Basecamp Nordenskiöld Svalbard

Arrive Longyearbyen and private transfer to your hotel. This small hotel, 5 kilometres from the airport, is centrally located, offering 24-hour reception, free WiFi, a terrace and modern rooms with a flat-screen TV. Once you have settled in, you will have a private tour of Longyearbyen. Enjoy the small township of Longyearbyen with its polar museum and church.

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With no running water or electricity Nordenskiöld is a true hunting cabin like those used by the trappers, but with modern comforts. We use wood for heating and get our drinking water from the melting glacier. There are 5 big bedrooms with fantastic arctic views, 11 comfortable beds, indoor toilet and a traditional sauna. The cabin is modern and comfortable with big windows giving away to the mighty glacier. Lying in the glacier moraine, the cabin is well hidden from any by passer-by.

The guide will pick you up in the reception area of your hotel at 8am. You will have a quick look at the itinerary for the upcoming weekend. There will be time to make sure you have packed all of your travel essentials into a smaller bag (waterproof bags are recommended). Your excess baggage can be stored in the storage room at the hotel. You will be provided with all necessary equipment, such as survival suits, goggles, hats, boots and gloves.

Then head down to the harbour and get settled in open RIB-boats. Get ready for some fresh air, sea spray and close encounters with the Arctic wildlife of Svalbard. The fjords are teeming with Arctic birds, walruses, seals, and belugas this time of year. Enjoy a hot lunch once at Nordenskiöld Lodge, with a spectacular view of the Nordenskiöld glacier. You will explore the moraine landscape on foot and get to know the surrounding area. Your guide will be happy to share their knowledge of the area and of the glacier itself! Return to the cabin before nightfall, and you will have time to relax in the sauna before dinner is served.

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Today is glacier day! Your guides will introduce you to the equipment while teaching you some basic safety rules. You will be provided with all the necessary equipment for the glacier hike. The glacier is situated just a stone’s throw away, and we will have to cross a small river to get to our starting point. We hike up and down the glacier, crossing multiple smaller crevasses. There are few more beautiful places in the world to enjoy an outdoor expedition lunch. The view of Adolfbukta and Billefjorden is nothing short of spectacular.

Did you know that 60% of Spitsbergen’s surface is covered by glaciers? If the weather gods are on our side, there will also be time for an afternoon kayaking trip to the glacier front. Be on the lookout for curious seals! We top off the day by relaxing visit to the sauna, followed by a much-appreciated hot meal.

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After breakfast you have a chance for your last hike. You can have one last photo walk to the glacier front or hike to the moraine to take the last pictures of the wildlife and the shiny glacier. Enjoy lunch at the cabin before returning to the civilization. Make a stop in Pyramiden on the way back to Longyearbyen and get to see the Russian settlement up close. The settlement was closesd down in 1998, but has opened again for visitors. It is a fascinating place to visit. You will return to Longyearbyen by boat and arrive during the afternoon or early evening.

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At the head of the valley where Longyearbyen lies, there are two glaciers, Larsbreen and Longyearbreen. Over thousands and thousands of years, Longyearbreen has eroded the mountain beds and pushed out rocks and gravel to create a large moraine. In the surrounding mountains, we can find 40-60 million year old plant and animal fossils. Today's trip starts in Nybyen, where with the company of pack dogs, equipped with hammer and safety glasses, you will go in search for fossils.

There is no obvious path to follow as you make our way up towards the glacier, over the moraine area which changes from year to year. It is quite stony and uneven terrain, but the tempo kept at an easy level, so that we have plenty of time to look for fossils. We will also have the company of one of the happy local uskies, and you will learn a little about the role that these dogs have had on Svalbard.

After lunch, you will then go on a quad safari through the wilderness. For four hours, you will drive from Longyearbyen to Adventdalen and then to the top of local mountains with fjord views. You will visit a trapper's station on your return leg, home to 100 Alaskan huskies. Have a hot drink before returning to town. Outer clothing, helmets, boots and so forth included.

On your return to the hotel, you will join a beer tasting session before dinner.

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Private transfer to the aiport for departure.

Meals