Three Day Winter Itinerary in Iceland

 

Prerequisites:

Adequate winter clothing, readiness for unpredictable weather, and pre-booked tours

Iceland is a place that I always planned to visit twice, once in winter and once in summer! I took the traditional Sankranti winter vacation to Iceland this time!

Day 0

Well, lets put it this way: getting to Iceland is tough. I think there are a couple of one stop options from India, but they didn't suit my plans. I began my trip after wrapping up my commitments in a conference at Vellore. Hence my my onward travel itinerary was; well, hold your breath; Vellore - Chennai -  Dubai - Amsterdam - Keflavik - Reykjavik (Road, Emirates, Emirates, Iceland Air, Road)

Keflavik is the town with the international airport in Iceland. In the Iceland air flight towards Keflavik, I purchased the shuttle tickets from Keflavik to Reykjavik (although you can purchase the same from the airport as well). The other options to travel include taxi (expensive), or you could rent a car for the days in Iceland from the airport. I didn't opt for the latter because of three reasons : international driving licence requirements, driving in the right side of the road, and mainly the general danger of driving in Iceland in winters (slippery roads, and limited daylight). You may be adventurous and opt for the latter, but it is generally discouraged in winters.

It was perhaps four thirty when I left the airport, but boy was it already dark! It had started drizzling already, and I walked it to the bus. The bus was full. It took an hour to the reach the Reykjavik bus terminus, from where another small bus dropped us off to the hotels. I decided to stay at the Hotel Grand Reykjavik, and found it to be in a rather convenient location to move around. It was six in the evening when I reached the room. I showered and headed out for dinner. I decided to walk to the Hilton hotel closeby as Google had given good ratings to the restaurant. I slipped on the ice on the way, which made me watch my all my steps in the entire trip! Fish and Chips and the local Gull beer made an excellent dinner. 

Iceland is five and a hours behind India. The time difference and the very long journey made me crash at 930 pm itself. 

Day 1

Firstly the dress code! Remember, although the temperature may seem relatively mild compared to the colder places you have been (I have been to Longyearbyen, where the temperature was -26 degrees C), Iceland can fell extremely cold, due to the constant wind/rain. The temperature was 1 degree Celcius on day 1 and boy was I happy I had dressed appropriately.

Back to the dress code (I purchased most of the stuff at Decathlon in Hyd): two caps, inner puffed jacket over the shirt, outer water proof jacket with a water proof hoodie, winter water proof gloves, inners, jeans, water proof ski pants, socks and shoes. Crampons are recommended, but I decided against them (I did just fine).

I had booked the trip through Viator. Today I planned to travel in the Golden Circle tour.

0630. Breakfast at the hotel.

0730. Pick up at the hotel and transfer to a central point.

0800. We got into the Golden circle tour bus. The bus was comfortable and there was free Wifi. The tour was excellent and she gave excellent insights about Iceland in general.

1000. Thingvellir national park. Well, it was still pitch dark when we got here. We were taken to a view point, where we could see the area of the oldest parliament in the world (Viking era). We could see the Thingvalavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. The sun rays had just started coming over the horizon and this made it an excellent view (better seen with the Samsung night camera, though). We could see the place where the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia actually meet, making this country most prone for earthquakes and volcanoes. Grab an opportunity for a quick coffee/hot chocolate, and using the washroom before you leave the place!

Night mode on Samsung

1100. Geysir. We reached here at 1100. The sun had risen, but it was cloudy and it was drizzling constantly. But the area was awesome, It was a large area bubbling with geothermal activity. There were small steam vents, boiling mud pits, streams of boiling hot water and the of course the geysers! 

Strokkur is the largest of all the geysers, and it erupts every ten to twleve minutes, throwing up a large jet of hot water up in the sky. If you are patient with the camera, you can catch the spectacle very nicely (it spurts for about  8 to 10 seconds). On the rainy day, most of us in the tour decided that it was meant for our eyes only! 

1200. The Gullfoss (The Golden Waterfall). Boy, was this a large waterfall. It looked special as on either side of the waterfall, the mountains were covered with ice and snow, while the water made its way relentlessly. The sound was thunderous. There were numerous viewing platforms, including some close to the falls. The pathways can be very slippery here, so be careful! Lunch at the visitor centre.

