Travel Answers

Hi, I will be visiting Svalbard/Arctic in July and my cruise operator does not provide wellington boots for the zodiac landings (small cruise ship). I have looked at many forums and generally, people recommend waterproof knee-high gumboots or wellingtons, and some suggest the arctic sport hi cut muck boot which is the most expensive by far but technically impressive. It also seems risky ordering through the internet when I am not sure if the size fits me or not (I am usually a Women's size 6/37). Can anyone help me here (what is your arctic/antarctic experience with wearing gumboots/arctic muck boots - is it necessary) - there are quite a few types of gumboots/wellingtons around. Some can be purchased straight from Kmart/hardware and garden shops, and others from industrial workwear stores. What types/brands of gumboots would you suggest as being the most appropriate for arctic conditions and zodiac landings? Thanks so much in advance for your advice!

Hi everybody, I'm trying to prepare a trip in the last minute to see the aurora borealis. It must be un express trip! from friday 9 to saturday 10 dicember, only spending one night to try to see the norther lights. Do you think it is possible? does anyone know if there are a lot of norther lights at this moment? Is it possible to see them near Oslo? or is it easy to move from Oslo to somewhere we can see them? There are a lot of questions and a few time, I will be grateful with any help information. Thank you!

I suddenly mused that it might/should be more interesting to check out the Canadian North, the Inuits etc instead of checking out Jasper after Banff (which didn't impress me) and came across this website upon googling for infor on it: /www.adventurecanada.com/pdfs/2011-Canada-and-the-North.pdf The only option for me now, with the time frame I have and really stretching it, is: "Into the Northwest Passage" from Aug. 18 - Sept. 1, 2011 since I have to fly back to KUL via NRT from YEG/YVR Sept 8 (since my Japanese transit visa expires Set 9 and I have been assured by the Japanese Consulate in Calgary that I won't be allowed to transit via NRT if I were to fly into it at a later date, say Sept 20?). So, it costs a bomb but what the hell? I might drop dead tomorrow and my beneficiaries will enjoy whatever savings/insurance I have! But can anyone suggest/recommend a shorter (say 1 week)/cheaper package/way to explore this part of the globe without burning a hole in my bank account, lest I live till 99! ;-) Appreciate your input/suggestions/advice :-) Thanks!

I am planning to retire and move to Alert on Ellesemere Island. Can anyone tell me how I would go about setting up a visit or getting more information on the type of housing available, etc.... Thanks

We want to travel to either Norway/Finland or Sweden this winter to hopefully see the Northern Lights. Can anyone advise if we can fly direct from London (it's just for a weekend) and whether it's best to travel independently or just book a package? Many thanks

Looking for a nice and peacefull b&b in Nuuk. Hotel prices are too high, apartments also. Recommendations anybody?

Hi, I am looking for advice on where to see Aurora Borealis. I am mainly willing to go there for Photography purposes and great life experience. I had been cheking NASA results and it seems that the best area is the one called Taymyria north siberia. Cities like Dikson or Bolshevik Island. Althought this seem to be quite a difficult areas to reach. Any good advices? Anybody willing to join? Any other good area not so difficult to arrive? Thanks. Fer.

I wan to go to Iceland in 2010, but cant decide on weather to go with Collette vacations or Gate 1 travel. Any advice???

I am interested in visiting the Arctic but the cruises have really been expensive, (starting around10,000). I have been to the Anarctica and now want to see Arctic and Polar Bears. Expedition Trips advertised 50% for one day and then it disappeared so I am not for sure if the special is still on. Also, I need to find another female who might be interested in sharing a room on the cruise ship. Being from Texas, I don't ever get a chance to Dog Sled so I thought that might be fun also. I have found some dog sledding tours for 7 days but that might be too much for this Texan. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks. Sue

I have been considering Iceland as a holiday destination for a while; when would be the best time of year to go?

We are planning on heading north from Vancouver, BC to Anchorage the end of May. We have never travelled this before and will be taking a class A motorhome. Can anyone give us tips on travel, rv sites, things to see and do? Any and all information will be appreciated. Thanks to those who reply

What jacket do you recommend for warmth, wind protection and waterproof? Is there any style or manufacturer that is best for outdoor evening photography? We won' be doing any hiking. Just standing in the cold!

what icebreaker for the north you recommend me? thanks

Based on previous experience what flights do you think 'might' exist between Iceland and Greenland late May or early June of next year? Are the days of travel usually pretty consistent? We would like to have a quick side trip from Iceland to Greenland...any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Hi all, I am trying to get to Tromsoe/Alta or Northcape from Ivalo or Rovaniemi. Any idea on what's the best way to get there? It doesn't look like they are any flights on this route so I am wondering how long it takes to drive there or is there a possibility to take the train and how long would that take. You recommendation would be most appreciated. Thanks!

looking for a few guy guys looking for an adventure of a lifetime to visit and explore iceland over july/ june / aug time. Trekking, mountain bikeing and driving around the country, camping and just rough ridiing it. My plan just buy plane tikets and back pack around, no concrete plans. hola back

