A new cruise is offering travelers a chance to follow in the wake of legendary sailors like Erik the Red, the Viking explorer known for establishing the first colony on Greenland (and giving the island its misleading name), and Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian adventurer who first navigated the Northwest Passage.
Lindblad Expeditions recently announced a 69-day “Epic Northwest Passage: Iceland to Japan” sailing that will connect Reykjavík, Iceland, with Kyoto, Japan, while passing through some of the Arctic’s most remote and wild landscapes.
“This isn’t just our longest trip—it’s one of our most meaningful,” Trey Byus, chief expedition officer at Lindblad Expeditions, told Afar. “Spanning three continents, from the glaciers of Iceland and Greenland to the wilds of Alaska and the rich traditions of Japan, it’s about seeing how history, nature, and culture connect in ways one might never expect. The Northwest Passage is legendary, but it’s just one highlight of this adventure; from majestic icebergs and Japanese castles to samurai traditions and rare wildlife.”
The sailing on the 138-passenger National Geographic Resolution will depart Iceland’s capital on July 14, 2026, and venture north along Iceland’s western frontier to visit Flatey Island, a former trading post where puffins dot the cliffsides, and the Westfjords, a peninsula in the northeast region of Iceland known for its dizzying cliffs.
After a jaunt across the Denmark Strait, travelers will spend 15 days exploring the ice-sculpted coastlines of Greenland. Some of the highlights will include walking through the ruins of Brattahlid, Erik the Red’s farm, and exploring the same shores from which his son Leif Erikson launched the first voyages to North America. Passengers will also visit communities like Nuuk, Greenland’s pint-size capital city, and Sisimiut, a former whaling port. They will then spend a couple days floating between icebergs calved off the world’s most active glacier, Sermeq Kujalleq, in the UNESCO World Heritage–designated Ilulissat Icefjord.
After Greenland, the journey will continue toward Canada, where guests will spend three days learning about the Thule people (the ancestors to the modern Inuit) and looking for ringed seals, arctic foxes, walruses, and polar bears, before finally reaching the Northwest Passage.
Stretching across the icy waters of the Arctic, this elusive sea route was a critical one to conquer for explorers aiming to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through a shortcut along the northern coast of North America. The Northwest Passage became legendary not only for its potential economic value but also for the perilous journey it promised, with many explorers succumbing to the harsh Arctic conditions and unpredictable weather. The Resolution, however, is ice-strengthened and purpose-built for polar conditions. In the 10 days it will take to skim some of the northernmost reaches of Canada, passengers will have the opportunity to hike on the tundra, kayak in glacial water, and search for Arctic animals.
After a handful of days sailing along the northern and northwest coast of Alaska, the ship will dock in Nome, the Bering Sea community known for being the finishing point of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, before sailing onward to the little-visited Pribilof, St. Paul, and St. George Islands, which house some of the largest seabird colonies, including tufted puffins and red-legged kittiwakes, in the Northern Hemisphere.
Then, veering west, the ship will visit Alaska’s dramatic volcanic Aleutian Islands before setting course for Japan, where the first stop will be in Kushiro, on the northeast shore of Hokkaido. The final 20 days of the sailing will be spent mainly visiting smaller port communities like Shimizu (from where Mount Fuji is visible) and Matsue (known for its 17th-century castle). However, there will also be scheduled stops in Osaka and Hiroshima, two of the largest cities in the country. One day will be spent in South Korea, where travelers can visit Gyeongju, a UNESCO World Heritage site. At the end of the sailing, travelers will disembark and be transferred to Kyoto, Japan’s cultural capital, where the trip will end on September 22, 2024.
The Resolution launched in 2021 and has cabins that range in size from cozy 183-square-foot Category 1 staterooms—featuring two picture windows, a queen-size bed, a writing desk, and a chair—to the 420-square-foot Bridge Suite, which boasts an additional pull-out sofa, a walk-in closet, a bathroom with a double vanity, a bathtub, a towel warmer, and a rain shower, plus a balcony with chairs and a hammock.
The ship’s public spaces include a restaurant with sweeping views, an observation lounge and library, a main lounge with a full-service bar where daily seminars and presentations are held, a spa, a fitness center, two outdoor hot tubs, and a pair of geodesic glass igloos outfitted with hot-water-bottle–warmed beds for those brave enough to spend the night atop the ship.
If you don’t have enough time to do the entire journey, Lindblad also offers the itinerary in pieces, including the 19-day “Alaska to Japan: Ring of Fire to Ainu Culture” and the 23-day “Northwest Passage: Greenland to Alaska.”
Book now: The 69-day “Epic Northwest Passage: Iceland to Japan” itinerary starts at $108,285 per person.
