Sjuøyane | Exploring the Remote Northern Edge of Svalbard
You feel the remoteness of Sjuøyane the moment you hear its name. This small group of islands sits far to the north of Nordaustlandet, just beyond 80°N, exposed to drifting pack ice and weather that changes without warning. Reaching it isn’t guaranteed, yet when conditions line up, you get a rare look at one of the Arctic’s most untouched places.
Where the Seven Islands meet the ice
The name 'Sjuøyane' translates to 'Seven Islands,' a simple description used by early explorers who charted these waters in the 17th century. Dutch navigators and whalers, including Cornelis Giles helped map the area while searching for new whale-rich grounds, and those early charts gave Europe its first detailed look at Svalbard’s high-Arctic limits.
Today, Sjuøyane remains largely unchanged from the time those explorers first reached it. Ice surrounds the islands for much of the year, and even in late summer, floes often drift along the horizon.
Sjuøyane sits at the shifting boundary between the drifting polar pack ice to the north and the more open waters of the Arctic Ocean to the south, which is why conditions here can change rapidly and without warning.
That’s also why visiting is never guaranteed. If the ice retreats and the seas remain calm, small expedition vessels may be able to approach from the south and zodiac around them—but the decision depends entirely on conditions at the moment, not on the calendar.
What early navigators discovered in these waters
Early navigators approaching Sjuøyane encountered not a single island but a scattered chain of low, ice-bound landforms marking the northern limit of Svalbard. Charted gradually through Dutch and British expeditions in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Seven Islands became important reference points at the edge of the known Arctic—used to fix latitude, observe ice conditions, and define how far north European vessels could reliably reach.
Phippsøya, the largest of the group, takes its name from the English explorer Constantine John Phipps, who sailed these waters in 1773 during an early attempt to reach the North Pole. Although the expedition did not achieve its goal, the charts and observations it produced added critical detail to Britain’s emerging understanding of the high Arctic.
At the opposite extreme lies Rossøya, a small, low-lying islet that marks the northernmost point of Europe. Barely rising above the sea, it functioned less as a destination than as a geographic marker—an abstract boundary indicating where the European continent gives way to the Arctic Ocean and the drifting polar pack beyond.
For the expeditions that reached this far north, Sjuøyane functioned primarily as a point of reference—marking latitude, ice conditions, and the outer limits of European navigation in the Arctic.
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Wildlife at the edge of the pack ice
Sjuøyane supports wildlife typical of the high Arctic, shaped by cold, exposure, and the shifting presence of sea ice. In summer, seabird cliffs may host black guillemots, kittiwakes, and occasionally ivory gulls, while walrus haul out on low gravel shores when conditions allow. Polar bears regularly move through the area with the drifting pack ice, which means any landing is approached cautiously and may be cancelled if bears are active nearby. Wildlife encounters here are never guaranteed and depend less on the season than on ice and conditions at the time.
Visiting Sjuøyane with Secret Atlas
Reaching Sjuøyane is never guaranteed, and you should treat any visit as a possibility rather than a certainty. The window to attempt it falls in late July and August, when ice conditions are usually at their most forgiving. Even then, your captain will make the final call based on sea ice, wind, swell, and wildlife activity.
When the opportunity presents itself, small-ship expeditions offer the best chance. Secret Atlas uses micro-cruise vessels that carry 12 guests only, giving you the flexibility to respond quickly to weather and ice shifts.
If conditions align, you may approach the islands by one of our micro-cruises and explore the coastlines, always with expert guides who know how to read the Arctic’s fast-changing environment.
You’re never promised a landing here, yet that’s part of what makes Sjuøyane so memorable. Simply reaching the area and seeing the islands rise out of a high-Arctic seascape feels like stepping into the edge of the world—quiet, remote, and shaped by ice in every direction.
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