Arctic Circle Outdoor Adventure (DECEMBER, CHRISTMAS)
adventure travels
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If you like explore nature with superb surroundings like impressive mountains, waterfalls, forests, fjords and beaches, then this adventurous trip might be the one for you. We travel by car to a variety of wilderness areas and nature reserves to go out hiking. This region, named Steigen in northern Norway, covers 1000 km2 and most of it is pure nature, and it is all quite remote. We will go out backpacking, snowshoeing, kayaking and wildlife spotting. The coastline with its mountains is impressive, and we plan some great boat trips. Also, hikes to the summits of mountains are on the menu. This outdoor adventure is one of our most popular ones! You will explore a great variety of landscapes and do a lot of different outdoor activities. Costs are 1350 Euro (9 days).
WHY CHOOSE THIS ONE...?This adventure is for people that like to do a lot of different outdoor activities in one trip. So a perfect choice if you like to go hiking mountain trails, tenting in wild surroundings and exploring the fjords with boats annd kayaks. During this trip, we will take you to different areas with typical Norwegian landscapes. A great opportunity for first-time Norway travellers. If being in the outdoors is new for you can learn a lot. We are happy to teach you things about tenting, kayaking, deep-sea fishing and more. We stay overnight in cabins, wood-stove heated tipi-tents and expedition tents. 
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Facts, dates, costs and general informationHere are the facts of this outdoor adventure. Feel free to contact us if you have questions or if you want to discuss your plans. Check also our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for answers on general questions.
Dates and booking information
DATES 19 December 2020 - 27 December 2020 (flex) There is also a New Year edition of this trip. NAME ARCTIC CIRCLE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE (DECEMBER, CHRISTMAS) OTHER MONTHS This outdoor adventure is also organised in other months. Snow conditions are the best in the period November to April. Northern lights are visible in the period September to April. The period of the midnight sun is from the end of May until the end of July. The polar night is from the beginning of December until the beginning of January. Choose a month and check the details. COSTS (WHAT IS INCLUDED)
COSTS The costs of joining this outdoor adventure are 1350 Euro. Included are all transports during the trip, guiding, use of kayaks, tents, use of fishing rods and cooking equipment and two overnight stays in cabins or similar accommodation. NOT INCLUDED AND SHARED COSTS Flights and transfers to the point where the trip starts are not included. Daily expenses like food and drinks are shared among the participants and the staff. Usually these costs are around 15 Euro per day. We love it if you bring some ingredients from your country! Included is two overnight stays in cabins or similar accommodation. If we (like to) stay more than 2 days in a local (mountain) cabin or cottage, then these costs are shared and are around 30/35 Euro per night per person (shared space) and we pay this to the locals or owner of the cabin. Decisions about whether to sleep in tents or cabins are based on weather conditions and what we like. We will discuss this with you. LOCATION AND HOW TO GET THERE
LOCATION
This trip starts and ends on our base in a small fishing village named Helnessund in the municipality of Steigen (Nordland) in the north of Norway. Our base is located 50 km north of Bodø and has a good ferry connection. AIRPORT The nearest airport is Bodø. To fly to Bodø you usually change flights in Oslo. There are multiple flights daily between Oslo and Bodø. TRAVELING BY TRAIN IN NORWAY (OPTION) An option is to enjoy a 17 hours train ride from Oslo to Bodø. Check vy.no for more information about traveling by train. The so-called minipris ticket can be an economical way to travel (only online available and you have to buy it well in advance). FERRY There is a good ferry connection from Bodø to our base. This fast ferry (hurtigbat in Norwegian) takes you in approximately 1 hour from Bodø to Helnessund. Daily departures are in the afternoon, on most of the days at 6 PM. It is a 20-minute walk from the airport to the harbor in the city center where the ferry departs. At the end of the trip, this ferry will also take you back to Bodo (daily departures, most of them in the early morning, around 8 AM). TAKE YOUR TIME We recommend that you arrive 1 day before the start of this trip in Bodø and take some time to acclimatize and get rid of travel and work stress. We can give you suggestions for hostels or hotels in Bodø. LEVEL AND SKILLS
This outdoor adventure is suitable for people on beginner, intermediate and advanced level of outdoor experience. We always check if you match with other people that have booked. If you like to learn more about the level of our trips and what skills you need, take a look here....
