Lying 600 miles from the North Pole, Spitsbergen is an ideal base for exploring the vast array of Arctic marine and wildlife. According to Wikipedia, it is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway. The area is home to over 2,000 polar bears, hundreds of thousands of migrating birds, and pods of Blue whales, Beluga, Minke and Humpback whales. Hence, it offers a great opportunity to observe the Arctic animals in their wild homes. Aqua-Firma conducts Arctic voyages into the area round the year.  Voyages last between 8 and 16 days.