Challenge yourself with an extraordinary winter trip to Greenland. Take a dogsled trip from Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut. Traveling by dogsled you admire the 10 – 12 strong husky dogs in front of our sled, working in their natural environment.

Wear yourself out when walking up steep hills behind the sled and enjoy the true comfort of hot soup and your sleeping bag after a long day in this cold, yet beautiful, arctic landscape. You will be crossing frozen fjords and lakes and you will drive over mountains. Nights will be spent in huts or tents depending on location and weather conditions.

Prepare yourself for low temperatures and very little comfort – in return you will get a genuine arctic travel experience for life.

The 50-kilometre long Ilulissat icefiord is filled with enormous icebergs produced by the most productive glacier at the Northern Hemisphere. 4,000 people and at least 5,000 sled dogs live in Ilulissat, beautifully situated at the mouth of the icefiord, since 2004 a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In February, March and April the dogsled is the main vehicle for excursions while sailing tours is the obvious choice from May to November. Helicopter tours to the glacier in the icefiord are available all year round.

It’s up to you if you stay in Ilulissat Youth Hostel or in Hotel Arctic during your six days/five nights in Ilulissat. You also have the option of two extra days at hostel or hotel in Kangerlussuaq - close to the Greenland Ice Cap, in an area inhabited by more than 5,000 musk oxen. We offer this tour from early February to late October. Departure every Thursday from Copenhagen.

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Your choices for what you choose to bring on an Arctic trip depends on your style of travel, your budget, the time of year, and your anticipated activities. If you’re traveling independently, you’ll likely need to bring more than someone on an organized tour.

Some Arctic locations, like Inuvik or Tuktoyaktuk, permit travel with your own vehicle. In addition to cash, traveler’s checks and visa/passport information, almost everyone — unless you’re staying in hotels and eating in restaurants every night — will need to bring a sleeping bag, water bottles, toiletries, matches, maps, reading material, and a light. Given the variety of weather possibilities, warm layered clothing is essential any time of year.

Summer Arctic Travel

Clothing

Windproof/waterproof shell jacket (with hood)
Windproof/waterproof shell pants
Sturdy hiking shoes
Thick wool and/or fleece insulating sweater or pullover
Wool and/or fleece pants (cotton kills when wet- no jeans!)
Wicking synthetic t-shirts
Quick-dry nylon hiking shorts
Thermal underwear (polypropylene or similar material)
Several pairs of thick polypro and/or wool socks
Heavy wind and waterproof gloves
UV protective sunglasses

Outdoor Equipment

Sleeping Bag, pref. synthetic with -20 temp rating
Sturdy, easy to use freestanding tent pref. with vestibule & ground sheet
Light multi-fuel cookstove with wind protection
Cooking pots and utensils
Detailed topographical maps
Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman
Water purification tablets and/or filtration devices
Compass with magnetic declination figures
GPS
First aid kit
Light weight backpack for daytrips or full backpack for overnight hiking trips
Plastic bags or ziplocs to keep things dry
Insect repellent (Lemongrass and DEET-based)

Spring/Fall/Winter Arctic Travel

Clothing

Windproof/waterproof shell jacket (with hood)
Windproof/waterproof shell pants
Arctic parka rated to -40 from -60
Arctic bib insulated pants rated from -40 to -60
Sturdy hiking shoes
Duffel pack boots rated to 40-60 below
Thick wool and/or fleece insulating sweater or pullover
Wool and/or fleece pants (cotton kills when wet- no jeans!)
Wicking synthetic t-shirts
Quick-dry nylon hiking shorts
Thermal underwear (polypropylene or similar material)
Several pairs of thick polypro and/or wool socks
Thin polypro liner socks
Heavy wind and waterproof gloves
UV protective sunglasses
Ski goggles
Windproof face mask

Outdoor Equipment

Sleeping Bag, pref. synthetic with -40 to -60 temp rating
Sturdy expedition tent pref. with vestibule & ground sheet
Multi-fuel cookstove with wind protection
Cooking pots and utensils
Detailed topographical maps
Swiss Army Knife or Leatherman
Water purification tablets and/or filtration devices
Compass with magnetic declination figures
GPS
First aid kit
Light weight backpack for daytrips or expedition backpack for overnight hiking trips
Plastic bags or ziplocs to keep things dry

If the Yukon is the far north at its most accessible, the Northwest Territories (NWT) is the region at its most uncompromising. Just three roads nibble at the edges of this almost unimaginably vast area, which occupies a third of Canada’s landmass - about the size of India - but contains only 60,000 people, almost half of whom live in or around Yellowknife , the territories’ peculiarly overblown capital. Unless you’re taking the adventurous and rewarding Dempster Highway from Dawson City across the tundra to Inuvik , Yellowknife will probably feature on any trip to the NWT, as it’s the hub of the (rather expensive) flight network servicing the area’s widely dispersed communities.

Otherwise most visitors are here to fish or canoe, to hunt or watch wildlife, or to experience the Inuit aboriginal cultures and ethereal landscapes. More for convenience than any political or geographical reasons, the NWT was formally divided into eight regions . From 1999 a new two-way division has applied, the eastern portion of the NWT having been renamed Nunavut , a separate entity administered by and on behalf of the region’s aboriginal peoples. One effect has been the renaming of most settlements with Inuit names, though in many cases the old English-language names appear in much literature. Nunavut and the “old” western NWT issue their own tourist material, and you should obtain a copy of their respective Arctic Travellers’ Nunavut Vacation Planner and Explorers’ Guide brochures. These summarize accommodation options, airline connections, many of the available tours - costing anything from $50 to $5000 - and the plethora of outfitters who provide the equipment and backup essential for any but the most superficial trip to the region.

