Arctic Travel Forum

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

Hello,
I'll go in Siberia this year, and I'm thinking to procede to Alaska.
But I don't know how to do... I'd like to travel in boat, but it seems it don't exist a ferry, or a possibility in cargo to join Alaska from Russia...
Do anyone can inform me ?
Thank you very much,
Kantega

Hello!
we, four friends (male, 42 - 52), will travel to SAARISELKÄ on next Thursday. Is there a spot to go? We are looking for have fun, have a good drink and meet (female) persons?
How is this village?
Thank you for helping us to have a nice stay in nothern Finland.
Aldosan

Hi guys,

My husband and I stumbled upon an article on Kamchatka a few months ago and swore that we had to visit. Our dream trip would be to take 4-6 weeks to float down a river there, but all sources seem to indicate that independent travel is near impossible (for a wide variety of reasons). My question is, have any of you explored Kamchatka on your own or with a single guide? If possible, we'd like to do this trip without the aid of a tour agency.

Thanks for any help you can give ..
Kendra

I am traveling with my brother and sister to Alaska in summer of 2005. We are all in our mid-twenties, very athletic, and all in shape. We have had a great time hiking in all conditions all around the nearby White Mountains of New Hampshire. I know that there are so many opportunities for hiking and other outdoor activities in Alaska, but where is a good place to begin looking? How do i narrow my choices? I am getting the impression that renting a car would be the cheapest and also perhaps most rewarding(driving along alaskan highways does not sound very boring) for a small group...also, if we are on a limited budget, how expensive do B&B's during the summer months? Any guidance or advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

Nick

What is your favorite vegetarian food in Arctic?

I am seeking information about travel to the Aleutian Islands and would appreciate any advice.

Maybe you know bookcrossing (setting books free you want to share with other people). I am part of it and currently take part in a challenge. We are planning to send at least one book to every country in the world.

Now I chose Greenland and Faroe Islands. Is there anyone here from those two countries who would like to recieve a free book ? I'd need one adress from both countries...

This is totally free of any obligation, it's just the fun of sharing, hunting and reading.

For further information check out:
www.bookcrossing.com
or
http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/23/1240760

Thank you in advance!!

Am doing research for docu and am urgently looking for info abt Nenets Okrug. Who can help me? Pls contact me thru PM or at bumbayhouse@skynet.be
Thanks, Werner

Hi all
Just wanted some advice on what the weather/snow conditions will be like at the start of the season (december 04). Am wanting to spend a week or so in levi boarding and am after some tips.
Is it better & cheaper to organise chalet etc yourself rather than go through a travel group - if so does anyone have an tips for accomodation.
Look forward to anyone' s advice or experiences - am so looking forward to going but would help to have a few ideas or tips of what I am in for.
Cheers
Jameson