1300. From here many people decide to take a snowmobile trip/monster truck up the glacier and go to the natural ice caves. Further extension of the same trip could take you to the Sky Lagoon or the Blue Lagoon. I decided to skip them all. The reason was I had already visited a mega glacier and ice cave in Svalbard on a dog sled (one of my best tourist experiences) and I am personally not a fan of public baths. However,  although the camera use is difficult, the two aforementioned lagoons are supposed to be very beautiful indeed). I later came to know that the glacier and the ice cave trips on that day had been a nightmare due to very heavy rains! We had lunch at the Gulfoss visitor centre (the lamb soup, was awesome, its a local delicacy). 

1400. We headed back to Reyjkavik. Why did I take the shorter trip? Well wait, wait...

1600. Back to the Grand hotel, rest and shower.

2000. Dinner at the Grand Hotel by the fireplace!

2030. Pick up at the Grand hotel for the Northern Lights tour! The tour guides are very experienced and they know just where to take you. Mind you, it was a very cloudy night, yet the tour guides took us to two places where we could sight the northern lights, albeit not for very long at each place, before the clouds moved in again. Always book this tour on the first night itself, as the tour operator will take you the next night for free should the first night be marked as 'unsuccessful'. Ours was marked unsuccessful, but the trips of the subsequent nights were cancelled due to persistent rainy weather 😞. 

2345. Reach hotel and crash!

Day 2

0630: Get up, get ready and get some breakfast!

0830. The minibus came and picked me up right from the hotel. The South Coast Small Group tour begins! Well, it was a very rainy day again today. We rode in complete darkness to the first point, a place chosen by the tour guide in such a way that we could cover the maximum distance before sunrise at 11 am. Use the restroom facilities on a the way, when the driver stops for a short while and also pick up some Hot chocolate/coffee.

1100.  Skogafoss. It is a majestic waterfall which is a 60 metre drop. Somehow the downstream river is very serene. There is a viewing platform at an elevation, but it is quite a steep climb. The view from there is supposed to be incredible, but I, like most others, skipped it as it was raining steadily. The waterproof jackets come to your rescue.

1200. Reynisfjara beach/ Black sand beach. This was a stunning beach, which was formed by flowing lava and silt directly hitting the ocean. The currents here are very strong and we were not to go towards the water. If you get pulled in, the next piece of land would only be Antarctica! Large basalt columns line the beach, which make it a stunning spectacle. Rain as usual played spoil sport. 

1300. Lunch at the visitor centre. For the second day running, I took the lamb soup , which was delicious. I rounded it up with a cake and hot coffee. 

1330. Pass by the picturesque town of Vik, quite photogenic (had it not been for the incessant rains!)

1430.  Solheimajokull glacier. It is a tongue of a much larger glacier. We need to walk a short distance from the parking lot to actually see the part of the glacier meeting the lake that is formed by the melting ice, with floating icebergs. It was quite the spectacle. The evidence of global warming was seen when the guide explained how much the glacier had been eroded in the last decade. 

We then decided to walk away from the pathway created and move along the lake shore. That was a mistake and the black soil was very soggy. My shoe got stuck in the mud, as a result to balance myself I had to adjust in such a way that my gloves and socks were soaked in the wet black muck, making the rest of my trip, well, not so 'clean'. It reminded me of the short hikes we used to have in the western ghats near Pune in the college days.

1530.  Seljalandfoss. When we browse Iceland on YouTube or Google, you would often find this waterfall in all vlogs/blogs. It is an iconic waterfall and it was particularly voluminous on that day. In summers, you can actually go behind the waterfalls, which was closed as the path was frozen. You can good photos here, Use the restroom and also drink something here, as it is a 2 hour drive back to town after that.

1800. Reached back to the base well past the Iceland sunset. Well, to get myself cleaned up, took up enormous effort and time (and money if you count the clothes I had sent to laundry). Watched a Manchester City EPL match, to see our team squander yet another lead (the story of the year for City), room service for dinner and crash. 

