Custom Tour

Custom Tour puts you in the driver's seat for exploring Svalbard's high Arctic around Longyearbyen. Based in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, this tailor-made day lets you trade fixed itineraries for a route built around your interests — from easy tundra strolls to demanding ridge scrambles, glacier overlooks to quiet fjord drives. Guides collect you at your hotel, the tourism office, or the pier and, armed with local weather and wildlife reports, choose the day's best options, adapting the plan on the morning of the trip and as conditions change.

The landscape here is immediate and elemental: blue-tinged glacier ice, lichen-dressed tundra, moraine ridges and patterned permafrost that creases into intriguing polygons. Key features you might visit include glacier tongues that spill toward the fjords, wind-carved slopes on Platåfjellet and the low coastal benches lining Adventfjorden. Wildlife sightings are a core reason to go — look for Svalbard reindeer and Arctic foxes on the tundra, and seabird colonies on the steep coastal cliffs.

Note that polar bears inhabit the wider region; guides monitor bear activity and choose safe routes. This experience is valuable for travelers with a particular purpose: artists seeking remote vantage points, researchers conducting fieldwork, families wanting flexible pacing, or visitors with reduced mobility who need a bespoke plan. Online listings show best-selling options of roughly five to seven hours, but the trip can be scaled shorter or longer; difficulty ranges from 2 (easy hike) to 4 (sportive challenging hike).

Group size is typically small, and bookings can be extended for familiar groups or families by contacting the operator in advance. Practically, the guide-driven model saves you hours of route-finding. You get up-to-the-minute judgment calls on trail conditions, access by car when needed, and routes chosen to maximize views and wildlife chances while minimizing exposure to permafrost thaw and unstable moraine.

Before the trip reply to your confirmation with goals, physical limits and equipment so your guide can plan appropriately; email [email protected] or use the FareHarbor booking link. Beyond the scenery, Longyearbyen's history as a coal-mining hub and its governance under the Svalbard Treaty shape access and stewardship here. Respect local rules: stick to marked paths where provided, pack out waste, and follow your guide's instructions to protect fragile tundra and nesting birds.

For travelers seeking a private, flexible way to read Svalbard's stark topography, a Custom Tour delivers an adaptable, expert-led window into the Arctic that feels simultaneously wild and manageable. Because bookings are custom, note the cancellation policy: no refund under 8 days prior to the activity. Small-group maximum is typically four participants; ask about extensions for larger groups.

Confirm equipment and mobility needs in advance so the guide can prepare terrain-appropriate plans and vehicle access where required and insurance.