Arctic Wilderness Adventure in Svalbard

A beautiful place with gorgeous views from the hikes and a lovely kayaking experience. The guides were good and professional. We were disappointed not to be able to camp at the wilderness camp due to the presence of polar bears, but understood the reasons. However plan B of camping near the airport was more disappointing as we missed the adventure of the wilderness camp and polar bear watch which was a significant part of the trip. The alternative hikes and kayak were lovely just not what we were expecting.

A fabulous trip. Beautiful landscapes and a great bunch of people. Plenty of reindeer and a few foxes, but surprisingly didn't see any marine life. The 24 hour daylight meant plenty of time for activities, though it messed with sleep patterns. Weather was warm and for obvious reasons it doesn't get any colder in the evenings. Need to accept flexibility in itinerary - we missed out on the wild camping due to polar bears in the vicinity. But they did a great job of making an alternate plan. Guides were great and food was good and plentiful. Highlight was a 22km kayak trip with a lunch and nap in the tundra. Movement is very restricted and you can't leave Longyearbyen without a guide.

Had so much fun on this trip, the guides were great and I especially loved that we were often joined by their dogs as well. The variety of terrain you get to experience, wildlife you get to see, and activities you get to do makes for a fantastic experience.

As a warning: if the group is unable to stay at the wilderness camp for weather (or polar bear sighting in our experience) the back-up camp they put you in is VERY underwhelming - we were at a campsite in front of the airport with the terminal towering above the tents....However, our guide Kaisa did an amazing job of making up for this bad accommodation with some extra special hikes and a great kayak trip that we would not have been able to do from the wilderness camp.

Get on this trip with no expectations and try to be flexible. Svalbard is a wild place where animals and weather can change your plans suddenly but the beauty is, it has so much to offer that you will not be bored. Our guide Kaisa was absolutely fantastic and her dog made the best companion.

Really everything about the trip was great, especially our two guides. The only exception was the hostel. This was one of the most wasteful energy inefficient buildings I have ever come across. The heating was on full time and there were everywhere non-functional heating controls, so half the windows of the hostel were constantly open to reduce the temperature. Such shocking waste is ironic given that for the rest of the trip we are hearing messages about climate change, receding glaciers and the struggle of the polar bear. (I understand the hostel is owned by the same company as SWA the main tour provider).

It was an amazing holiday all through out. A spectacular opportunity to be out in the wilderness (true escapism) with the safety and support of the guides. All the guides were amazing and really enthusiastic about Svalbard, especially Mirko and Torus. They were a good team - felt safe all the way through and they tailored the days depending upon the group Really well organised.

The trip was an absolute blast! Perfectly organised, full of great activities with knowledgeable and lovely guides! The whole group really bonded and we had an amazing time. The experience really let's you feel the remoteness of the place, switch off with the nature. The camp is incredibly comfortable and we were spoiled with the food. The views were amazing, the activities were varied and fun. During my night polar bear watch I was joined by a friendly arctic fox! It was everything I hoped for and so much more! I'm really looking forward to going back!

Be warned, this trip gets under the skin - there’s something about the perfect stillness and silence of the Arctic and the remoteness from modern life that is very powerful. Being on polar bear watch to the sounds of only birds and glacier calving is like being in another world. While the midnight sun and stillness was bewitching, the days were action packed and exciting - ice climbing and crampons on our nearest neighbour, the Esmark Glacier, and kayaking with an inquisitive seal for company was incredible. And for a bit of puff to the top of one of many mountains to choose from gave me one of the best vistas I have ever seen. Come prepared for a bit of a reassessment of the pace of life and the need to constantly be on the go. Leave feeling incredibly privileged and connected to nature in a whole new way.

I'll remember this for the rest of my life. The hikes were amazing, especially the one in the glacier. The guides were great, alaways awhare and trying to give us the best possible experience. And the group of people That I've had the good luck of being part of... It seemed that we were all friends for 15 years.

Wonderful trip. The local company (Svalbard Wilderness Expeditions) were superb. All the guides we met were great, and Mirko who led the camp had years and years of experience, but still retains such enthusiasm. Torjus and Eleanor were also great. The camp is a really immersive wilderness experience, and we loving it - even the polar bear watch shifts through the night, which were slightly gruelling but also magical. 3 nights was perfect, and we also did 2 great walks. It was great to share the experience with such a lovely group, and hope to stay in touch. Our first trip with MBA and it was a really memorable one!