Day 3

Day in Reykjavik

0900. Get up late and have a leisurely breakfast

1000. Head out by cab to the Perlan museum.  This is a beautifully designed museum to describe the natural wonders of Iceland. Included in the museum price are the Planetarium show (concentrated mostly on the Northern lights), the volcano show and the Ice cave experience. After the time spent indoor in the museum, head up to the fourth floor, where you can grab an ice cream and then walk on the terrace, from where you can see the panoramic view of the whole of the city. Mind you, the wind can be particularly strong in some parts. Overall, an awesome experience!

1230. Head out to the Hallsgrimkirkja, the iconic cathedral of Reykjavik. It is the poster picture of any Reykjavik website or social media site. A lot of photo taking opportunities here. The church itself was serene.

1330. Lunch at Cafe Loki or at Three Coats. Cafe Loki is a favourite for traditional Iceland food. It is famous for the fermented shark dish ( I was warned about its pungent taste and I decided to skip it). I decided to move to the Three Coats restaurant, which is smaller and less conspicuous, but it is a place that  serves another exotic Iceland dish: whale meat steak (sssh!) It was awesome!

1500. Take a snap at the Sun Voyager; nothing to  ride home about, but an iconic Iceland landmark nevertheless.

1515 to 1545. Burn your lunch calories by walking along the sea coast to the Fly over Iceland building

1600. Fly over Iceland. Do not miss this! This is a 7D experience, where you will be made to sit on a chair (with safety seat belts, of course). The chair will move forward into an empty well, where your feet will be hanging in the air, and the 7D show starts to give a surreal flight over all parts of Iceland. It was exhilarating! However, I will not recommend this for people with vertigo and heart conditions!

1645. Walk to the Lava Show museum, a short walk. Attend the Lava Show, which is another greatly unique experience! You can see artificially produced but scientifically accurate Lava pouring down the centre of the room (do not dare touch, the lava is at 800 degrees celsius when it is poured down and remains well above 200 degree celsius throughout the show). A geologist will explain the various properties of Lava, and about all the infamous volcanoes that had rocked Iceland.

1800. Head back to the hotel via the church, as it looks astonishingly good at night time too!

1900. Pack for a really early morning departure the next day, enjoy a fireplace dinner and crash!

Day 4

Take a taxi back to Keflavik and head home! (I had a stay over in Amsterdam on my way back)

Six day Itinerary to Athens and Crete

Prerequisites: Gang of friends, international driving licence with atleast two of them!

Three of my college friends and I were planning this trip since long. It was a trip that was designed with more of catching up in mind, rather than tourism, and boy, this trip was an ideal place to hang out with dear old friends.

Day 0: 

Two of us from India landed in Athens airport at 1 pm. That's when most flights from India land. Keeping in mind our next day trip again from the airport, we (pre)decided to stay close to the airport. We had booked in an apartment (Four Seasons apartment, the host Miltos was an awesome host) in Artemida, a fifteen minute drive off airport by cab. Keep in mind, the city of Athens is a good hour away from the airport. After freshening up, we ordered food to the room. Food is good in Greece in general, both for vegetarians and non vegetarians. Rice is quite a stable carbohydrate accompaniment here. 

1600.

Post lunch, we headed by Uber to the city of Athens. There are multiple places to see in Athens, but it was a place I had been to earlier. I had to chose two sights for my friend to see; I decided to take to him to the Acropolis first.

1700.

Walk up to the Acropolis, and purchase tickets to the Acropolis and the slopes. It is around 5 Euros per head. You will be given a time to enter. We entered at 1730. First head to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is a stone Roman amphitheatre. It is an amazing site for photos and the steep slopes of the ampihteatre will make us wonder how great it would be to listen to a show here, There are shows that you could attend, but that is at a specific time from another entrance.

                      

Climb up the slopes of the Acropolis. Enjoy the historic architecture of the  Acropolis. Don't get stuck long in clicking photos while climbing upwards, as the best part is at the top. At the top of the Acropolis mountain, enjoy panoramic views of the whole of Athens, Wear good shoes, don't forget!

Don't make funny poses here, this is a holy site

Its quite likely you will get stuck here clicking a lot of photos. Head down in an hour.

1830. 

Enjoy a cool lime or strawberry slush near the ticketing office. 

Here is the catch. The sun sets quite late in summers, so you may go to the Parthenon and Temple of Olympian Zeus, both of which are quite similar, but well worth visiting. Cabs are easily available at the Acropolis

We headed out to the Panatheniac stadium

1900. 

