving through some of Alaska’s most magnificent landscapes under the orange glow of the midnight sun ups the romanticism still further. Embark on Discover the World’s eight-night Highlights of Alaska Self Drive in June and you’ll have at least 21 hours of daylight in which to lap up the scenery. Beginning and ending in Anchorage, the route sweeps from the coastal south to Alaska’s mountainous heartland. The trip includes a guided tour of Denali National Park, an Edenic mass half the size of Wales where bears, deer and caribou roam among the foothills of North America’s highest peak, Denali. Arrive in Fairbanks on Sunday 19 June and you’ll find the Midnight Sun Festival in full swing. Artisan food vendors showcase the tastes of rural Alaska; look out for moose steak sandwiches in sourdough, King Crab and wonderful wild fruits such as salmonberries stewed into cakes and puddings. A series of late-night activities such as midnight baseball will get you mingling with locals long into the evening.
Discover The World’s eight-night Highlights of Alaska Self Drive costs from £1,259 including accommodation, car hire and a tour of Denali National Park (discovertheworld.co.uk).
Deep in Swedish Lapland, the King’s Trail is one of the world’s most revered hiking routes. About 200km north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the last wild frontiers in Europe. Sami communities live in the birch forests, fish eagles soar over Abiskojaure Lake and in June you’ll spot reindeer cooling themselves in the remnants of last winter’s snow in Tjaktjajakka Valley. Kebnekaise, Sweden’s highest mountain (2,111m) towers above semi-tundras where, in early summer, you’ll see six varieties of wild orchid nourished by the midnight sun. On KE Adventures’ nine-day trek you’ll walk just under 100km of the route, from Abisco to Nikkaloukta. For the most part the trail is relatively flat, apart from day seven, which includes a climb up the mighty Bjorlings Glacier to the slopes of Kebnekaise. The beauty of this trail is its wildness. There are no hotels along the way, just mountain stations (with beds and wood-burning stoves). After a long day’s walking, relax tired muscles in a sauna before cooling off in a melt-water stream as the midnight sun turns the mountains a golden ochre – it’s a magical experience. If you fancy a little Scandi luxury before flying home, Scandic Ferrum in Kiruna is a short drive from the airport and its interiors combine local materials such as moose skin with funky ethnic fabrics along with warming open fires.
KE Adventures keadventure.com nine-day Kungsleden Trek costs £1,365 including flights, transfers, accommodation and all meals. Doubles at Scandic Ferrum from £107 (scandichotels.com).
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