polar park

Hands down, one of the greatest experiences of my life! We visited the Polar Park in early February, if you're going in winter wrap up warm. The staff at the park are very friendly, knowledgeable and genuinely passionate about the animals. The guide we had (I'm sorry, I forgot your name) made the whole experience even more incredible, with his humour and great relationship with the animals. We paid (the extremely reasonable) price to feed the arctic foxes, and anyone visiting this park I would encourage to do the same, especially for families. My only regret is not also opting to pay to meet the wolves, looking back I really wish we did, so I would definitely encourage anyone going to have the wolf experience too. We drove from Tromso, this was only a 2 hour drive (with breathtaking scenery) and more than worth it to visit the park.

We visited the Polar Park in late January as part of a tour with Guide Gunnar.The weather was really cold -20C but the place was quiet and we almost had the park to ourselves. The staff here are obviously passionate about the wildlife they care for here, and also the natural environment that is so beautiful.We saw the gorgeous Arctic Foxes who run around so fast you can barely photograph them.The highlight though was visiting the wolves - 7mth old hand reared. We are instructed to make so sudden moves or loud noises. If you choose to kneel down, be prepared for wolf "kisses". Actually the wolves will lick you very enthusiastically and even get into your mouth...so if you're not comfortable with that, just keep standing!! We really enjoyed this visit, which was so different to any other wildlife park I've ever visited.Thanks for a lovely visit

What differentiates the Polar Zoo from any other zoo I've visited is the people and the level of interaction you get with the animals in the Zoo. The keepers had a personal relationship with each animal, guided us around, and bubbled with enthusiasm for their charges. This is not a park you go to see a whirlwind tour of lots of animals; each enclosure is huge, and the animals can completely ignore you if they feel like it. Several came down to look at us, including a pack of 5 juvenile wolves that had been raised inside the park, who followed us around.We were travelling with our 7 year old daughter, who delighted in a sit down meeting inside the enclosure with a group of Arctic foxes. By the time we'd had lunch, she'd gotten so familiar with everyone that she happily wandered off with one of the zoo-keepers to play with the Park's tame Minx, while my wife and I had our face to face meeting with the wolves.Being face to face with one of the great predators, on their premises, is a completely unique experience. While the wolves were socialized they were very much not tame; they'd jump on us, lick our faces, then dive off to play-fight among their siblings and return. The two zoo-keepers that guided us did an amazing job of guiding us, allowing us to experience the wolves as visiting pack-members. Definitely a bucket list item.This is really a park for someone who loves animals, completely unlike any zoo experience I've ever had. We came away with a half-chewed boot (pro-tip, don't wear leather boots), a face that smells like wolf, and memories for life.

A November trip approx. -6c snow everywhere to see some wonderful animals surrounded by breathtakingly amazing scenery I now believe should be on everyone's list of a must do. Wrap up warm but the park will supplier extra clothing and ice grips for your shoes if need be.We were in for a treat arriving before the bears hibernated for the winter (just) to see them roaming with such majesty and showing the wolves who is the boss is something I could have stayed and watched for hours on end. The younger wolves you can pay extra to have your own time with them as they are fully integrate with humans. The Arctic foxes are just beautiful and again you can pay extra to go and spend some time with them in their own enclosure. Also enjoy the moose, reindeer and other animals.Take your time with the guides listen and learn but then spend your own time in this wonderful place. Good café, restaurant and souvenir shop on site with usual facilities.

my only complaint would be that we had tried to make arrangements months in advance to take part in the wolf experience, (on my bucket list and I was dying to do it) and at first we were told it wouldn't be a problem and to check back a few weeks before, and when we did, they said they couldn't guarantee it and to check back, and when we did again they said they couldn't accommodate us, I offered to pay in full in advance to secure a place, but they wouldn't do it. So i'm unclear as to how they determine who gets take part, but we had traveled from the U.S. ( a very long way) so we were VERY disappointed we couldn't experience that. now the good stuff! we visited in July and the weather was perfect. I am a huge advocate for animals, and find most "zoo's" have cramped and depressing conditions. But the Polar Park serves as an example of how to do it right!!! first of all, the grounds are gorgeous.The animals are housed in enclosures that are just like they would have in the wild with tree's, hills, and creeks. They have a lot of room to move and hide if they want to (which I know may disappoint some people, but I prefer the animals be comfortable and happy) Know in advance you will be walking a bit, and there are hills (each enclosure is fairly large so to get to see all of them you'll be walking) Make sure to give yourself time to sit quietly and you'll probably get lucky. This is infinitely better than having an animal in a cage. Plus, the food is great! Jan (the chef) cooks up a mean platter of delicious meats. We will definitely be back, and make plans to stay a bit longer and hopefully then we can do the wolf experience.