Panatheniac stadium.

It was built in 330 BC, how renovated over years. Presently it is made up of marble. The official handing over of the olympic torch to the host nation occurs every Olympic year here in this place. It was also the site of ancient athletic events. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The present complex looks very beautiful.

1930./2130 (According the the number of places visited) :

Head back to Artemida.

2030. 

If you have not had dinner already, head to the beach of Artemida. We had dinner at the Archontikon, which was right beside the beach. The sunset occurred at 2045, which can be quite a change for a people coming from India, The variety of food on offer was great. 

2200. Crash!

Day 1

We had two of friends come over from the US in the morning and it was great catching up. Personally picked up some breakfast from a local bakery, and boy was it yum!

The scheme was to take the trip nice and slow, so all we did the whole morning was chat. We checked out at 1 pm, and headed over the the Archontikon for lunch. The view from the beach is quite different from it was during the twilight hours. 

1400 

Our host rode us past a viewing point on a hill near the Agios loannis Prodormos church, from where you can get an entire panoramic view of the Artemida town, which was beautiful. We got dropped off at the Athens airport.

1750. Skyjet flight from Athens to Heraklion, Crete. This flight is notorious for being late, so expect it!

1930. 

We reached Heraklion. We had prebooked a car. Always do that in Crete, as it is not Uber or coach friendly. Fortunately, our two US friends found it easier with their licences and their experience in left hand drive cars to drive around. For Indians, it can be quite confusing in the narrow roads of Greece, especially when confronted suddenly by a bus coming in the centre of the road from the opposite direction. Our knee jerk reaction would be to push the car towards the left side of the road, which could be disastrous 😀.

Although there are numerous hotels and apartments in Heraklion, it is to be noted that Heraklion is one side of Crete, and everyday travel would be difficult. Also, it is quite crowded. We decided to book our vacation villa in Rethymno, a city in the centre of the northern coast of Crete. It is less crowded (relatively) and accommodation is a little cheaper. The drive was of one hour, We reached Villa Diana in Rethymno at 930 pm and ordered food, which was again delicious, 

An hour in the Jacuzzi. (a great value add) and catching up completed day 1 of the trip. Crashed an hour past midnight.

Day 2

Get up late and have a lazy breakfast

1100. 

Reach the castle side beach road at Rethymno. Plenty of parking spaces here (cheat code). You could climb up to the castle from here, which would offer you panoramic views of the whole town and seashore. We decided to walk along the road, and laze around at the restaurants by the sea side, once for beer and once for lunch. 

1400. 

Head towards the city centre Rethymno. Plenty of shopping opportunities, but dont miss the icecream shops here. You can easily spend a couple of hours here.

1600. 

Head back to the room, and rest in the afternoon. 

          OR

Head towards the Marina and go parasailing. I heard its an awesome experience, and I still kick myself for missing it

1830. 

Dip in the pool in the evening or drive to the city centre again, where you get views of the sea as the sun sets.

2030. Manadatory Jacuzzi time.😁

Day 3.

1000 to 1130. 

Drive to the Agia Sofia caves. You will probably stop in numerous locations on the way for great photo oppurtunities by the sea, and also by the valleys. Park near thr Agia Sofia Caves.

1130 to 1300. 

Climb the 210 steps up the caves. I was breathless, needless to say, on the way up. However, once you reach the summit, the trip in the caves is well worth it. There is a small church in the caves, but also numerous stalactites and stalagmites. Awesome place for photos.

1300 to 1400. 

Head back a short distance where you reach a hamlet with restaurants right next to a beautiful valley. The views are stunning and the food awesome. Do not forget to use the washroom here!

1400 to 1500. 

Drive to the Kedrodasos beach. After parking the car, it entails walking down a rough path to the beach. It is not your sandy beach, but boyoboy, I will not be exaggerating when I say that it was probably the most picturesque beach i have ever been to. Instagrammers beware; you may go nuts here. Dont get too wet here, spare your swim clothes for the next destination. Walk up back to the car.

1500 to 1530. 

Drive to the Elafonesi Beach. 

1530 to 1830. 

