Planningyour trip

Pick the thing you want to see first, then the month. Ice caves need the freeze, so December to March. The aurora needs dark, so September to March, and the best of it is in the long nights of late winter. The Highlands open in July. The sun does not set in Lofoten between late May and mid July.

Four places, twelve months. Bars show the average daily low to high. The line is hours of daylight. In Kangerlussuaq it is dry and very cold in winter, in Höfn it is mild and windy, and in Lofoten it is wet and milder than the latitude suggests, because of the Gulf Stream.

Layers beat bulk. Every trip page has a full list, and this is the short version.

The Arctic punishes small mistakes. This is how we keep them small.

Glaciers and ice caves. Every cave is checked on the morning. Helmets, crampons and ice axes are mandatory. We turn back if there is meltwater, rockfall or a new crack, and we have done so 14 times in 7 winters.

Rivers. We cross in a line, facing upstream, with poles, in sandals. If a crossing is above knee height, we find another or call the truck.

Beaches. Reynisfjara kills visitors every few years. Sneaker waves reach 30 m up the sand without warning. We stay well back.

Communication. Guides carry a satellite messenger and a phone. Iceland and Norway have 112. In Greenland, we carry a satellite phone and the Joint Arctic Command number.

Medical. Every group has a guide with wilderness first-aid training, and Katrín Ólafsdóttir, a paramedic, joins every Iceland trip above level 3.

Travel insurance is compulsory, and we need to see the policy before you travel. It must cover emergency medical costs and evacuation, including helicopter rescue, for at least €250,000 and activities up to 1,500 m on glaciers and ice caves (and, in Greenland, to 2,000 m on the ice sheet). It should also cover cancellation, because our terms are strict.

Many standard policies exclude glacier walking and winter camping. Check the wording, and ask us for a list of insurers our guests have used.