Snowmobile tour to the west coast

The West Coast tour is a guided snowmobile trip that starts in Longyearbyen and heads about 70 km southwest to Svalbard's west coast. The destination is Barentsburg, a Russian mining settlement. Guests walk around the town on foot but do not enter any buildings. On the way the group rides through snowy valleys, over frozen rivers and past mountains. Guests may see reindeer and Arctic foxes, and possibly seals close to the shore.

The tour lasts 10 hours, with hotel pick-up at 09:00 and return by 19:00. The group has at least two drivers and up to six snowmobiles. The operator rates the level as moderate, fitting most skill and fitness levels, and calls it right for beginners. The group sets the pace, and the guide judges weather and conditions as the day goes. It operates between 20 January and 17 May.

Included are a guide, safety equipment, a snowmobile with fuel, a suit, balaclava, mittens, goggles, boots and helmet, a warm lunch with coffee, tea and sweets, and insurance. Guests bring ski pants, a warm base layer and socks, and a sweater or down jacket. Anyone who wants to drive needs a physical valid driver's licence. The operator recommends contact lenses over glasses. Spitzbergen Adventures' page gives the minimum age as 10 in some places and 12 in another.