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Next to the North Pole, Seven Days on Svalbard

NEXT TO THE NORTH POLE

High Arctic, Svalbard, Spitsbergen island... Located midway between continental Norway and the North Pole, Svalbard is a dream of explorers. Nature is wild and grandiose, everything is in its superlative! You will experience once-in-a-lifetime adventure snowmobiling through the gigantic glaciers that descend from the dramatic summits into the Greenland sea; crossing the frozen fjords and watching a passage between majestic multi-colored mountains. Animals are the hosts here: wild reindeer grazing in spectacular valleys, seals, and walruses basking on the ice floes, and this whole world of wilderness is reigned by the Polar Bear, the king of the Arctic. 
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6 days on snowmobile

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2 glaciers

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No experience

 required

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Available for children from 12 y/o

Comfortable hotel accommodation

TRAVEL DATES IN 2023:

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no dates

TOUR PRICE PER PERSON:

Driver on the snowmobile

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price TBA

 

+ Passenger on the snowmobile

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price TBA / adult or child 14+ y/o

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price TBA / child 12-14 y/o

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THE PRICE INCLUDES:

Transfer:

  • From/to the airport or your place of accommodation in Longyearbyen

  • Snowmobile trips between the settlements

Accommodation:

  • 4 nights in the hotel Barentsburg (TWIN/DBL accommodation)

  • 2 nights in the hotel Pyramiden (TWIN/DBL accommodation)

Meals:

  • 6 Breakfasts

  • 7 Set Lunches (set meal in the restaurant or field lunch during the snowmobile trip)

  • 7 Set Dinners in the restaurant

  • 1 Beer tasting

Activities:

  • Guided tours in Barentsburg and Pyramiden

  • Excursion in the ArtArctic Gallery

  • Snowmobile trips in the surroundings of Barentsburg and Pyramiden

Snowmobile & equipment rental

  • Lynx Commander 600 E-TEC, fuel


  • Rental of winter overalls, boots, gloves, and a helmet 

Safety​

  • Guide services

  • Insurance covering search and rescue, evacuation costs in case of emergency

THE PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

  • Flight to/from Longyearbyen

  • Bar drinks or a la carte orders beyond the tour program

  • Souvenirs

  • Individual travel insurance

  • Additional services

ADDITIONAL SERVICES:

  • Visit to the Husky Center – 150 NOK /person

  • Tour to the Mine – 600 NOK/person

  • Handicraft Center – 150 NOK/person

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  • Dog sledding 12 км – 790 NOK/person

  • Dog sledding 10 км – 690 NOK/person

  • Dog sledding 3,5 км – 250 NOK/person

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  • Dog-trekking 3-4 hrs – 490 NOK/person

TOUR PRICE
WHAT IS INCLUDED
TRAVEL DATES
Next to the North Pole Day 1
ITINERARY

DAY 1 • MONDAY

  • 10.00 guide will pick you up at your hotel in Longyearbuen and then you will be transferred to Russkiy Dom (eng. Russian House, our expedition center and guesthouse).

 

  • Tour briefing with coffee, safety and snowmobile instructions, equipment fitting and packing

 

  • Departure by snowmobile to Barentsburg by route: Longyearbyen – Todalen – Skiferdalen – Grøndalen – Barentsburg

 

Snowmobiling: 75 km, 3-4 hours

 

 

 

Longyearbyen is the capital of Svalbard. It is the northernmost populated area with approximately 2400 inhabitants, 50 nationalities. Longyearbyen was founded in 1906 by John Longyear and named after him further on. This is a town with a particular temper that has been loved by adventurers, explorers, fans of the North and wilderness.

Barentsburg is the Russian «capital» of Svalbard. It is a town of Arctic stories written by Dutch explorers, Russian and Norwegian trappers, American and German merchants, adventurers, Soviet builders of communism and Russian miners. Barentsburg was founded in 1921 by the Dutch as a coal-mining settlement. Since 1931 it has been under the State Trust «Arcticugol» administration. The population is approximately 500 people.

Next to the North Pole Day 2

DAY 2 • TUESDAY

  • Breakfast in the hotel restaurant

 

  • Snowmobile day trip by route: Barentsburg – Linnevatnet – Isfjord Radio – Russekeila – Festningsodden – Barentsburg

 

Snowmobiling: 80 - 110 km, 6 hours

 

It is time to follow the trails of the real pioneers and explorers of the Arctic. You will go around Grønfjorden, and through frozen glacial lakes you will get to Isfjord Radio Station. Then you will go to the Starostin hut – a place with a special atmosphere that was named after a legendary Russian trapper Ivan Starostin.