Elafonesi beach. This is is much more popular beach. After parking the car, you again need to walk a good kilometre or so. So its better to use the paid bathrooms at the parking itself.  This beach is famous for two things, a walk through the crystal clear waters to a nearby island, and the red coloured sand near the isalnd due to the phytoplanktons. This beach is much more crowded, and the water is clean . You will get pretty wet here, so dont forget to pack your beach wear!. The salinity is high and you can float in this water so easily! You probably wouldn't want to leave the place, to be frank. Grab a coffee up near the parking again, and use the washrom again as its a long drive back

2100. Reach Rethymno and eat your dinner before heading back. We decided to eat Indian on this day. 

2330. Try to sleep early!

Day 4

0530: 

Begin your drive from Rethymno to the Heraklion Marina 

0730. 

Check into one of the boats towards Santorini. (Always prebook). You can drive your car into the boat. We had taken the Power Jet Boat from the Seajets company.

0800. 

Boat leaves from Heraklion. Have your breakfast in the jet. Cannot comment much on the quality of the food and coffee. Walk upto the open deck at the top. Be prepared for choppy waters and rocking from one side to the other! It was an amazing experience.

1100. 

Drive out of the boat into Santorini, and drive towards Oia village, the so called Instagrammers paradise.

1200-1300. Roam around Oia. Don't expect anything similar to Instagram here. Its very crowded. For a quick pic opportunity, walk up to the main square church. After reaching there, take a right till you reach another small church. Get into the lane just beyond it, walk a few steps down, where you will find a closed gate. That's it. There will be a line of tourists waiting to take a photo at the 'perfect spot' where you get the whole village, the blue rooftops, the white houses and the sea coast. You could walk around in certain small lanes to experience the local culture and buy some momentos. Almost at every lane, you might want to take a picture. But remember, there will always be people hustling around, so it may be impossible to get a very serene photo. Stop for a frozen yoghurt.

1300 to 1330. 

Drive to the Red beach. On the way, there are some places for panoramic photos shoots with distant white coloured villages.

1330 to 1500. 

After parking the car, be prepared for a brief hike around a small mountain to reach the place. The red beach was awesome and not to be missed, as it offers an unique perspective into the nature that defines Greece. Have a quick lunch near the parking. Alternatively visit the black sandy beach which is also supposed to be very picturesque. 

1500 to 1630. 

Travel to Pyrgos. Climb up to the highest point of Santorini for panoramic views and walk around in the relatively less crowded but equally beautiful narrow lanes. Start back on time

1700. 

Ferry back to Heraklion. Catch a small nap, or have a refreshing coffee, or both!

1900. 

Drive back from Heraklion to Rethymno. On the way, we stopped for dinner at a place called Bali (I know, I know). The restaurants over here were also in a superb location by the sea. 

2130. 

Back to Rethymno. Jacuzzi, shower and crash!

Day 5

1000. 

Drive to the Preveli gorge.

1100-1200. 

Preveli Gorge. This is the speciality of this islands. The mountains are almost adjacent to the sea, and this place seems so far away from any potential beach. Its a beautiful valley and you can spend your time hiking down the Gorge. The greenery around is beautiful

1200. 

Drive to Preveli palm beach. There are two approaches to this one. One is from the hill road near Preveli monastery. The views look stunning , but if you look at the path towards the beach, you will surely wonder how difficult it would be to climb up once you are there. Most people would make the sensible decision to turn back and drive to another road that takes you closer to an adjoining beach at Preveli itself, from where there is a brief hike around a hill to the original beach.

1300. 

Lunch at the Cafe.

1400. 

Walk along the mountain towards the Preveli beach. Unless you know how to swim well, this beach is a disappointment, as its floors of the beach are not sandy, but full of pointy pebbles and stones that really hurt. But the best part was the small rivulet that forms a lagoon before it joins the sea. This will give you a stunning view of the Preveli Palm Grove This was amazing and gives a beautiful place to take a dip and take photos.

1500. 

Travel to Skinaria Beach. 

1530 to 1630. 

This is a stunningly beautiful beach, and not very crowded. You can have a serene dip here in the crystal clear waters.

1630. 

Coffee at the nearby cafe.

1700. 

Drive back to Rethymno, go back to the castle road, and enjoy a super long dinner at the Sunset restaurant. Oh ,the sunset is extremely beautiful here!

2100. 

Villa, and u guessed it right, jacuzzi, shower and crash.

Day 6. 

