Hurtigruten Expeditions will take guests to “rarely visited and isolated villages” in Russia in 2022.

The 17-day White Sea – Norway and Russia Adventure itinerary on MS Spitsbergen will depart Bergen, Norway, on 6 October 2022 and sail north along the Norwegian coast.

Highlights include the Lofoten Islands and the North Cape, the northernmost point of the European mainland.

Guests will then spend seven days in Russia, combining modern-day cities and historic ports with expedition landings.

The itinerary follows the recent additions of expedition cruises to the Galápagos Islands, the Bissagos Islands and Cape Verde in western Africa, and the Canary Islands and Madeira Islands, all of which will launch in 2022.

Hurtigruten Expeditions CEO Asta Lassesen said: “After a very challenging year for the entire travel industry, we are thrilled to finally return to cruising.

“2022 is set to be our most exciting year ever, introducing a number of new exciting itineraries in three different continents. We see a huge pent-up demand for adventure travel, and much more to come still.

“Russia’s White Sea is another dream destination our patrons have asked for when surveying our previous guests, just like the Galápagos and western Africa.

“Finally, guests will now be able to go to Russia’s best-kept secret, the White Sea, which very few travellers ever get to experience.

“Considering we carried out our first expedition cruise to Russia more than 100 years ago, we’re extremely excited to have Russia as a destination again finally.”

Hurtigruten Expeditions recently resumed operations with the launch of MS Otto Sverdrup.

The battery-hybrid powered ship will operate year-round expedition cruises from Hamburg to the Norwegian coast.