A great place to go when you visit Norway. The animals are kept in great conditions and the staff is professional and friendly.I absolutely recommend you to visit the wolf camp and most of all the fox camp! Its one of the few places to get up close with polar foxes (they are so adorable and cute!!!)The park is kind of hidden. There is only one big sign advertising it like 20 km before the community in which the park can be found. The scenery is gorgeous and if you want, you can stay there with a camper (the parking lot is a campingplace with electricity and a good/heated sanitary facility, get there during the opening hours to get a key for the showers!)Its great for kids, too! The fox camp was actually introduced for families with kids, because in order to go to the wolfes you need to be like 18 or something (cant remember the age now) And while the parents are busy with the wolfes the kids can play with foxes. However i thought the foxes were much more fun and ways cuter/cooler than the wolfes. However the wolfes are great as well! (watch out, they lick your mouth, thats their way of saying hello, if you refuse to return the kiss... they might ignore you :-) )Its quite pricy to go to the wolfes, but still, its a one in a lifetime experience i recommend! To put it in a nutshell: kind of hard to find and pricy (as Norway is) but just AWESOME!!!

I visited with a friend on 18th September and we travelled down from Tromso on the 100 bus. First point is that this bus was suuuuper expensive (worked out at £46 EACH return!) and that there are only 2 buses to the park and 2 back to Tromso each day. We caught the 6.15am bus and asked to be dropped off at the Skogstad E6 bus stop (as this stop isn't on the bus timetable), and arrived at the stop just after 9am.The Polar Park website says that they will pick you up from this bus stop and drive you to the park for 100 NKr (per trip not per person). But you DEFINITELY have to do this in advance! We tried to call the number on the website whilst travelling down but were only greeted with a lovely sounding Norwegian message which made no sense to us! Anyway, we ended up walking from the bus stop to the Polar Park, which took us around 40 minutes, but the scenery was lovely so it wasn't all bad!We paid 215 NKr each to enter the park, and then paid 200 NKr each for the Arctic Fox Experience. We were taken into the enclosure with Emily the keeper, and sat on the floor with 2 out of the 3 foxes (the female wasn't bothered haha). Then she placed food in our hands and the foxes ate it right in front of us! Then she fed them with the foxes standing on our backs! Some great photos and amazing memories. We were allowed to touch their fur too, just no sudden movements. Would highly recommend!The park itself is quite small with only around 10 enclosures. But we both agreed the enclosures were good sizes for the animals with plenty of places for them to hide (we're zoology graduates haha). Just to mention there are some hilly bits to the park, but nothing too hard. Again some great views of mountains and the trees in pretty autumnal colours. Animals included deer, moose, wolves (with cubs!), bears, lynx, reindeer and arctic fox.We also did the small zipline over the river for 60 NKr each. It was short but you got a good view down the river and was just another enjoyable experience whilst we were there! There is also a cafe and a small gift shop where you can use your credit/debit card if necessary. We used the shuttle service on our way back to Skogstad E6 bus stop, which was 100 NKr for the both of us and took just over 5 minutes. All of the staff are really friendly and speak amazing English.Would definitely recommend the Polar Park even though the journey was long, but very much worth it with yet more amazing views on the 2/3 hour bus ride!

We visited here recently. I was impressed by the size of the pens which did allow the animals to be right away form humans if they wished to. The amount of cover for the deer and reindeer was so much that the first time around we missed them.The predator feeding time in the early afternoon drew out the more shy ones and we got good views of the lynx and the fox. The commentary was good as far as it went. A focus about the animal themselves nothing about Polar ecology or conservation needs of the species. Be prepared to walk to see everything.We also enjoyed lunch in the entrance facility. Good waffles with Norwegian spreads.

