On the moraine shore of the icy fjord, at the edge of the blue glacier, stands our hidden expedition lodge. This is the place you have to visit if you want to see the farthest, reach the truest north. Nordenskiold Lodge is the northernmost commercial cabin in the world. As the Arctic night surrounds the pine cabin you can lay your head on the soft pillow and bask in the Arctic silence.
Beautiful location. Great hostess and guides. There is no running water and the water used is obtained from snow/ice given that the lodge is adjacent to a glacier. Incinerator toilet. Any of these issues are quite minimal when compared to the hiking, glacier walking, and kayaking experiences. Just sitting on the porch and appreciating the scenery is amazing. A sauna is associated with the lodge. The lodge is very comfortable. Food was great.
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Date of stay: July 2023
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The lodge is at 78 degrees 40 min north. We understand it is the most northerly commercially available accommodation in the world. It has no electricity or running water and only a rudimentary unreliable indoor toilet for occasional use. It takes 2 hours to get there from Longyearbyrn by chilly boat dressed in a survival suit. Survival not dry suit. When you get there you cannot step more than a couple of metres outside unless accompanied by somene with a gun due to Polar Bears.
However, it is absolutely fabulous. My wife and I with 2 other couples rented the lodge for 3 nights. Our hosts were Morton & Rakel. They looked after our safety and as guides, cooks and companions made it a very special stay indeed. We unequivocally recommend this couple to anyone who visits Svalbard. They also guide in winter.
The 5 bedrooms are simple but perfectly fine. The lounge/dining room is very comfortable and the views are spectacular.
It is not a place for children. There are potentially Polar Bears outside and there is nothing to stop them coming right up to the door. Hence Morton & Rakel's focus on safety with loaded guns propped against doors.
We walked and hiked on the glacier. Normal but wonderful experiences in a unique landscape. Although advertised we did not canoe. We were happy not too. The water temperature is 4 degrees and clearly dangerous.
A very different experience but one to be carefully considered before embarking on it.
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Date of stay: August 2018Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Torill Brandal B, Kundeansvarlig at Nordenskiöld Lodge
Responded Sep 7, 2018
Thank you for the nice feedback, we will share it with Morten and Rakel. It is right that you need to be an explorer with adventure lust to join on this multiple day experience. We are happy to hear that you are. Enjoy the autumn, kind regards Basecamp Explorer Spitsbergen
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This lodge is the best place I've never been... The view on the glacier is amazing. During the night we can hear it rumbles... Far from everything, no running water, no electricity and no phone coverage, the perfect stay to cut with the routine life... I felt like home. Very cosy... I could have stayed here for months :)
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Date of stay: August 2017
Value
Rooms
Service
Trip type: Traveled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My husband and I visited Nordenskiold Lodge in August of 2023. Hana was our host, Rogier our chef, and Marta was our guide. Tin, Hana's dog, was also one of our hosts and he is the sweetest dog alive! We had an amazing time, this was one of the best trips of our lives due to both the hospitality and the location. Unlike staying in Longyearbyen or in other hotels, at Nordenskiold you are really in nature, and it's incredible to be able to easily access and spend all day appreciating your surroundings. There are no other nearby hotels. Others who stay in Longyearbyen or in more developed areas spend 1.5-2 hours to get to the glacier, and often can only stay for an hour or so before driving back, and those boats hold many passengers, meaning you won't really get to spend much time along in the arctic wilderness. At Nordenskiold, you can wake up with a view of the glacier, hear the sound of ice breaking apart and popping, and really disconnect.
Rogier is an extremely talented chef, preparing breakfast and dinner from scratch (lunch is out in the wilderness during an activity, freeze-dried meals reheated with hot water) with local ingredients such as reindeer, seal, and whale for dinner. Breakfast is Norwegian style (smoked salmon, fresh bread, tomatoes, yogurt, porridge). We did the 5-day adventure package which included the 1.5 hour boat transfer from Longyearbyen, a half-day kayak trip to the glacier the day we arrived, a 10-mile, 1600 ft elevation gain hike the second day, a glacier hike with crampons (I think roughly 6 or 7 miles with 1200 ft elevation gain), and a kayak to Brucebyen the third day (five hours kayaking time plus an hour or so of exploring Brucebyen and whalewatching from shore). The fifth day we had our 1.5 hour trip back to Longyearbyen. The trip definitely requires physical fitness to enjoy and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to folks who are sedentary, although Marta was really gracious about checking in with how people were doing with the activity. We saw many animals including a polar bear who frequents the area near the lodge, humpback and minke whales, and arctic birds.
The lodge is super comfortable, but keep in mind that it hosts 8 people at a time, and you are all in quite close quarters since you are all lodged in the same building, and you are sharing the sauna (where the shower is) and the toilet, and also going on all of the activities together and eating all meals together. As other reviews note, there is no running water or real electricity. For the toilet, you pee outside (no toilet) during the day, and for everything else/at night, you use an indoor toilet that burns the waste. For showering, the sauna heats water using a wood stove, and you ladle warm and cold water on yourself. It might sound rough, but we quickly got used to the setup and its part of the charm of the remote location.
Transportation to and from the lodge was seamless and scenic. The owners of Nordenskiold also run Basecamp Explorer in Longyearbyen and Isfjord Radio Hotel, so if you combine your stays the logistics will be really easy.
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Room Tip:Recommend the 5 day tour, so you get a chance to kayak, hike, and go on the glacier. Weather is...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There are more places to choose from in the Longyearbyen area.
LOCATION
NorwaySvalbardSpitsbergenLongyearbyen
NUMBER OF ROOMS
5
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