Hike, Snowmobile and Wild Camp Through Svalbard in Winter

A unique and incredible experience in this magical place. The scenery is breath-taking and photos cannot do it justice. You do need to be willing to sacrifice a level of comfort but the reward is an incredible experience of the Svalbard wilderness. Having the right kit makes a big difference so pay heed to the advice of the guides and ask if you're not sure. The hike on the first day is a good opportunity to test out your kit and adjust if necessary before you go camping.

Had an amazing time! Would highly recommend this trip. From the cave trip, to the camping, hiking.. the lot, thoroughly enjoyed!

The only thing I’d suggest is to bring your own sleeping bag

What an amazing adventure. Day 1 was a fairly gentle introduction to the week with an uphill hike out to the ice caves. Beautiful scenery and amazing caves with lovely guides. Next was the wild camping. With a pulka weighing upwards of 15kg, we headed out into the Arctic wilderness for a really challenging, but utterly amazing 3 days of hiking through amazing scenery, scaling small mountains and wild camping in breathtaking surroundings. Throughout we were lucky to be guided by Jonatan and Philipp - both very experienced, knowledgeable and supportive guides. They helped us with our layering, advised re managing the very low temperatures, kept us going with an endless supply of snacks, dug sheltered sitting areas in the snow for our short lunch breaks and cooked some really good hot meals (Reindeer stew with mash and chicken curry and rice) Polar bear watch was an amazing hour both nights - I loved the solitude and Arctic silence, whilst catching sight of some local wildlife meandering nearby. The views were breathtaking. We then had another long trek with our Pulkas back into civilisation with yet more amazing views and more local information from our knowledgeable guides. Our last planned day together was a really fun day spent on the snowmobiles. Great views, great speeds and great fun! After a brilliant day on the snowmobiles we said our thank yous and goodbyes to our guides and as a group we then hired the local sauna to round off our week with a ‘Polar Plunge’ to complete the full Arctic experience. Overall I would 100% recommend this trip for everyone’s ‘bucket’ list. As long as you make sure you are physically fit, mentally prepared for the extreme cold conditions, have the correct kit and are up for the challenge. We arrived a couple of days early and went on a boat trip which was a proper eye-opener to the cold. (As well as another great experience which we paid for separately) It prompted a trip into town where the shops sell everything needed for the climate. Your guides can also sell/rent equipment. Thank you MBA!

This was a great trip, but don't underestimate it! If you are a regular hiker then fitness wise you should be ok but its the cold that makes it challenging. A really good experience and the guides felt more like friends by the end if it. I would recommend decent kit (Toes were toasty in the Sorel Boots) also getting there a day earlier to test out your equipment and layers in the town. A good likeminded group made the trip even better. At the hotel town is more of a 30 minute walk, not always desirable in the cold after a long day but the restaurant opposite was decent. The group tent was also a good setup to get warm whilst camping! All in all not a walk in the park for the faint hearted.

I’m sitting here writing this, watching the snow covered mountains of Svalbard in the background. This trip is highly recommended if you want an introductory adventure in the arctic.

It’s fair to call this trip challenging. To enjoy it, you’ll need a good level of fitness - enough to walk up a moderately steep slope in the snow, pulling a 15+kg sledge behind you. There are a good number of hills, and quite steep paths, and you’ll need to climb them in snow shoes.

There is an extensive kit list, but it’s worth remembering you’ll be dragging your stuff (at least what you don’t leave in storage at the company warehouse) along with you. One additional change of clothes (baselayers, socks, etc) is a reasonable minimum for camping on top of a good down jacket (ideally thick expedition style), a mid layer fleece and a windproof outer. Good insulated boots (big enough to allow some insulating air space around you foot) and thick wool socks are essential, though they can be hired / bought for a small fee from the company. Snacks are provided by the company and wet wipes are not practical at minus 26oC, though hand warmers are fantastic. The guides cook dinner at the campsite - genuinely good hot meals and extra calories to boot.

The guides are very good and highly experienced. They push you to do your best, though it is also important to recognise your limits and state clearly if there is a something beyond your comfort zone, since there is an assumed level of risk associated with some activities. Overall they’re very happy to listen and accommodate as is practical.

At the end of a fantastic trip, snowmobiling rounds things off perfectly. It’s cold - Ski goggles and a good buff are essential! Travelling through some of the most stunning landscape I’ve ever seen at 90kph is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

I strongly recommend this trip, but prepare well for it!

Svalbard was truly a different experience to what I had imagined and I cannot recommend it enough!

Camping in -25, climbing a frozen peek, zipping across Svalbard on a snowmobile I cannot decide which part of this trip was the best, Im already tempted to go back in Summer!

One thing I would suggest is hiring gear, it was very straightforward and meant we were well prepared even for polar bear watch. Oh and also go to the husky cafe, it was as good as it sounds!

Svalbard really is a phenominal place and like nothing else I've ever experienced. The pictures really don't do justice to how incredibly beautiful, unique and harsh the environment is.

Our trip took place during an unseasonably cold spell which meant our nights camping were done so in -26C. Although I felt relatively prepared having meticulously followed the kitlist, that level of cold definetely takes some adjusting too and you certainly have to accept some degree of discomfort. The guides did a great at teaching us how to get warm and stay warm overnight and were fantastic at keeping the camp running even with a few logistical issues.

My big piece of advice would be to really focus on your kit. We hired lots of the more technical kit as recommended by Much Better Adventures and it meant we had great quality gear without having to pay a huge expense to buy it ourselves. Longyearbyen also has some great sports shops which you can easily find any last minute bits you might need.

There were so many incredible moments and highlights from this trip that it's hard to narrow them down. -The first venture out to the ice cave is really exciting and a nice taster of what to expect in the cold. -The second day at camp included a hike to the peak of Trollsteinen which has absoluetly breathtaking views. -Incredible views down the valley into Longyearbyen whilst pulling your pulka back to civilisation after the hard days camping. -Snowmobiling to Tempelfjorden in the sun felt out of this world and was a brilliant change of pace from exploring on foot.

This trip definetely has a big element of type 2 fun but it was an absoluetly incredbile experience like no other.

This was an experience of a lifetime for me, in a special place, which sometimes I felt I had all to myself, particularly when I was up on polar bear watch at 4.00 in the morning. I would rate this as 5 stars, but there were some things that didn't run quite right for me, and I believe in being honest, hence the rating. Day 1 - more time could be spent on an initial briefing here, with a kit check, to allow people time to purchase additional items, and to understand why they need them. Maybe ask people to arrive a day earlier even. Day 2 - trek to an ice cave. Very interesting day with our guides Phillipe and Albert, who were very knowledgeable and accommodating. Day 3 - trek out to wild camp. Led by our guides Niklas and Jonatan, a challenging snowshoe hike to our campsite. Comments here on possibly starting the day a bit earlier, and not spending much time on a lunch stop. Alternative choice of route possibly? We did get to bed late, but that allowed us to see a beautiful Aurora Borealis display. Day 4 - day in camp, with a short hike. Jonatan and Mirko working very hard keeping everyone comfortable and active. Day 5 - hike back to Longyearbyen. In keeping with the other days, very cold (-25 deg C)and sunny. Very enjoyable after a relatively easy day beforehand. Route choice perfectly selected to bring us back to the guesthouse. Day6 - snowmobile trip out to Tempelfjorden. Good briefing beforehand, with lots of spare kit available if needed.