Slow start, pack your bags and check out at 1100

1100. 

Drive back to town, shop for family (that's a must, isn't it?), have a leisurely lunch at one of the restaurants near the marina, and icecream

1430. 

Headback to Heraklion 

1630. 

Signoff the car, feel a separation anxiety, and head to the airport, which will be chaotic at that time. If you have a priority pass, better to be seated at the lounge , till the hostess tells you its time to leave. If you leave earlier, you will get stuck for a while as these flights are frequently late.

1930. 

Flight to Athens

2100. 

Have dinner at Athens airport

2200. Check back into the same hotel where you had initially stayed. We had stayed in the Four seasons apartment in Artemida, remember?

Day 7. 

Head back to Athens airport and fly back home.

What a memorable trip it was!

Five (5) day Itinerary to Oslo, Svalbard, Norway: a mind boggling experience

The trip to the Northernmost town in the World! 

Well, this one is right out of my bucket list. I enjoyed it thoroughly, so I decided to document my itenerary for other's benefit. I decided to take this trip having worked day in and day out as the organising secretary of the annual Endocrine Soceity Of India Conference, which was a good success! (or so I hear!)

I took the late evening flight out of Hyderabad (2125), as only that connected well to Oslo. Had to spend seven hours in the Dubai Airport lounge. Although this was not ideal, I was too excited to care. Arrived in Oslo at 1230 afternoon. The excitement started before the flight landed. The first visualisation of the snow covered capital of Norway was a treat to the eyes! A shiver of excitement went down my spine when the Captain announced that temperature was -11 degree celsius! (I personally love cold weather, and I have been in Hyderabad for fifteen years, a city with the mildest of winters) I ABSOLUTELY recommend doing this tour in peak winter (Dec or Jan). I will explain why, as we go on.

                                                       Zoom this pic!

Day 1

1330. After immigration, etc, check into a hotel close to the airport. I stayed at the Radisson Red hotel, which is walking distance (10 mins) from the airport

1430. Walk to the railway station of the Oslo airport.  The views are as above. It was sunny and the temperature was 10 degrees minus (unique!) There are two types of trains that ply to Oslo City Centre. The slower ones cost lesser (NorKr 120 ~ Rs 950), but I will recommend the Flytoget service, which is 170 Kr, but much faster). Sit near the window seats on the left side to experience the unique snow filled landscapes of suburban and urban Oslo. Get down at the National Theatre Station. 

1530. From the National theatre, take a cab to the Fram and Kontiki Museums. 

1600 .I personally got immersed in the Fram museum,  but from what I heard Kontiki museum is also an awesome place! The Fram museum was a museum of the polar expeditions . With an amazing cinema show to kickstart; to the various photos; and finally a trip into the boats, to see how life was during the 2 year long exertions immersed me in much curiosity. I came out at 545 pm and it was pitch dark. The Kontiki museum would close in 15 mins , so I didn't enter. Remember there is no place to buy water here, so come with a water bottle 

                                   Dining place inside the boat

1800. Take a bus to the Vogeland sculptures and Frognerparken. Well,  what you see on Google and what I saw was anti climax,  as both were completely snowed over by a foot of snow . For me, it was a unique experience, nevertheless.  I enjoyed how kids continued to practice football and how young parents were taking out their infants and toddlers out for a walk in the snow covered garden and dimly lit pathways in the dark!

1845. Travel by tram to the Opera House, Have a hot chocolate break first. You may already be freezing by then!

1900. Opera House, It was quite a spectacle. I decided not to go in, already having visited the Sydney Opera House before. There are a few modern sculptures around as well.

1930. Walk to the Oslo Central station and travel by Flytoget to Oslo Airport station. Walk it to your hotel.

Day 1A

The reason I call this day 1A is that I actually didn't do this day. I skipped to day 2 directly. However I recommend to spend one extra day at Oslo 

Take the train to the city centre, and do visit the

Akershus fortress

Norweigian Musuem of Cultural History ( heard that it is beautiful)

Viking Ship Museum

National Museum

Royal Palace

Oslo Cathedral

Day 2

0735. Walk to the Oslo airport and check in.

0935. Board the SAS flight to Longyearbyen. Prebook a seat on the right side window.

1200. Take a photo of the Sun at the Horizon. This pic will be a memorable one, as you won't see the sun for the next few days (special for December and Jan only!)