ACCOMMODATION
ACCOMMODATION You will stay overnight in (mountain) cabins, expedition tents and a tipi tent (with wood stove). Our descisions how to stay overnight are based on weather forecasts, conditions, temperatures and what we like. Usually we stay overnight 2-3 times in a cabin. AVAILABILITY
Available.. Number of participants: Max 8 Minimum age is 18 years. Ask us for arrangements for larger groups, families or alternative dates. REMARKS
FIRST-TIME NORWAY VISITORS Great trip for first-time Norway visitors with all the diiferent landscapes that Norway has to offer: jagged mountains, impressive fjords, hundreds of islands and islets and remote valleys. NORTHERN LIGHTS We are in the middle of the northern light season, so that is great. We only need a sky without clouds and some sun activity to observe the aurora borealis. THE ARCTIC Remember we are in the Arctic and here the weather is the boss. So, there is not a day-to-day itinarary, only short term plans are realistic. We make our descisions on what is possible and when to do it based on weather forecast and conditions. Of course we love to hear your ideas and wishes. And we do our best to make it happen. A bit flexible mindset is a good thing to have here in northern Norway. GEAR AND PREPARATIONS
PACKING LIST This trip is organized north of the Arctic Circle. So, you need warm clothing, good shoes and outdoor gear like sleeping bags and more. You receive a detailed packing list after you made your booking. This packing list tells you about the things you need to have and also gives you a lot of practical information. RENT FROM US In case you do not have all the gear and you do not want to buy, then you can rent equipment from us, like backpacks, sleeping mattresses, kayak-suits, snowshoes and more. 
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THE ROUGH PLAN
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The municipality of Steigen (1000 km2) is located in the north of Norway just above the Arctic Circle. We find here excellent beaches, jagged mountains, dense forests, wild valleys, waterfalls and coastline full of fjords and islands. Nature is breathtaking. It is the perfect playground for all kind of outdoor activities and an impressive area to explore new trails, hardly visited areas and tempting mountain summits. We will take you to different places and guide into the Norwegian wilderness. On other days we will use one of our boats to get to remote islands and camp on sandy beaches that will remind you of the Mediterranean. We will use our hiking shoes, snowshoes and kayaks frequently to visit nature reserves and try to observe wildlife.
How it works...After your arrival in the fishing village of Helnessund, we will set up a basecamp on a scenic spot looking over the ocean. From there, we do our first hikes and outdoor activities. During this trip, we stay overnight in cabins, wood-stove heated tipi-tents and expedition tents. Choices are based on weather forecasts and what we like as a group. After the first nights, we travel to other places to set up a camp or hike to a remote (mountain) cabin. On most sites, we stay two nights to avoid too much logistics. At the end of the trip, we return to our base in Helnessund, and you take the ferry back to Bodo or make an optional 250 km road trip through the Norwegian mountains (if weather permits). |
THE THINGS WE PLAN TO DO |
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SNOWSHOEING
Snowshoeing is a great and fun way to wander through terrain with a lot of snow. We can even take sleds with us (pulka), so we do not have to carry big backpacks. You get a short course if you are not familiar with snowshoe hiking.
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KAYAKING THE FJORDS
The archipelago near our base is an amazing place to kayak. There are many islands and islets. Also with some wind and waves there is a sheltered place to find. Explore the fjords and we teach you how to kayak if this is new for you.
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CABINS AND TENTS
We often stay overnight in our cozy tipi-tents with a wood-stove or expedition tents to give you a real Arctic experience. Another great thing is to stay overnight in cabins. It is an adventure to stay overnight in places far away from civilization.
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WILDLIFE OBSERVING
Experiencing Arctic nature is not only about scenery. Encounters with wildlife is an essential part of it. Of course we need to be lucky, but there are good chances to spot moose, sea-eagles, otters, dolfins, foxes and haren on this trip,
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MOUNTAIN TRAILS
Mountains are tempting and we like to take you up to get this awesome views of the fjords and the ocean. Some of the trails leads to mountain cabins where we can stay overnight, cook some meals and experience the silence of the Arctic.
