Spitsbergen - Husky Safari

Itinerary - 4 nights - REF: SPITS127

Spitsbergen - Husky Safari

Now here's something you don't do every weekend.  Drive a team of huskies or a snowmobile across the wilds of Spitsbergen and sleep on board a ship which has frozen into the ice.  Watch out for those polar bears!

An awesome trip that encapsulates all that is great about adventure travel in winter. Drive your team of huskies across wilderness terrain and spend two nights on board a ship frozen into the ice of Tempelfjord. You'll certainly have something to tell your friends about when you get home.

Spitsbergen - Husky Safari (4 nights) from £2145 - Suitable for - Anybody aged 18 years or over.

Monday or Wednesday

Flights, arrivals and transfers

The husky safari starts every Tuesday and Thursday from late-February until mid-May so you need to get out there a day earlier. A transfer vehicle will collect you at Longyearbyen Airport and take you to your basecamp hotel. Dinner isn’t included this evening but this gives you the chance to either eat at Basecamp or wander into Longyearbyen and try one of the restaurants.

Tuesday or Thursday

Husky safari to the ship frozen in the ice

At 10am you will meet your guides for a short introduction and briefing before packing for your wilderness adventure. It’s a short 12km drive to the kennels where approximately 90 Alaskan huskies are waiting to meet you. The noise is deafening. The dogs simply love to be out on the trail will want desperately to be picked for the safari. Over the next few days, you will be responsible for the care of the huskies in your team so listen carefully to the advice and tips provided by your guide. How you handle the team and sled can be an important factor in your relationship with the team.

And off you go! The dogs will most likely set a blistering pace to begin with but they soon settle into a natural running rhythm as you cross the expanses of Spitzbergen. Lunch will be eaten out on the trail and a long first day ends when you arrive at the Noorderlicht, a schooner frozen into the ice of Tempelfjord.

Despite its unlikely location, the ship has some welcome modern facilities like warm showers and, after a 3-course dinner, you’ll be more than comfortable in your two bed cabin. There is one strict rule that you must abide by. Do not stray from the ship without an armed guard. Polar bears may look friendly but looks are often deceiving!

Wednesday or Friday

Husky safari

Yeaterday’s exertions and all that fresh air may make you extremely hungry this morning but you’ll have to wait for your breakfast because the dogs must be fed first. Once both you and your teams are fuelled up you set off together to explore Tempefjord and the surrounding area. Mushing here on the Svalbard Islands is an experience that touches the soul. The panting of the dogs and the scraping of the sled’s runner against the snow are the only sounds to break the amazing silence.

A full day safari includes lunch and sees you return to the ship in the late afternoon. You’ll doubtless be ready for a hearty dinner.

what's included:

• 5 days . 4 nights
• Flights from London to Longbearbyen (via Oslo)
• Return airport transfers
• 2 nights hotel . 2 nights ship frozen in the ice                                      
• 4 breakfasts . 3 lunches . 2 dinners
• 3 day husky safari to the ship in the ice      
• Thermo-overalls, socks, mittens, boots, helmet and goggles for the duration of your stay
• Husky team and sled
• Fully qualified wilderness guides and instructors
• CO2 Tax