Adventure tours in the Russian Arctic

Welcome to one of the world’s most untapped travel destinations: the Extreme North of Russia. Spanning nine time zones, the Russian Arctic is the biggest Arctic territory of any country. It is also the least developed. There is an almost complete lack of tourist infrastructure. The nearest roads and railways are often thousands of kilometres away. As such, all our trips should be viewed more like serious expeditions than tours.

We provide the maximum possible level of comfort to our guests in these tough wilderness destinations. We can even offer VIP trips with private helicopter rental and catering teams. However, all guests still need to be prepared to “rough it” more than they would it on trips to the Arctic elsewhere in the world. If you are willing to do that, read on. You will be able to have truly unique and life-changing experiences in one of the most isolated parts of the planet.

We offer a wide range of trips to cater to various interests and budgets. Some of the most popular are our bespoke trips to join nomadic Nenets reindeer herders on their epic migrations on the Yamal Peninsula. For wildlife lovers, we run tours where you have the chance to see dozens of polar bears, hundreds of whales, thousands of walrus and millions of birds in Chukotka or on the Taymyr Peninsula. For palaeontologists, we can arrange for you to join mammoth tusk hunters in Arctic Yakutia. For something closer to Moscow, we organise trips to explore the isolated villages and fascinating wooden architecture of the Pomor people in the north of Arkhangelskaya Oblast.

Feel free to search this site either by your area of interest, using the first set of photo links below, or by Russian Arctic region, using the second set of photo links. We look forward to sharing an adventure with you in a place that almost no other foreigners have visited!

Welcome to one of the world’s most untapped travel destinations: the Extreme North of Russia. Spanning nine time zones, the Russian Arctic is the biggest Arctic territory of any country. It is also the least developed. There is an almost complete lack of tourist infrastructure. The nearest roads and railways are often thousands of kilometres away. As such, all our trips should be viewed more like serious expeditions than tours.

We provide the maximum possible level of comfort to our guests in these tough wilderness destinations. We can even offer VIP trips with private helicopter rental and catering teams. However, all guests still need to be prepared to “rough it” more than they would it on trips to the Arctic elsewhere in the world. If you are willing to do that, read on. You will be able to have truly unique and life-changing experiences in one of the most isolated parts of the planet.

We offer a wide range of trips to cater to various interests and budgets. Some of the most popular are our bespoke trips to join nomadic Nenets reindeer herders on their epic migrations on the Yamal Peninsula. For wildlife lovers, we run tours where you have the chance to see dozens of polar bears, hundreds of whales, thousands of walrus and millions of birds in Chukotka or on the Taymyr Peninsula. For palaeontologists, we can arrange for you to join mammoth tusk hunters in Arctic Yakutia. For something closer to Moscow, we organise trips to explore the isolated villages and fascinating wooden architecture of the Pomor people in the north of Arkhangelskaya Oblast.

Feel free to search this site either by your area of interest, using the first set of photo links below, or by Russian Arctic region, using the second set of photo links. We look forward to sharing an adventure with you in a place that almost no other foreigners have visited!

What people say

It’s a long, sometimes uncomfortable trip to the Dolgans in the remote area of northern Anabar, Yakutia, but it’s an amazing adventure!
And if anyone can arrange that trip, it’s Arctic Russia Travel, not only because their director Ed Vallance has Dolgans friends, but also because he knows enough people to improvise, which is absolutely necessary, if you travel up to the far north of Siberia.
The flights to Saskylakh were cancelled because of weather circumstances, but Ed managed to arrange a flight to Olenyok and from there to Saskylakh, with a van.
We drove through the night from Olenyok to Saskylakh - 600 km, mostly ice road and on the way only one small village.
It was a bit cold in the van (minus 45 C outside), but an unforgettable experience: we stopped a few times to watch fantastic northern lights.
In Saskylakh we had a warm welcome and enjoyed some rest and a lot of food - the hospitality and friendliness of the people in these remote areas is very special.
From Saskylakh we went by car on the ice road to Yuryung Kaya - again a lot of food there.
From Yuryung Kaya we travelled about 80 km on snow mobiles and sledges to the Dolgans camp - cold and very uncomfortable, but an experience you do not want to miss: just realising where you are on the planet and again a surrealistic light show of northern lights above our heads.
You need very warm clothes in northern Anabar in February, otherwise you won’t enjoy being there. The Dolgans, however, move around in temperatures of -40 C like we move around in the Netherlands when temperatures are +5 C.
At the Dolgans camp we experienced a migration to new pastures.
First they gathered a huge reindeer herd - about 1500 animals. Then they catched some reindeer with a lasso and they put them in front of the little cabins, which have sledge runners.
And then they start to move: in front of each cabin are 6 to 10 reindeer.
Watching the Dolgans catching their reindeer with lassos and watching the migration, is like walking around in the middle of a documentary of National Geographic - absolutely amazing.
 