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ARCTIC FLOATING
One of our favorite outdoor activities is Arctic floating in between the islands. We use survival suits in which you stay warm and dry, It is a very relaxing experience to float in crystal clear water with great views.
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DEEP-SEA AND ICE FISHING
We love to catch our own food instead of going to the supermarket. You can learn how to catch fish at sea (like cod and pollock) and how to do the filleting. If lakes are frozen we can try some ice-fishing.
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EXPLORE THE FJORDS
We will use one of our boats to explore the Steigen archipelago. Cruising between the islands on a calm day is a superb experience. The water is crystal clear and the views over the fjord are stunning and we can go ashore on some of the islands.
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REMARKS
Remember we are in the Arctic and here the weather is the boss. So, only short term plans are realistic. We make our descisions on what is possible and when to do it, based on weather forecast, conditions and what we like.
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Map of the area
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Here is a map of the area in which this trip takes place. Take a close look and you get an idea of the natural environment, distances and possibilities.
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TEMPERATURES, CLIMATE AND WEATHER
At the coast, temperatures will be between minus five and a few degrees Celcius above zero usually. A few kilometres more inland temperatures can drop down to minus 5 to minus 10. We expect quite some snow in this period. Roads, especially near the coast, can be slippery when temperatures rise above zero (we drive with studded tires). Seawater temperatures are around 4 degrees Celcius. In Norway, you can expect fast-changing weathers patterns. At the coast, we got a marine climate, and the warm gulf stream has quite some impact on the local weather
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Background information about Steigen
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We like to tell you some more about the area where this expedition takes place.
nature of steigen
So, here is some information about the area that we explore during this expedition. The municipality of Steigen covers 1000 km2 and has a variety of landscapes. That is huge. So, in 9 days you will only see parts of it. THE COASTLINE The coastline is characterized by dramatic jagged mountains that reach sea level. The coastline has many sandy beaches and very typical are the birch and pine forests that almost meet the sea. There are many islands and islets close to the shore, but also further away. The water is crystal clear and is full of life. It is a great playground for kayaking or (if you dare) some Arctic snorkeling with a drysuit. Some of the archipelagos are nature reserves or bird sanctuaries. There is also a lot of history and remains of older times. There are interesting fjords to explore and just a hike up a hill and get a view over the wide Vestfjord with the Lofoten islands in the background is a treat for your eyes and camera. THE MOUNTAINS OF STEIGEN The mountains are steep, but there are trails that also can be done in wintertime (we take crampons or snowshoes with us). The views are magnificent and there are cozy cabins in the mountains and also in the lower areas that we can use for staying overnight. Most of the mountain lakes freeze in the winter time and offer possibilities for ice fishing. THE VALLEYS AND FORESTS The valleys in Steigen offer great opportunities for hikes on sea level, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. If the temperatures are above zero the valleys can be quite wet and swampy with many small streams to cross. So hiking is quite adventurous out here. There are a lot of waterfalls and some of them will be frozen in the winter. Encounters with foxes, moose and reindeer are quite common. Pine and birch forests are inviting for a hike and we like to stay overnight in tents or (heated) tipi in wild surroundings. GLACIERS, NATURE RESERVES, AND NATIONAL PARKS In the south of Steigen, we find the Helldalsisen glacier and this area is part of the Sjunkhatten national park. There are no roads here and the area can only be visited by boat. HISTORICAL SITES Steigen has quite some interesting things to see of the iron age, the times of the Vikings and more recently fortifications from WWII. observing the Northern lights
In the evening and at nighttime the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible. We need enough solar activity, no clouds (that's an important thing because it blocks the view) and it's necessary that we frequently check outdoor. It appears at certain times in the evening or at nighttime, but we never know when. Sometimes it lasts for 10 minutes on other times it goes on for hours. Also, the strength might vary every day. If you are serious about taking pictures then an important accessory is a tripod. So don't forget (it is on the packing list that you receive from us). |
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