1215. Technical break at Tromso, It looks so beautiful while landing. The break at Tromso is for passport control. Although Svalbard is administratively in Norway, it requires no Visa to enter. Of course as an Indian, you will require a Schengen visa to enter Norway. 

1230. Back on the same flight, and get amazed by how dark it is at Midday!

1300. Have some light lunch options on the flight itself. Surprisingly they were not expensive.

1400. Land at Longyearbyen airport. The time was 2 pm, but the airport was well lit. The temperature was minus 17 when I landed ! You can pick up a lot of informative material at the airport itself while you wait for your luggage.

1430. Please remember that there will be a bus waiting outside the airport (their are only 2 flights arriving per day in Winter!) For NKr 100, the bus will drop you to the hotel. Card is the preferred mode of payment all throughout Norway, but definitely so in Longyearbyen. There is no ATM or cash transactions there!

1445. Arrive in your hotel. I stayed at the Radisson Blu Polar Hotel. Most other hotels are in the vicinity.

1500. Laze around in your room and look out of the window. Just let the darkness soak in!

1530. Walk around town. Don't leave town, otherwise the polar bears will get you. I heard that the Svalbard museum and the polar expedition museum are really good, but they were shut down for renovation when I was there. Visit the northern most church in the world.

1630. Do your cold weather shopping in one of the many sports stores on Main Street Longyearbyen. Top it up by drinking hot chocolate somewhere!

1730. Have a drink at the Northernmost pub in the world.: The Barentz Gastropub!

1800. Go the front desk of your hotel and make your bookings for the next two days. Alternatively you can book it online at https://en.visitsvalbard.com

1900. Enjoy an early dinner at one of the many restaurants. I ate at the Barentz gastropub itself (Fish and chips)

2000. Back to base!

Day 3

1000. Get picked up by the Dog Sledding tour guys from the hotel (Prebook) . I used the Green Dog company,  which was really nice.

1030. Reach the kennels. You will hear the reckless barking of 40 odd huskies near by. You will be asked to change into snow boots, mittens, snow suits, neck guards, and snow caps. Wear a jacket and a wool sweater and warm thermal innerwear.

1045. You will be instructed how to use the sled. You can then pet the huskies. Beleive me, they are super friendly. Then comes the most physical part of the trip . You are supposed to hold on to the lead dogs while the guides tie the other dogs to the sled. Those guys won't just stay in one place (Swen and Mishka in my case) as they will jump all over; restless to start the trip. Catch your breath on the sled. The tour guide will start the trip.

1100. As the trip starts,the dogs fall silent immediately! They love running and that's all! The guides allow you to drive the sled intermittently and that's fun. As we move ahead, we would be surrounded by total darkness as technically we are in a frigid desert. The only source of light will be from the lamps on our heads! It is surprising to see how the dogs know the exact way to run. What an experience!! Its just too good!

1300. Reach the glacier. Well we can't see much of the glacier ,as it is pitch dark. The dogs deserve a well earned rest as the trip was mainly uphill till now. They are given some snacks and tied on a line. You have to pet all of them and they readily accept your gratitude. We move to a tent nearby.

1310. We go down the ice caves. The ice caves are well preserved and the temperature was warmer at minus 5 degrees (outside was minus twenty!) But this can be a problem for really tall individuals like me (I am 6'3") as too much slouching was involved. I stopped going in beyond a certain limit, but instead chose to be seated and sat with one of our guides Olivia. Was updated a lot about local Svalbard life!

                                                A rare place where no slouching was required!

1400. Lunch at the tents. We were served hot chocolate (coffee was an option) and Thai curry rice (ready to eat after pouring hot water). It was delicious !

1430. Preparation for the trip back. Again a very physical experience trying to hold on to the leader dogs (man, were they restless!)

1445. Trip back down. Here was the ultimate experience for everyone on this trip. The Northern Lights danced all throughout our return trip (although we did see some on our way up) But the major problem for us was the temperature. It was almost next to impossible to remove the mittens and gloves, reach out to your phone under layers and layers of clothing and take photos or record videos, as your hands would freeze almost instantaneously! It was mainly "for your eyes (covered with foggy specs 😎) only experience!"