 

  • Lunch in warm and cozy interiors

 

  • Arrival in Barentsburg

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Barentsburg is the warmest place in the Arctic as you feel at home as soon as you arrive. On the tour, your guide will get you acquainted with the town stories of then and now and you will live through traditions of the locals. While in the ArtArctic Gallery, you’ll follow the history from Willem Barents to present-day and will go back to the roots of Svalbard discovery.

 

  • Dinner in the bar, restaurant and brewery Red Bear, tasting of local beer

To summarize the impressions of the day you’ll head to the first brewery on Svalbard – Red Bear, where you will taste the beer that is locally brewed on water from the glacier lake Stemme located across the fjord. We have several types of beer and you will define which one is your favorite.

 

  • Overnight in the hotel Barentsburg

Isfjord Radio is a former shore radio and weather station on the cape Linné. A century ago it turned into a connection chain between the archipelago and the mainland, serving as a navigation system and collecting weather data. Nowadays, the station is completely automatically controlled and includes nice accommodation and restaurant facilities.

Starostin hut got its name after a legendary pomor trapper, Ivan Starostin, who spent 39 winters on Svalbard never leaving the island during the last 15 years. He lived at the Russekeila river mouth located not so far from Grønfjorden. There you will see the reconstruction of Starostin overwintering camp and Russian trappers funeral cross.

Next to the North Pole Day 3

DAY 3 • WEDNESDAY

  • Breakfast in the hotel restaurant

 

  • Snowmobile day trip to Fridtjov glacier (Fridtjovbreen) by route: Barentsburg – Skardalen – Kapp Morton – Fridjovbreen – Bretjørna – Barentsburg

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Snowmobiling: 95 - 110 km, 4,5 hours

 

Today you will drive to Fridtjov glacier to be amazed by magically formed glacial wall, discover hundreds of shades of blue, feel the Arctic silence, hear icy breathing of the glacier. On the way back you will visit the Ice House – a nature-made art object: due to the melted glacier part, it had been constructed on the house base got inclined so nowadays, everybody who passes by the Ice House takes a photo with it.

 

  • Lunch in the field on the way

 

  • Arrival in Barentsburg

 

  • Dinner in one of the restaurants

 

  • Overnight in the hotel Barentsburg

Fridtjov glacier (Fridtjovbreen) was named after the hunting sloop "Frithiof" of Hammerfest, Norway, vessel of the Torell expedition to Spitsbergen in 1885. It is about 14 km long glacier debouching into Fridtjovhamna in Van Mijenfjorden, west in Nordenskiöld Land.

Next to the North Pole Day 4
DAY 4 • THURSDAY

This day is free of snowmobiling so you can relax and catch your breath before moving on with your adventure across the Arctic land.

 

 

It is the only operating coal mine in the world where you can get into with a tour. You can see cooperation between man and nature, mechanics of getting into the ground depth and mine reinforcement. The tour is guided by a real miner so that you will get first-hand knowledge.

 

  • Breakfast in the hotel restaurant

 

 

The Husky Center is unique because we have almost all the Arctic sled dog breeds. This is a place where images of the pole exploration by Amundsen and Peary take on life right in front of you. You can try yourself as a real musher and go for dog sledding along the shore of Grønfjorden to see one of the most breathtaking views around. (different distances, at extra cost).

 

  • Lunch in the hotel restaurant

 

  • You may visit the Handicraft Center for the traditional Russian workshop and make a souvenir with your own hands (at extra cost)

 

  • Visit to the souvenir shop and post office

 

You will be able to buy the authentic souvenirs, that are made either in the Handicraft Center or in Northern Russia. The Post Office with the interiors of the Norwegian post offices of the 19-20th Centuries will also be on the way, so you could send some postcards to your family and friends from one of the Northernmost towns on the Earth.

 

  • Dinner in one of the restaurants

 

  • Overnight in the hotel Barentsburg

Barentsburg Husky Center would probably be the cutest and fluffiest location in Barentsburg. 80 doghouses on the Grønfjorden shore stand against the background of the magnificent Esmark glacier (Esmarkbreen). When we started the project, we soon realized that there is plenty of various North sled dog breeds and at different times they all were actively involved in the exploration of the Arctic and dog sledding sport. Thus we had an idea to create a project of the kennel with all the Arctic sled dog breeds. Nowadays, there is no kennel of the sort. Our task is ambitious but so far, we've been doing pretty well.