This was such an incredible trip, I would recommend it to anyone considering booking it. Everything was fantastic, from the guides, the other group members, the wildlife we encountered, the wild camping, the kayaking...... I could go on! As an added personal bonus, one of the guides dogs who accompanied us to camp, appropriately named Gandhi, was such a calm soul he even managed to help me with my phobia of dogs!

Stunning place. Wet, cold, windy at times, constant Daylight, poo in a bucket and disturbed sleep. Wouldn’t have changed it for the world! It’s all part of it. The guides will look after you. They have only 2 aims. Making sure you have the time of your life and keeping you safe. They were brilliant (but don’t tell Jonas I said that). I have memories and experiences that will stay with me for ever. I was with a good group but then we all had the same mindset so not surprising we all got on really. Just make sure you give your spoon back!

Well nice organize, the guides were amazing and fit for the job. Amazing week

Incredible experience

This was a trip of a lifetime, I had such high hopes for this trip having had it booked for two years and it exceeded my expectations.

Svalbard is an incredible place to visit with breath taking views and awe inspiring wildlife and this trip is the best way to see all of it. The glaciers are incredible and the views from the mountain peaks will take your breath away. The activities were varied and although challenging, were incredibly rewarding. Every activity and day were amazing and difficult to pick a single highlight.

I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share this adventure with, it was great how we came together as a team, which was most evident by the final day. Having dinner followed by a game of cards at the end of each day was a great way to wind down. I couldn’t give enough praise to our guide Kaisa who found the perfect balance of making the trip a challenging and rewarding adventure and giving us the opportunity to relax. Her attention to the safety of the group, particularly regarding bear watch was on point. Thank you again for an amazing time and all the best to you and Gandhi.

If you’re reading this considering booking then just do it, you won’t regret it.

The guide was great and had a dog that came with us. The itinerary is very flexible based on the weather and what the group wants to do. Could spend the whole trip kayaking if wanted. The camp food was really good. It was also not as cold as I was expecting. Still need lots of layers though.

This was a trip of a lifetime, I had such high hopes for this trip having had it booked for two years and it exceeded my expectations.

Svalbard is an incredible place to visit with breath taking views and awe inspiring wildlife and this trip is the best way to see all of it. The glaciers are incredible and the views from the mountain peaks will take your breath away. The activities were varied and although challenging, were incredibly rewarding. Every activity and day were amazing and difficult to pick a single highlight.

I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share this adventure with, it was great how we came together as a team, which was most evident by the final day. Having dinner followed by a game of cards at the end of each day was a great way to wind down. I couldn’t give enough praise to our guide Kaisa who found the perfect balance of making the trip a challenging and rewarding adventure and giving us the opportunity to relax. Her attention to the safety of the group, particularly regarding bear watch was on point. Thank you again for an amazing time and all the best to you and Gandhi.

If you’re reading this considering booking then just do it, you won’t regret it.

It was fun to be able to adventure all day without limitations of the sun setting. It gave us so much extra time to do more hiking, kayaking, and more. Our guide was great and the trip provided peace and calmness that is difficult to find elsewhere. I especially enjoyed getting to kayak through icebergs and hiking and ice climbing on the glacier.

A totally phenomenal trip: from start to finish the whole group had an amazing time. The guides were great, but particularly Kaise who was our guide for the camping: she was amazing. Each day seemed to surpass the last with adventure, fun and wildlife. The food was delicious and they catered well for my gluten free diet. This trip will be very difficult to surpass!

Amazing views and an amazing experience. Would highly recommend. The guide on our trip was super knowledgeable. Made us feel safe even during a polar bear scare (yes, they exist, take the polar bear watch seriously). She made amazing breakfast and dinner. I saw another review that said the guides weren’t very social, but that is because our guide was so busy making sure we were safe and well fed. Bring some cards and you’ll get all the socializing you need. I don’t want to raise expectations unreasonably, but the campsite was better than I thought it would be and I was overall impressed with the professionalism of the company running it. The views are second to none and it really stretched me as an individual. You won’t regret this trip.

Absolutely incredible all-round experience from beginning to end. The host made us feel like we were on a vacation and took all our needs and wants into consideration in the preparation of our routine and adventures. By far the biggest highlight for me was the hike on the glacier which was truly an amazing activity!