We drove down to the Polar Park from Tromso. It is a 2.5 hour drive. I recommend getting a rental car if you can, though it's more expensive to rent an automatic than a manual. If you're looking for people to go with, you can leave your contact info at the Tromso Tourist Desk and if other people inquire, they can put them in touch with you. I found one German tourist that way to take a seat in the car! We went in August, it was a very rainy day (the only downside). We made it in time for the 1 PM guided visit, and that was great, we got to see the lynx, the arctic foxes, the bears and the wolves. At 2:30 we did fox camp, and at 3 we started wolf camp. The wolf camp was the most amazing, positive experience. The wolves were in a good mood and approached us to lick our faces and say hello. We probably spent a good 30-45 min in the enclosure with them. For such a unique experience, it was definitely worth the 1500 kroner. You will remember it forever.At 4 PM we did the wolf puppies visit for 100 kroner per person. They were quite big at sixteen weeks, but like a harmless version of the grown wolves :) I absolutely recommend this place, the guides were professional and friendly. Just make sure you do the key things: guided tour and wolf visit, and the trip is worth it. Write them in advance to reserve wolf camp. Acquaintances of ours went earlier on a day where there was no wolf camp, and they didn't stay long enough to do the guided tour as they were taking the bus back to Tromso already and so its understandable that it felt like a lot of effort for not that much. Btw, there is a gorgeous moose there too. And it's so cool to see the wolves and bears living together!

Visited in middle of winter - saw wolves, lynx, brown bear, moose, arctic fox all at our own pace. The snow was high so you could get right up to the enclosures because the fences were snowed over. I touched a brown bear. We also did the arctic fox enclosure thing. They smelt terribly like dogs but definitely worth the money to have them run around all over you (mainly because they are chasing the food, ensure your hat is well secured).Unusually, we did not track down a deer although we could see the deer prints in the snow (they are loose). Also didn't see wolverine. Was hoping to buy something from the gift shop, it could be better. Also, BYO food and drink. Expect to spend at least 3 hours there if you want to see the foxes too. Definitely worth the money - will not find a place like it anywhere else & animals looked not neglected.

I'm not the biggest fan of zoos but this place was actually okay - the enclosures are fairly big and the animals looked okay. Our group was there during the guided tour, so we saw the female guide get in with the lynx, the Arctic foxes and the wolverine to feed them. She also fed the wolves and bears but from outside the enclosure for obvious reasons! As Vlillegaard states you can pay to go into the enclosure with the Arctic foxes as they were reared in captivity - you can also do the same with the wolves but you need to book in advance.The only thing I found uncomfortable was the bear enclosures - they seemed quite small and, although Salt & Pepper were brought up in captivity, they both looked unhappy to me - it's a personal thing though. The chances of seeing a bear in the wild are pretty slim and I still came away from park thinking that it was worth it.

Took us 2hr 45mins to get here from Tromso but worth it. The only done side was that the warm weather had brought out the dreaded flies. Timed it right for the feeding time with a guide which ensured we saw the animals. Money well spent.

The food was really good. They make all food out in a "lavvo". A special smoked taste. And only 120NOK for a main dish.

The park itself is big, and alot of walking uphill and downhill . Visited in April, were we got a guided tour trough the park, which was very nice. The girl talked English and had a lot of fun commentaries about the animals and they`re history. But the park only consisted of maybe 10 different animals, so the variety wasn`t much to brag about. But they said that the park consisted of all the animals you can find in Norway, and in the Polar Circle. Recommend going here. trip well spent. and you get to pet the arctic foxes for just 200 kroners adult or 100 kroners for child. Great fun.

I visited this Zoo in November 2011 (i am really sorry to write only now, but i didn't know in that time about TripAdvisor). Long time ago, but that experience was unique.I was on my way to the Nordkapp, hoping that i will see the Polar lights (Auroras) even it was a bit too early for the season (by the way, i did it)At hotel in Tromso i saw a flier with this Zoo. In my opinion Zoo is not the right word, What it is there, is a huge park in the middle of the nature where animals are almost free.Being November, i called to the Zoo to see if it is open the next day and to know the program. So, instead of driving to the North, i went back to the South about 150 km being very excited that i can pet wolfs.I arrived there only after midday, there were only few visitors and i discovered that i can feed foxes, but it was not possible for me to go to the wolfs. I was so, so disappointed and when i told the staff that i came specially from France to experience this, they were unbelievable nice and they called on phone somebody to come and help them to do this for me.I simply couldn't believe. They were telling me how to behave and they did a lot of jokes about the "french kiss" - the way of wolfs to become acquainted with somebody. I realized later that it was not really a joke, but the truth. I spent all the afternoon there, but it was too short. I changed all plans of my trip, but i felt incredible happy to be so close of wild life. When we left the wolfs' enclosure we were passing along another one, and there i sow the most sad eyes. It was a she-wolf looking at us, as like saying that she would like to be visited too. It was too late, it was growing dark. Every time i look at her picture i feel so sorry and i have tears in my eyes.I know there are more than 3 year by now, but i would like to THANK from all my heart to the staff for their generosity and to tell them that they do a GREAT, GREAT JOB.