Quiet, Cold, Love: Dog Sledding in the Arctic Circle

When @FareWhispers and I grabbed cheap airfare to Norway, I automatically knew that dog sledding in Tromsø had to be on the itinerary.  Just a no-brainer.  So as we planned everything, I was looking for a company that got great reviews (particularly around treatment of the dogs and how happy they seemed) and offered something special.

So after a lot of back and forth, we went with Lyngsfjord Adventure, and booked not only dog sledding, but an overnight stay in a traditional Sami tent as well.  So we had about 20 hours out at Camp Tamok outside of Tromsø to experience the thrill of dog sledding and fall in love with these adorable pups.

I mean, look at that face!

Other Norwegian winter adventures you may love:

A Night Chasing the Northern Lights

How to Spend 3 Days in Tromsø

Sleeping in a Norwegian Sami Tent & Other Arctic Adventures

Blown Away by the Fjords: Norway in a Nutshell Tour in Winter

What to do With 3 Days in Bergen

Where to Eat & Drink in Bergen

A Detailed Packing List for Bergen in Winter

Because we were doing an overnight stay, we met the tour bus at Ishavshotel at a bit before 5:00pm, and it’s a 75-minute drive to Camp Tamok.  That night we (unsuccessfully) chased the Northern Lights, had a delicious lamb stew meal, and slept in a traditional lavvo—a Sami tent.

Lyngsfjord provided very nice snowsuits, heavy boots, hats, and mittens for the duration of our stay, so after breakfast we bundled up and headed out to the dog houses.

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Our guide got us paired off and assigned to different sleds, then we met our dogs and got them harnessed properly. This guy’s derpy face is just the best.

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And then we were off into the quiet, cold morning. I drove first, getting a feel for the dogs and staring at how the tiny bit of “sunrise” (at 11am) was painting the tips of the mountains hot pink.

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I had to ride the brake more than I wanted, but was following the guide and he kept having to slow down because folks in the back weren’t keeping up. The dogs definitely wanted to go faster (as did I!), they were having a blast. We whizzed along pretty well though.

At the halfway point we stopped and rested, and swapped roles, so I was riding and @FareWhispers was driving. The dogs were having a ball rolling around in the snow and chasing each other…they kept getting their lines tangled and then we had to grab them and undo the mess.

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This guy wanted some love…and it escalated pretty quickly!

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The ride back to camp was just as beautiful. I mean seriously, like freaking Narnia. For the most part you couldn’t hear anything but the crunch of snow, frosty breathing, and occasional barking.  It was such a still morning…absolutely peaceful.

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It seemed over too soon, though we were gone somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours.  We grabbed some lunch (delicious fish soup!) and as we came out of the lavvo to grab the bus back to Tromso, the “sunset” (at 2pm) was breathtaking—perfect farewell from Camp Tamok!

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While the whole trip was definitely a splurge, we had an amazing time and would recommend it!  Since this trip I’ve also been dog sledding in Finnish Lapland (in the Arctic Circle as well), so you can compare the experiences.

How to plan your dog sledding in Tromsø

• There are a couple of companies that offer dog sledding in Tromsø, but we booked with Lyngsfjord Adventures and were super happy with the overall experience at Camp Tamok.  Villmarkssenter and Active Tromso are two others that offer it.
• The sledding is available roughly mid-October til the end of March.
• The route is about 10-12 km, and you’ll ride for half and drive for half.  It takes around 1.5-2 hours.
• If you just did the dog sledding, it would be about $220 per person.
  • We did an overnight package that included an evening activity (we did Northern Lights tour), overnight stay, dog sledding, and three meals (dinner, breakfast, & lunch), and it was around $465 per person.

What questions do you have about dog sledding in Tromso?  Have you mushed before?  I’d love to hear all about your experience!

Other bucket list adventures:

• Floating on a Glacier Lake in New Zealand
• Mesmerized by Petra at Night
• Watching The Northern Lights Dance From A Mobile Cabin On A Frozen Finnish Lake
• Why a Sunrise Hike Up Masada Should Be On Your Bucket List
• Hiking Iceland’s Stunning Sólheimajökull Glacier
• Bucket List: Paragliding In Olüdeniz, Turkey

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