Thanks Arctic Russia Travel for this fantastic, wonderful experience!! Without you, we would never have reached the Dolgan people.
Hans-Jurgen Mager

February 2019, Migration with the Dolgans, Earth's northernmost nomads

This was my second photographic trip with Arctic Russia Travel. Having already visited the Yar-Sale Nenets on the Yamal Peninsula with them, I was keen to come back and visit the remoter Seyakha area. As a photographer, I was keen to experience the harsh realities of life on the Yamal Peninsula and witness the routines of the nomadic reindeer herders. Arctic Russia Travel organised a trip for me to the northern settlement of Seyakha which involved a helicopter flight from Salakhard followed by snow mobile travel. Throughout the trip from Moscow, I was with a guide/translator who was at pains to ensure any difficulties were addressed and safety issues were carefully explained. I always felt secure and 'looked after'. This was a fantastic trip with countless memorable experiences. The herders that had been sourced by Arctic Russia Travel were friendly and were aware of what I was hoping to achieve. Of course, this form of bespoke travel is not cheap, but you will be left with lifelong memories of a tradition that may not last for too much longer.....take this opportunity while it is still available.

Some of Gordon's photos from the Yar-Sale and Seyakha areas can be found here: https://www.gordonesler.com/nenets-of-yamal-siberia

Gordon Esler

February 2020, Yamal Peninsula: most isolated Nenets

On the Taymyr Peninsula you really feel like you are at the end of the world. After a five hour flight to Krasnoyarsk, a five hour flight north to Khatanga and a 30-hour cruise north up into the Arctic Ocean, we finally arrived at our destination. During our trip here we spotted twelve polar bears, including a mother with cubs and another swimming in the sea next to our ship. We also visited two colonies of about 1000 walrus each and a cliff colony of around 1 million birds. We saw muskox, Arctic fox, Arctic hare, seals, a beluga whale, a brown bear and a snowy owl. When we were cruising up the River Khatanga, small herds of reindeer kept swimming across the river in front of and behind our ship and were often spotted running along the bank. We even saw them running around in Khatanga village itself, after we returned from the Taymyr Peninsula. We visited a camp of indigenous Dolgan fishermen who gifted us some delicious Arctic char and showed us a mammoth tusk they had found.

We were accompanied by two armed guides, who were experienced biologists who had spent decades working in the Arctic. Both were certified to guide groups in areas with polar bears. They carried guns with flares, rubber bullets and real bullets with them. However, their experience and understanding of polar bear behaviour meant that none of these was ever required. Instead, they cautiously told us whether we could disembark our boat near polar bears, whether we could move closer to them and, based on the bears' behaviour, whether we needed to retreat.

Of course, the level of comfort you can expect on this trip is much lower than what you would find on Arctic cruises in other countries. But unlike Arctic cruises in other countries, here you will have the whole ship to yourself and will be visiting truly remote places untouched by mainstream tourism. For guests prepared to sacrifice some comfort in return for a genuine adventure and an expedition-style trip, this is a great option. For those who prefer comfortable private cabins on a ship with large numbers of other tourists on a comparatively well-trodden route, the Taymyr Peninsula may not be for you.

Sefi Ben Joseph

August 2017, Taymyr Peninsula: polar bears, walrus and muskox