What a memorable trip. I can't say enough about our guide Niclas. His expertise, local knowledge about the terrain, and attention to the needs/skills of the group made this an awesome experience. It's a small taste of a landscape and way of life not often experienced.

Svalbard is a really unique place to visit and we are very glad we experienced such a variety of activities here! All told, we covered kayaking, hiking (on quite uncommon surfaces: miles of rock scree and very squishy permafrost), glacier walking, and ice climbing. The barren Arctic rock and ice landscape is likely unlike any you've seen before. The mining-turned-tourist towns you visit (Longyearbyen and Barentsburg) feel like windows into the frontier pasts. The midnight sun will certainly confound your brain. At the camp, the tents were spacious, toilet handled well, and food tasty and plentiful.

As far as execution, compared to other MBA trips with Wild Camping, we felt a few improvements could take this trip from good to great. At the camp, we experienced tent issues with rain water and mud that we were not well equipped to handle (as far as prevention or tools for cleanup). Thanks to the same mud, as well as lack of good seating, the communal tent was not a comfortable place to relax together after activities, which really impedes the bonding of the group on the early days of the trip. Lastly, though very nice and capable, our guides were relatively reserved and quiet, lacking the proactively outgoing personability that really helps a group connect with an area and each other via great conversations and stories about the surroundings.

Svalbard is epic.

Tucked high into the arctic circle, the archipelago – which is ever so slightly smaller than Ireland – offers an extraordinary adventure.

However, to get the most out of your six days, you have to embrace the 'uncompromising nature' of this otherworldly wilderness.

The trip starts in Longyearbyen, a strip of a town that squeezes itself into a narrow, avalanche-prone valley. (In July, the slopes are thankfully mostly snow free).

The accommodation at hostel 102 is basic, but the showers are hot, and the breakfast waffles are worth getting up for. (You'll appreciate all this when you spend your last night there).

A hike up to the local glacier, Sarkofagen, is the perfect warm-up for what's to come. It's also a chance to road-test gear and layering. In retrospect, I'd packed too many hi-spec base layers.

Day 2 began with boarding a ship (not a boat) to the wilderness camp at Ymerbukta. After a 2.5-hour journey and a skit in a launch, we landed on the beach, backed by the stunning 17km wide Esmark Glacier.

The camp hadn't been used for a few weeks, so the tents were down and filled with rainwater. But rather than being a problem, setting up and drying out became an opportunity to bond as a group.

Over the next 3/4 days – it's tricky keeping track of time when its perpetually midday light – we:

•Clambered up the towering glacier, which came with the unexpected bonus of ice climbing. •Kayaked to a stunning fjord that could have inspired Narnia or Hoth. •Hiked to peak and tiptoed the ridge of the 600m + Värmlandsryggen mountain •And bravely/stupidly took the polar plunge, which is literally breathtaking.

Camp life was, sometimes, almost as challenging as the days out with everyone mucking in at mealtime and then taking turns on nightly polar bear watch. However, these were not hardships; they were all part of the experience. Spending a few bright night hours alone, with glaciers cracking and seals sleeping around you, is genuinely magical.

However, what truly makes a memorable adventure are the people. We were an eclectic crew who happily pulled together for the greater good and spent 'evenings' swapping stories around the campfire.

But the true heroes of this trip were our guides, Mikeal and Kasia, whose constant vigilance and understated expertise made us all feel simultaneously adventurous and absolutely safe. Their passion for this unique landscape was evident and quietly infectious. Tussen tak!

Yes, the camp could have done with chairs and a light for the main tent. And, perhaps saying that you only needed to 'moderately fit' for this trip was a little disingenuous. But, if you get upset by these kinds of niggles, this trip and Svalbard are not for you.

Me? I want to go back in the sunless, snow-filled winter.

Great Fun. I've never done anything like this before and really enjoyed it. The trip is the perfect amount of time and the activities are varied. The local guides were amazing and tailored/tweaked our activities to the group. Polar Bear watch wasn't as bad as I thought it would be...and managed to get a night off because of a big group. We were well fed throughout. Highlights were climbing an Ice Wall with axes, the Polar Plunge and the hikes up mountains/glaciers.

Trip of a lifetime, would recommend to anyone. The guides provided (Nicolas and Kaisa) were absolutely fantastic, professional, passionate, knowledgeable and most importantly took our safety seriously. Was so happy when they surprised us with ice climbing on the glacier!