1615. Back to the kennel. Again you need to pet all the dogs and thank them! Change back into your original clothes and then take the opportunity to pet the puppies, which is a great experience by itself!

1700. Dropped back at the hotel.

1715. Hot chocolate at the cafe in the mall!

1800. Another walk in Longyearbyen Main Street. Take photos at the Northenmost Post office and the Northern most Kindergarten in the world!

1930. Dinner. I had dinner at the Nansen restaurant. There are decent number of vegetarian options. Non veg eaters must taste the local cuisines which include Reindeer and Seal. What did I eat? Secret!

Day 4

0900.  Pick up at the hotel for the coal mines tour. A Must do.

0920 to 1000: Briefing at the day cabin. A friendly guide shows a documentary of how it was/is working in the coal mines. The coal mines in Svalbard are part of the hills, so the mining is more horizontal here then deep underground. The coal seams here date close to 5 million years back and the coal is more than 90 percent pure coal. The guide will show some artefacts and also a model of the 4 million old fossil found there

1000. Wear helmets, suits and headlamps

1000 to 1130. 

A walk through the coal mine. We walk for almost a kilometre into the hill. I was amazed to see the coal seams, the working conditions, the base for the miners, the lunch area, the tracks and finally course the conditions and the tunnels where the miners actually mined for the coal. The tunnels are never more than 3 feet high, so the miners at work almost always had to crawl and work for eight hour shifts! If you are wearing the suit, you can crawl into one such tunnel as see how harsh the working conditions can be.

You will also see the entries to the Global Seed vault (where seeds of almost all plants in the world are stored, in case a disaster strikes Earth) and also the Artic Bank, where many countries store secret documents that one cannot afford to lose, again should disaster strike elsewhere . For example I know that the McDonald's burger recipe is stored in there, and also the minute construction specifics of the Taj Mahal!

1200. Be dropped off at the Hotel

1200 to 1300. Lunch. I had lunch at the Karlsberger, and it was great

1300. Jacuzzi bath outdoors when the temperature is minus 20 and it is pitch dark at this time. Crazy experience at the Radisson Blu! You will be asked to wash your hair and body with soap before entering, but DO NOT FORGET to dry your hair before entering the Jacuzzi (I forgot), otherwise the water on the hair will freeze instantaneously and you will have a tough time post the Jacuzzi! Awesome experience!

1600. Either do the snow biking or the Snow Cat. Snow biking is great fun I heard, but I had enough of physical activity already, so I decided to take the Snow Cat. It is a special truck that takes you out on the snow to spot wildlife and northernlights. This is a easier trip for the elderly and children as well. I sat near the driver and had a huge height to climb in and out of, but the seats behind had a ramp. They will take you the city limits, beyond which you should not cross on your own without a guide with a gun as polar bears roam freely. This polar bear sign is a must for instagrammers

They then take you the wilderness, where another stop is done near a crashed German plane during the World war 2. Although it would have made a great place for photos, the temperature was freezing cold and it was snowing, so many of us quickly ran back to the truck!

The next stop was when we spotted reindeers at different places. Again enjoyable scenes, pitch dark, but it was awfully cold on that day (-24 degrees celsius). We had no luck with the Northern Lights due to the snow fall. We were taken to cabin and were offered hot Cranberry juice which was unique and tasted awesome! (coffee was an option). You will be dropped back at 1830.

1830. Premier League match (DeBruyne masterclass).

2030. Dinner at Barentz Gastropub, although there are many noteworthy places in Longyearbyen for dinner (Lavish to quick takeaways) Details will be on Google

Day 5.

1000. Bus to airport. Check in and soak in the last views of Longyearbyen. 

1200. As I walked on the tarmac towards the flight, it was lowest temperature I was ever exposed to:  -26 degrees Celsius!  I was waiting for the flight doors to close as we were all shivering in the flight too! As the flight stopped at Tromso , experienced fresh snowfall, and the first visualization of the Sun after 74 hours! 

1830. Reached Oslo. Back to airport Radisson. Some shopping may be considered on that day , otherwise you will be generally quite tired.  Time to relax and try your last bits at Norwegian cuisine!

Day 6. Back to airport and back to India.

Will be back if an opportunity presents itself! I really enjoyed this winter sojourn!! 

Cya.