Next to the North Pole Day 5

DAY 5 • FRIDAY

  • Breakfast in the hotel restaurant

 

  • Departure by snowmobile to Pyramiden by route: Barentsburg – Colesdalen – Fardalen – Longyearbyen - Sassendalen – Lomonosovfonna - Nordenskiöld glacier – Pyramiden

 

Snowmobiling: 180-240 km, 8-10 hours

 

Today we head to one of the most extraordinary regions on Svalbard – Pyramiden and around. You will have an opportunity to witness breath-taking views of the Arctic snowy kingdom and magnificent natural landscapes with mountains, valleys and of course, one of the most massive glaciers of the archipelago - Nordenskiöldbreen (Nordenskiöld glacier) and then reach an open-air museum and Arctic time machine – Pyramiden, the place of northernmost.

 

  • Lunch in the field

 

  • Nordenskiöld Glacial Wall

 

On the way, you will reach a wonderful place that makes you feel tiny in this huge world – the massive Nordenskiöld Glacial Wall, it is a common spot for polar bears to hunt seals, so there is a chance to meet them, but from the safe distance, of course.

 

 

  • Dinner in the hotel restaurant

 

Then, before you get to your cozy bed you will be able to enjoy the evening on the sofas and a screen playing documentary films about Pyramiden past times. There is no internet or phone connection in the settlement, so for some people it becomes a digital detox and the gadgets do not interrupt sincere conversations and pure fun.

 

  • Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden

Pyramiden is a settlement located at the bottom of the mountain and named after it. It was founded in 1911. It's a town located in between mountains, huge glacier and moraine. In 1956 the settlement started coal production and in the 1970s-1980s a perfect socialism model system was built. In 1998 Pyramiden was preserved but its infrastructure arranged in the Soviet period has come down to us. Anyone who has spent at least a couple of hours in Pyramiden makes a point in this place's uniqueness. Today the town is open and it grows as a tourist location. A boiler house, hotel, restaurant and film stock cinema have been renovated. Pyramiden attracts not only tourists but also film directors, journalists, free riders and bloggers from all over the world.

The Nordenskiöld glacier is a glacial wall of the Lomonosov Plateau. The glacier flows roughly southwestwards and is 25 km long and 11 km wide. It has its terminus in Adolfsbukta, a branch of Billefjorden. It was named after Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish geologist who participated and organized several expeditions to Svalbard and made huge impact into its exploration.

Next to the North Pole Day 6

DAY 6 • SATURDAY

  • Breakfast in the hotel restaurant

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  • The path of the Vikings - snowmobile trip in Pyramiden surroundings. The route depends on the time of the season, the state of the snow and the weather.

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Snowmobiling time: 80-100 km, 4-5 hours

 

The path will lead you through the region, named by Swedish explorers after the Norse mythological motifs. You will drive along the Mimirelva river overseen by Odin and Tor mountains. After you’ll reach the point called “Communism Summit” – one of the highest points of the region with the view of the whole area.

 

  • Lunch in the field or in the hotel restaurant

 

  • Guided tour around Pyramiden

 

You’ll have a guided tour in the settlement, learn the history of the place, visit well preserved buildings of Canteen, School and Kindergarten, Swimming pool and restored Cultural Palace with a warm cafeteria. The atmosphere of enthusiasm and nostalgia will be there with you at the place that has been revived in the middle of nowhere.

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  • Dinner in the hotel restaurant

 

  • Overnight in the hotel Pyramiden

Next to the North Pole Day 7

DAY 7 • SUNDAY

  • Breakfast in the hotel restaurant

 

At the breakfast, if the weather permits, your guide will offer you an additional short adventure or a walking tour in the magnificent Pyramiden surroundings.

 

  • Lunch

 

  • Visit to souvenir shop and post office

 

  • Departure by snowmobile to Longyearbyen by route: Pyramiden - Nordenskiöldbreen - Sassendalen - Adventdalen - Longyearbyen

 

Snowmobiling: 115-160 km, 5-6 hours

 

  • Arrival in Longyearbyen

 

  • Dinner in one of the restaurants in Longyearbyen

 

  • Transfer to the airport for the evening flight or to your place of accommodation in Longyearbyen

 

* For this night, you need to book a place of accommodation in Longyearbyen (at extra cost).

You can also book a room in the guesthouse Russkiy dom, if the capacity permits (at extra cost).

*On Svalbard, weather conditions change quickly so that is why for the safety and comfort of our guests, the tour program might be changed regarding the itineraries and destinations.

MAP OF THE TOUR

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MAP OF THE TOUR

Numbers on the map are based on the day count

ACCOMMODATION

ACCOMODATION
USEFUL LINKS

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