Hi: I really want to take a photography holiday to the Arctic Circle. I'm not exactly where to enter the circle for the desired results. I am a budget-minded traveler. I wish to photograph the landscapes and artic animals inhabiting the arctic circle. I am particularly interested in photographing the polar bears. Is it better to travel there from Greenland or Norway than Alaska? I know that the Europeans have the largest population of polar bears. From what I've heard on the news lately about the Canadian Arctic Circle losing thousands of the polar bear population due to global warming, I don't anticipate that being a good choice. I have found it difficult to get the information needed to travel to the Alaskan Arctic Circle. It seems that everyone wants to sell their adventure-guided tours in Alaska. This definitely isn't the way a budget-minded traveler takes in their vacations. Is it really necessary to have a guide while traveling to the arctic circle? I would definitely like to hear from those who have done what I intend to. What is the best route to get me there? I really don't need to spend too much time in the arctic circle. I'm assuming 3-4 days will be sufficient for the photography. I also need to know when to arrive for the best possibility of seeing the wildlife I'm interested in photographing.

who does an overnight IGLOO stay in the Arctic Circle..preferably Canada??

I really want to visit Greenland in the future sometime but I don't know which is the best way of travel from the US. I've heard most flights leave from Iceland and Copenhagen but I haven't heard about flights from Canada. One site actually said in 2007, there may be a direct flight from Wash. DC. Could someone please tell me the best way to travel and an other information and traveler reviews on Greenland as well (if you've been there)

Me and one of my friends are on a road trip in The States until last December, we've bought a Chevrolet van, and instead of just taking a flight home, we've thought about driving through Canada, to Alaska and then take a ferry to Russia. Does anyone know if that is possible, and also if it is possible to transport a car from US to Russia and taking it cross-country, through Finland and down? Any answer to clear my mind would be really nice!! - Hani

Would someone please recommend a good small-group travel company? I would like to visit Nunavut especially.

hello does anybody know a reasonable cruise to the longyearbyen region from bergen or somewhere else from norway... if yes, is it also possible to go by this in the mid of august? i could'nt find so far any, may be the season is not suitable... if it is, pls do notice me... thank you selmah

I am going on a cruise to Norway and the fjords in early July and one of the excursions on offer is a whale safari from Tromso. I would love to go on this but the price is expensive and I don't want to spend the money if there isn't much liklihood of seeing any whales in that part of the country in July. Grateful for any experiences/advice.... Many thanks

Is anyone going on the "GAP" Svarlbard Archipelago trip on the Explorer June 8-22? I'd love to hear from you if you are!!

Does anybody know if there is a possible way to do this without paying a lot of money for a luxury cruise? I have gotten a lot of tips but I was hoping somebody actually knew of something that existed. Thanks.

My ultimate travelling dream in life is the tiny settlement of Alert, on the northern tip of Canada's northernmost arctic island (Ellesmere). Alert is a military/scientific base but is permanently populated. It is the northernmost settlement in the world (if you consider it a true settlement), when standing on the beach just north of the town you are at the northernmost beach in the world and see nothing but a frozen sea and the northpole in front of you. I was wondering if there are possibilities to enter Alert as a tourist. By that I mean, if the access is very restricted or if they do allow a limited amount of tourists. Most resources on Canada's extreme north go no further than Grise Fiord (southern tip of the same island) and do not mention Alert, the few sources that do did not clearly mention if there is any sort of access for those not working in the base. Also I wonder what sort of jobs there are in the Alert base, and who qualifies for the jobs.

As an arctic fanatic I have spent days and weeks in my life studying maps and books about the area. One of the things on which there seems to be doubts is if Nova Zembla (you know, those two long islands above Russia :p) is populated or not. Some maps mention a few very tiny settlements (weather stations or real villages ??) on the southern island, Matockin Sar is one name I remember clearly. Other maps however mention no settlements, only scientific posts without permanent population. Is there any towns on the islands, and how should I picture the towns and the way of life there? Second part of my question is Dikson, a tiny settlement on the extreme North of the Russian mainland, far above the arctic circle. It is indicated on almost every decent map, though I have consulted hundreds of resources on Russia but no travel guide seems to give any decent info on the town. I wonder if it is a true isolated village, or just a weather post? Wikipedia mentions Dikson but describes "little is known about the town". Now that's an understatement !

Hi everybody, I am visiting Nuuk this October but my phone opereator has no roaming agreement with its greenlandic counterpart. I'm thinking of buying a greenlandic prepaid connection pack for use during my stay. Does anybody know about the cost and where to find it on arrival to Kangerlussuaq or Nuuk? Thanks Andreas

Any fellow travllers reading this??

The Professor Molchanov, Professor Multanovskiy and Grigoriy Mikheev are small Russian ships that are used by many adventure touring companies for trips to the Arctic, Antarctic, the Galapagos and other destinations. Has anyone sailed on one of these ships? How were the accomodations? How did they handle the rough seas in the Drake Passage and the North Atlantic/ How did the wet landings with the zodiacs work out? Please send me a response to my regular EMail address, rratney@brahmacom.com as well as posting to this forum. Ron