Northern lights safari by dogsledge - Green Dog Svalbard

The darkness and the snow arrive at about the same time in Svalbard - and the white cover makes the polar night seem less dark.

The darkness and the snow arrive at about the same time in Svalbard - and the white cover makes the polar night seem less dark. The features of the landscape are very visible on days with clear skies and moonlight, and the soundless way you move when dogsledding is simply an amazing experience. You don’t need to get far away from the dog kennel until you are truly in the Arctic wilderness. Throughout the summer and fall, the dogs have been pulling dogcarts along the road and they are extremely happy to get fresh snow under their paws again. Polar dogs are almost a bit strange in their joy over the freshly fallen snow – they eat it and roll around in it … Join us for the first sledge trips of the season and experience this newly-created winter wonderland. If we are in luck and its sky clear, we may even see the Northern Lights.

You will be picked up at your hotel and taken to Green Dog kennel (approx. 12 km outside Longyearbyen). Here you will be equipped with clothes and boots for the trip. You will meet the dogs and be taken through what you need to know before we start putting harnesses on the dogs. We go in small groups of maximum 8 dogs and we will use the guides' own dogs, he knows each and everyone of them very well.

In pairs you will take turns mushing (driving a dog sledge team) a team of 5-6 dogs. It is a perfect trip for those who would like to experience dogsledding but do not have too much time available.

The trip goes through beautiful Bolterdalen, which offers unique arctic surroundings, including a chance of observing ptarmigan and reindeer, even in the darkness.

This trip does not require any previous experience with dogsledding.

After the trip, you can meet our puppies and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with a biscuit and a brandy in our heated Russian cabin.

Our guides are all very professional and passionated in their work with the dogs. They are certified and participate in the yearly SGO course (Svalbard Guide Course).

Important information
- Please note that this is a dogsledding trip and therefore there won't be time for longer stops to take photos.
- Pick up 9:00, drop off app 13:00 or pick up 15:00, drop off app 19:00.
- Please note that the guide will start picking guests up from the hotels at 9:00/15:00 and therefore may be a few minutes late.
- Min no of guests: Min 1.
- Min age: please contact us if you bring a child below 6 yrs.
- Children needs to be accompanied by an adult.

Included
- Pick up/drop off at hotel in Longyearbyen.
- Green Dog provides coverall suits, boots, gloves, hats, neck gaiters and goggles. You need to wear a warm inner layer and extra socks.
- Each guest gets a free Green Dog buff!​​​

Cancellation fees for activities
If cancelled 22 days or more prior to departure 100 % refund
If cancelled 22-7 days prior to departure 50 % refund
Cancellations less than 7 days prior to departure is a ”no show” and do not qualify for any refund. You may apply to your insurance company for a refund if you provide a medical certificate. 

Information about Covid-19
Green Dog Svalbard A/S follows rules and guidelines given by the Norwegian authorities and our infection control plan has been approved by the Governor of Svalbard. So far in the Corona pandemic, no infection has been detected in Longyearbyen and the city's tourism companies are open under strict infection control criteria approved by the Norwegian authorities.

We provide a full corona guarantee for our guests. This means that Green Dog Svalbard A/S refunds 100% of the price for activities – booked directly with Green Dog Svalbard. It is assumed that the cancellation is due to the customer not being able to arrive due to corona related circumstances, such as cancelled flights, imposed quarantine periods and closed borders. This counts for both individuals and groups.

We encourage all our guests who wish to cancel to change the dates of their booking instead. We are, as always, flexible on our cancellation terms and are happy to change dates without charging extra fees.

Being a guest on our activities
The safety of our guests and employees will always be our highest priority and we follow rules and guidelines given by the Norwegian authorities. To ensure your safety, we depend on your help. We ask all our guests to follow the advices given by the health authorities. The advice in the points below is taken from Visit Svalbard.

- If you have a fever, symptoms of a respiratory infection, feel unwell, or have been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with an infection, we want you to stay at home. If symptoms occur while you are in Svalbard, you should be isolated in the hotel room or where you live. It is important that you convey that you are ill to local health authorities (call Longyearbyen Hospital).

- Keep a distance of 1 meter - the most important thing we can do.

- Be careful with your hand hygiene! We expect you to wash or disinfect your hands frequently. At Green Dog, we have set up liquor dispensers

- More about the infection control guide can be found on the Governor's pages.

At all our activities, you as a guest will be told to fill out an infection tracing form. This is a mandatory requirement for us to be able to take our guests on a trip.

As a guest with us, you will receive a new neck (a garment to keep your neck warm) (which is not reused - you can keep it after the trip). Other equipment (suits, boots, mittens and hats) is disinfected after each trip.

Any person who shows any symptoms of COVID-19 (headache, fever, cough, runny / stuffy nose, sore throat) must not participate in the trip. No refund will be given if you are refused to join the tour due to symptoms. We ask you to not show up on the trip if you experience any symptoms.

Green Dog Svalbard A/S is a member of the Travel Guarantee Fund and our customers are thus assured that they do not suffer financial loss if our company goes bankrupt.