Dog Sledding Adventure in Tamokdalen review
My verdict: this is the one to book if the snow matters more to you than the clock. Ninety-five minutes inland to Tamokhuset puts you in the most snow-secure ground near Tromsø, at −10 to −20 °C and occasionally −30, with mountains on both sides instead of fjord. It rates 4.9 from 1,532 ratings. The cost is time: a seven-hour day of which something over three hours is a bus seat, and a split-group format that means half of your time at the camp is spent not sledding.
What the day actually contains
The bus leaves from the main entrance hall at Tromsø Havn Prostneset and takes about 95 minutes. Camp Tamok is roughly 100 km out by road, though that figure is a traveller’s estimate rather than an operator’s — camps publish drive times, not distances. Either way, more than three hours of the seven are spent travelling.
At Tamokhuset the group splits in two. One half collects thermal gear, gets the instruction and sleds; the other half goes to the dog yard, eats a hot meal and learns how the huskies are kept and fed. Then you change places. Each half is roughly three and a half hours of activity. The part where you are moving behind a team is the usual Tamokdalen figure of 60 to 90 minutes — the rest is yard, food, and the business of getting thirty people into snowsuits.
I rate the split format more highly than most people expect me to. The kennel half is not filler. It is the only structured chance you get on any of these tours to look properly at how the dogs live: bedding, water buckets, whether they are housed in groups or tethered, whether they come to the fence interested or wary. Those are the checks worth making, and I have listed all of them on the welfare page.
Who it suits, and who it does not
It suits anyone booking late in the season, anyone who wants inland mountain scenery rather than coastal forest, and anyone genuinely interested in the dogs rather than just the ride. It is also the full-day option with the lowest age gate: seven, not sixteen, which makes it one of the few long tours a family can do together.
It does not suit a tight itinerary. Seven hours plus dressing time removes a whole day from a short trip, and a 95-minute bus each way is a long stretch for a seven-year-old at either end of it. Under-7s, pregnant travellers, wheelchair users, people with mobility impairments, anyone over 120 kg and anyone with an animal allergy are all excluded. And if you specifically want the maximum possible time driving a team, the split format works against you — the Advanced tour in the same valley gives more of that and demands a great deal more in return.
What works
- The most snow-secure ground near Tromsø, which matters from March onwards
- Mountain scenery rather than the coastal forest of the closer camps
- A proper, structured dog-yard visit rather than a glance on the way past
- Hot meal, thermal suit, boots, mittens, hat and toilets all included
- Takes children from seven, unlike the other long days
Worth knowing
- Over three hours of a seven-hour day is bus travel
- Half your camp time is spent waiting for the other group to finish
- Cold is the real thing here — routinely −10 to −20 °C
- Removes an entire day from a short Tromsø trip
- Under-7s, pregnancy, mobility impairments, 120 kg and animal allergies exclude you
What the ticket covers
- Round-trip bus from Prostneset
- English-speaking guide
- Thermal suit, winter boots, mittens and hat
- Sled driving
- Dog-yard visit and husky-care talk
- A hot meal at the camp
- Toilets at the camp
Not suitable for
- Children under 7
- Pregnant travellers
- People with mobility impairments
- Wheelchair users
- Anyone over 120 kg
- Anyone with an animal allergy
Dress for Tamokdalen, not for Tromsø. The valley runs ten to fifteen degrees colder than the town you left, with far drier air, and the thermal suit goes over your own clothes rather than replacing them. Wool next to the skin, wool or fleece over it, nothing cotton.
What travellers actually say
“Absolutely the best thing we did when in Tromsø. So much fun.”
“Dog sledding is simply fantastic, excellent instructors provide all explanations necessary.”
“Phenomenal. Well-organised and professionally run from start to finish.”
“Absolutely brilliant. Staff genuinely love dogs. The pooches were adorable.”
Two words come back more than anything else in this set: organised, and instructors. That is what a split-group operation lives or dies on, and it is the reason 1,532 people have left this at 4.9 despite a day that is mostly not sledding.
If this one is not right for you
If seven hours is too much of your trip, the Breivikeidet tour does a similar thing in four and a half. If you want the same valley with harder work and more time on the runners, look at Camp Tamok. If you want the valley at night with the lights over it, the evening combination goes to the same place after dark.
Most bookedFun and Easy Dog Sledding Adventure
Most demandingAdvanced Dog Sledding Tour at Camp Tamok
Evening & auroraArctic All-in-One Night: Dog Sledding, Snowmobiling & Aurora
Frequently asked questions
Why go all the way to Tamokdalen when there are camps closer to Tromsø?
Snow. Tromsø is kept mild by the North Atlantic Drift and its snow depth drops from about 41 cm in January to 26 cm in March, while Tamokdalen sits at −10 to −20 °C with little precipitation and is described as the most snow-secure area near the city. The full comparison is on husky camps near Tromsø.
How does the group split work?
Half the group gears up, gets the instruction and sleds, while the other half visits the dog yard, eats a hot meal and hears how the huskies are cared for. Then you swap, so each half is about three and a half hours of activity. The running itself is the usual 60 to 90 minutes — see what a tour day is like.
Can children do the Tamokdalen tour?
From seven years old, yes, which makes it the only full-day tour here that a family can do together. Bear in mind the 95-minute bus each way and the cold before you book it for a young child — dog sledding with children goes through the ages, weights and restrictions on every tour.