Rewilding: Orcas, Auroras + the Polar Night
For one week, the sun never clears the horizon. Sail dark fjords on a luxury yacht and slip into frigid water to snorkel with wild orcas mid-hunt. Take a polar plunge, hike snow-blown islands, and spend one unforgettable night ashore in a self-dug snow cave or fire-warmed teepee — all while the aurora ripples overhead.
Set sail from Tromsø aboard a privately chartered expedition yacht and head deep into Arctic Norway at the peak of orca season — when the days are short, the nights are long, and nature doesn't care about your comfort zone.
Each day, a brief window of cobalt twilight stretches across the horizon — just a few quiet hours of light before darkness returns. And in that narrow window, everything happens. You'll scout for wild orcas and, conditions permitting, slip into the frigid water beside them in a drysuit — an experience that's equal parts humbling and electric. You may encounter humpbacks. You'll fish, hike remote islands, build fires on frozen beaches, and take the kind of polar plunge that resets your entire nervous system.
At night, the Arctic comes alive in a different way. The sky opens up — northern lights dancing overhead, the Milky Way cutting through the darkness — and your floating basecamp becomes a front-row seat to one of the most raw, untamed environments on Earth.
This is about re-wilding. About stepping outside the routines, the noise, the soft edges of modern life — and remembering what it feels like to be fully awake in the natural world.
Space is limited to just 6 guest spots aboard an intimate expedition yacht, hosted personally by the Lockwood family. No crowds. No fluff. Just a small group, a seasoned crew, and a week that will stay with you long after you've thawed out.
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Trip Itinerary
Tromsø: Lines Off at Last Light
You land in Tromsø, get scooped up at the airport, and we handle the bags and the transfer so your only job is to stop being a passenger and start being a crew member. Settle into your cabin aboard the Arctic Dream, meet the crew, run the safety briefing — then the catamaran slips its lines as the last cobalt light drains off the horizon. First night aboard, first taste of the dark.
Into the Dark Islands
Your first full expedition day: sailing the coastal islands while the crew scouts the herring runs — because where the herring go, the orcas follow. There's a drysuit fitting and a water orientation so you're not learning to breathe through a snorkel at the exact moment a six-ton apex predator cruises past. As the twilight fades, eyes up for your first chance at the aurora.
Eye to Eye with Orcas
The headline act. Conditions permitting, you slip into 2–4°C water in a drysuit beside wild orcas mid-hunt — humbling and electric in roughly equal measure. Humpbacks are common gatecrashers. Back aboard for a hot meal, then aurora and Milky Way overhead if the sky plays nice. We promise the experience, never the weather.
Plunge, Fish, Fire
A yacht-based day with range: drop lines for your own dinner, hike a remote island, and take the polar plunge above the Arctic Circle — the kind of cold-shock that reboots your whole nervous system. A beach bonfire to thaw out, a sauna for contrast, and more sky-watching once the dark settles back in.
A Night Ashore
We bring everyone onto a remote beach for the trip's wildest night. A 12-person teepee goes up with a wood-burning stove inside, reindeer skins and sleeping bags lining the floor; a fire burns all evening while the crew cooks hearty food over open flame. Sauna sessions, cold plunges, and — conditions permitting — snow caves you help dig and can actually sleep in. Teepee, snow cave, or back to the yacht: the choice is yours.
Where You’ll Stay
Arctic Dream
Your floating basecamp above the Arctic Circle
The Arctic Dream is a 2024 Lagoon 51 sailing catamaran, and for one week it's your warm, steady home base while the Arctic does its thing outside. Two saloons, a flybridge, and outdoor daybeds mean room to spread out, thaw out, and scan for orcas without elbowing your cabinmate. It isn't a cruise ship and it isn't pretending to be one — it's an intimate expedition platform that just happens to be genuinely comfortable.
What's Included
- Six nights aboard a privately chartered expedition catamaran
- Professional crew, including an experienced expedition chef
- All meals onboard — breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Guided expedition activities, including orca snorkeling, the polar plunge, island hikes, and the land-based overnight camp
- Expedition equipment: drysuits, snorkeling gear, towels, and backup winter overalls
- Tromsø airport pickup, hotel transfer, baggage assistance, and transfer to the yacht
- International and domestic flights
- Pre- and post-charter hotels in Tromsø
- Alcohol (guests purchase and bring their own)
- Meals before and after the charter
- Comprehensive travel insurance — required for this expedition
