Basecamp Explorer just named its five standout Svalbard trips for 2027, and they run from the dark of the polar night to the light of summer. One of them puts you at a remote outpost where food supplies from the mainland rarely show up, yet the kitchen still sends out a multicourse dinner with wine pairings.
The sun doesn’t rise at all during Svalbard’s polar night, while summer brings daylight around the clock. The company says its picks reflect growing demand for “noctourism,” cooler summer escapes and time spent fully offline.
3 Arctic Bases at 78 Degrees North
All five Basecamp Explorer trips use one or more of its three Svalbard properties, which sit at 78 degrees north. Basecamp Hotel is in Longyearbyen. Isfjord Radio is a former radio station on the island’s far western coast.
Nordenskiöld Lodge sits at the foot of the Nordenskiöld Glacier, and you can only stay there as part of an expedition.
Northern Lights in the Dark and a Lodge You Reach by Snowmobile
The four-day Chasing the Northern Lights trip runs out of Basecamp Hotel until February and returns in October 2027. During this season, the aurora can show up at any time of day. You’ll drive a team of huskies through the Advent Valley and step inside a former coal mine.
The Glacier Odyssey heads to Nordenskiöld Lodge, which the company calls the world’s northernmost commercial lodge. From mid-March to the end of April, the only way in is by snowmobile across glaciers and frozen fjords, and the lodge has no phone signal. The five-day trip starts with an afternoon of dog sledding, followed by three days of guided snowmobiling.
Lead Your Own Husky Team for About 124 Miles
The Telegraph Route has four scheduled departures in spring 2027. Each guest drives their own team of six Alaskan huskies to Isfjord Radio and back, covering about 31 miles a day.
You don’t need dog sledding experience for this route, but everyone helps with expedition life. The reward is two nights at Isfjord Radio, where the sauna looks out over the sea.
Summer Dinners When Groceries Come Twice a Year
Remote Horizons runs from late May to September, much of it under the midnight sun, with temperatures averaging around 41 degrees Fahrenheit. You’ll cross Isfjorden by boat to Isfjord Radio for hikes and boat safaris.
The goal is to spot what the company calls Svalbard’s “Big Five”: walrus, polar bear, seal, Arctic fox and Svalbard reindeer.
Grocery deliveries from the mainland come only twice a year, so the chefs salt, cure, smoke and pickle. Their multicourse menu features reindeer and Arctic char, with wine pairings.
The seven-day Uncharted Circuit links all three properties by boat, in groups of no more than eight. Glaciers cover more than 60% of Spitsbergen, and from the eight-bed Nordenskiöld Lodge, you’ll hike across one and paddle beneath its ice wall.
If the aurora tops your list, the Northern Lights stay departs daily on request, so you can plan it around your own calendar. The Glacier Odyssey works on a set schedule, leaving every Sunday and Wednesday. The lodge opens for only a few weeks each winter, so settle those dates before anything else.