Viking Octantis | Great Lakes Explorer | Itinerary

Embark your ship and settle into your stateroom. Milwaukee was first settled by Europeans in 1818, when French-Canadian fur trader Solomon Juneau arrived. German, Polish and Eastern European immigrants followed, bringing with them a long tradition of beer brewing. For several decades in the 20th century, Milwaukee became the world’s most prolific beer producer. Today, the city is a vibrant center of art, history and culture. The RiverWalk, a pedestrian walkway along the Milwaukee, is a popular spot for enjoying relaxing strolls or viewing public art installations. 

Steeped in the charms of simpler times, Mackinac Island is a gem of the Great Lakes. Located in the Straits of Mackinac where Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas are closest and Lakes Huron and Michigan meet, this bucolic haven preserves gilded Victorian-era treasures along car-free streets traversed by horse-drawn carriages. The perimeter road is the only state highway in the US that does not permit motor vehicles. More than 80% of Mackinac is protected as a state park, from its Greek Revival Grand Hotel and British-built Fort Mackinac to its preserved wilderness areas. 

Discover the magnificent UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Georgian Bay. The pristine shores of Frazer Bay, Killarney and Parry Sound are best explored by kayak or RIB while peaceful walking trails lead into the woodland realms of native flora and fauna. The beloved Thirty Thousand Islands stretch along the lakeshore for 120 miles, forming one of the world’s largest freshwater archipelagos. Among art lovers, this area is known as the picturesque subject of the Group of Seven, a prolific cadre of 1920s and early 1930s landscape painters inspired by the natural world.

The Soo Locks is a series of parallel locks that make river travel between Lake Superior and Lake Huron possible, thereby linking Superior to the lower Great Lakes and the Atlantic. Opened in 1855 to allow ships to bypass the river’s 21-foot fall over roiling rapids, this innovative lock system—along with the Erie Canal built 30 years prior—was one of the great engineering projects of its day. Today, it guides ships past the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie in Michigan; its bridge crosses over the Soo Locks, connecting the two cities.

Silver Islet sits on the southern edge of the Sibley Peninsula at the mouth of Thunder Bay. Nearby Sleeping Giant Provincial Park attracts outdoor enthusiasts year-round with its diverse wildlife and many miles of hiking trails that lead to spectacular views of the Canadian Shield landscape. Less than a mile from its shores are the remnants of an abandoned silver mine. Located 1,200 feet below Lake Superior, this unique underwater mine was the world’s largest and most valuable silver mine, producing the modern-day equivalent of $78 million before flooding in 1884.

Thunder Bay is known as “Canada’s Gateway to the West” for its location at the final navigational point on the Canadian side of Lake Superior. Originally founded as a fur trading post, a settlement was established in 1803 and Fort William was erected. In 1970, Fort William and neighboring Port Arthur were merged to form the City of Thunder Bay. Today, it is one of Ontario’s most vibrant cities and a center of art and culture. Its Waterfront District is beloved for its views across the bay of the Sleeping Giant, a long line of mesas that resemble a giant lying on its back. After breakfast, disembark your ship and journey home.