This website is dedicated to northern travel and arctic adventure, focusing on Alaska, Canada’s Yukon Territories (YT), Northwest Territories (NWT) and Nunavut, Greenland and Russia’s Siberia.

19 years ago I made my first trip into the Canadian Arctic. I stayed for 15 months and my life was transformed forever. I’ve built this site in the hopes that others will be inspired to travel to the north and that the information I’ve compiled will make trip planning easier for you than it was for me.

Find out what to bring.

Although much of Canada still has the flavour of the “last frontier”, it’s only when you embark on the mainland push north to the Yukon that you know for certain you’re leaving the mainstream of North American life behind. In the popular imagination, the north figures as a perpetually frozen wasteland blasted by ferocious gloomy winters, inhabited - if at all - by hardened characters beyond the reach of civilization. In truth, it’s a region where months of summer sunshine offer almost limitless opportunities for outdoor activities and an incredible profusion of flora and fauna; a country within a country, the character of whose settlements has often been forged by the mingling of white settlers and aboriginal peoples . The indigenous hunters of the north are as varied as in the south, but two groups predominate: the Dene , people of the northern forests who traditionally occupied the Mackenzie River region from the Albertan border to the river’s delta at the Beaufort Sea; and the Arctic Inuit (literally “the people”), once known as the Eskimos or “fish eaters”, a Dene term picked up by early European settlers and now discouraged.

The north is as much a state of mind as a place. People “north of 60″ - the 60th Parallel - claim the right to be called northerners , and maintain a kinship with Alaskans, but those north of the Arctic Circle - the 66th Parallel - look with light-hearted disdain on these “southerners”. All mock the inhabitants of the northernmost corners of Alberta and such areas of the so-called Northwest, who, after all, live with the luxury of being able to get around their backcountry by road. To any outsider, however, in terms of landscape and overall spirit the north begins well south of the 60th Parallel. Accordingly, this section includes not just the provinces of the “true north” - Yukon and parts of the western Arctic and Northwest Territories - but also northern British Columbia , a region more stark and extreme than BC’s southern reaches.

Yukon Territories (YT)

Yukon Territories travel listings

Northwest Territories (NT) Travel

Northwest Territories travel listings

Nunavut (NU) Travel

Nunavut travel listings

Northern British Columbia (BC) Travel

British Columbia (B.C.) travel listings

Canada Cruises

If the Yukon is the far north at its most accessible, the Northwest Territories (NWT) is the region at its most uncompromising. Just three roads nibble at the edges of this almost unimaginably vast area, which occupies a third of Canada’s landmass - about the size of India - but contains only 60,000 people, almost half of whom live in or around Yellowknife , the territories’ peculiarly overblown capital. Unless you’re taking the adventurous and rewarding Dempster Highway from Dawson City across the tundra to Inuvik , Yellowknife will probably feature on any trip to the NWT, as it’s the hub of the (rather expensive) flight network servicing the area’s widely dispersed communities.

Otherwise most visitors are here to fish or canoe, to hunt or watch wildlife, or to experience the Inuit aboriginal cultures and ethereal landscapes. More for convenience than any political or geographical reasons, the NWT was formally divided into eight regions . From 1999 a new two-way division has applied, the eastern portion of the NWT having been renamed Nunavut , a separate entity administered by and on behalf of the region’s aboriginal peoples. One effect has been the renaming of most settlements with Inuit names, though in many cases the old English-language names appear in much literature. Nunavut and the “old” western NWT issue their own tourist material, and you should obtain a copy of their respective Arctic Travellers’ Nunavut Vacation Planner and Explorers’ Guide brochures. These summarize accommodation options, airline connections, many of the available tours - costing anything from $50 to $5000 - and the plethora of outfitters who provide the equipment and backup essential for any but the most superficial trip to the region.

Traveling abroad? It’s important you know your passport, visa, and health requirements, which vary by destination. Make sure you get all the information you need well in advance of your trip.

As of January 8, 2007, passports will be required for all U.S. citizens traveling to or from the United States via air or sea, to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda
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As of January 1, 2008, passports will be required for all U.S. citizens traveling to or from the United States via land as well as air or sea, regardless of destination.

If you have booked a flight, hotel, rental car, vacation package, or cruise, visit the CIBT Web site for detailed information on travel requirements for the countries you’re visiting, and for those you pass through en route. This site provides online ordering for passports and visas, including rush replacement of lost or stolen passports, and a 24-hour customer support telephone number.

For more information on travel requirements, contact the U.S. embassies of the countries you’re visiting. A complete list of U.S. embassies worldwide can be found at the Department of State Web site.

The two roads into the Yukon strike through northern British Columbia: the Alaska Highway , connecting Dawson Creek to Fairbanks in Alaska, and the adventurous Cassiar Highway , from near Prince Rupert to Watson Lake , on the Yukon border. Though the Cassiar’s passage through the Coast Mountains offers perhaps the better landscapes, it’s the Alaska Highway - serviced by daily Greyhound buses and plentiful motels and campsites - that is more travelled, starting in the rolling wheatlands of the Peace River country before curving into the spruce forests and sawtooth ridges of the northern Rockies. While the scenery is superb, most towns on both roads are battered and perfunctory places built around lumber mills, oil and gas plants and mining camps, though increasingly they are spawning motels and restaurants to serve the surge of summer visitors out to capture the thrill of driving the frontier highways. Equally popular are the sea journeys offered along northern British Columbia, among the most breathtaking trips in all Canada. Prince Rupert, linked by ferry to Vancouver Island, is the springboard for boats to the magnificent Haida Gwaii , or Queen Charlotte Islands - home of the Haida people - and a vital way station for boats plying the Inside Passage up to Alaska.