About us
Better Moments’ team have years of experience from working and living in Svalbard. We have worked for different guide companies in town, but are now doing things our own way. The fall of 2013 we started Better Moments AS. Brand new equipment and new snowmobiles were purchased. In 2016 we decorated the old Dynamite storage at Kuhaugen outside Longyearbyen and are now welcoming our scooter guests here.
After a great first year, we decided to start with closed RIB boat trips along the west coast of Spitsbergen. And 2015 was our first year we offered summer activities. Summer 2016 we got our new boat and have been extending our summer offer since.
Better Moments have a maximum of 6 snowmobiles on our winter trips, and a maximum 12 persons on our boat trips. We do this so our guests get the best experience possible. More private and less hectic than the big groups in the larger companies. If your group is bigger than this, or you want a private experience, we recommend to contact us by mail or use the contact form below.
We hope to see you soon!
Contact us
Phone: +47 400 95 965
E-Mail: info@bettermoments.no
Meet our team:
Eivind Aksnes
Eivind worked his first season as a snowmobile guide the year of 2006. Before that he had visited the island many times. He worked a couple of years in the Norwegian army, before migrating to the north. In addition to bringing guest safely around on snowmobiles in the winter, he also take them out on ATV’s, and Rib-boat Safaris in the summer. Now he is the manager of, and a guide at Better Moments. His experience will bring you out and about on exiting routes, and his knowledge of Svalbard will give you many, many stories.
Niklas Gerhardsson
Niklas is our most experienced guide. After finishing his two year long nature guide study in Sweden, he moved up to Svalbard in 1998. He successfully started his own dog yard, taking guests out on guided dog sledding-trips. He has worked as a snowmobile guide, and in summer as an expedition guide on several boats sailing around Svalbard, and Antarctica. Now he is the captain on his own sailing yacht “Aleiga”, taking guest out on cruises around Svalbard. With his versatility, tons of experience and many good stories, he hopes to give you Better Moments.
Matts Ekmann
Matts was born and raised in Uppsala, Sweden. After living and working most of his lifetime in a big city, he decided a few years ago to focus more on his outdoor passion and living closer to nature. As a former high-school teacher for adventure tourism and physical education, he started in the following years working as a kayak instructor and further, as a guide on skis, snowmobiling, rafting and climbing. He has always been fascinated by the North and consequently decided to take the next step in going to Svalbard, the high Arctic. With his experience in guiding for many years and his desire to give guests the best outdoor experience they could have, he will safely guide you through your next Arctic adventure. After working many years as a nature guide for Better Moments he will now Captain our boats
Eli Gunnemark
When Eli was traveling in his early twenties and ended up working as a guide in the jungle of Borneo and realized that guiding was the perfect job for him. A job that allowed an opportunity to convey the amazement that nature brings and to create unforgettable experiences for guests from around the world. Back his home country of Sweden, Eli went to a school at the border of Finland, and completed a two year nature guide study. After the studies he worked for three years at a small hotel in Swedish Lapland called Tree Hotel. Eli worked as a guide and guided a lot of different tours in the deep forests between Jokkmokk and Boden. With his experience of guiding and enthusiasm Eli will create adventures and unique experiences that only can be found here in Svalbard.
Arien Ramnefjell
Aríen has been enthralled by the extreme and breathtaking Svalbard since 2012. With a wide experience, affection and dedication for her work, she will ensure that you get a piece of the magic that Svalbard has to offer, too. She has been exploring the Arctic regions of the world since the age of 20, and her thrill for adventures and nature has brought her much knowledge and a story (or two) to tell. In her spare time she is usually sitting out on the tundra in front of a bonfire (preferrably with a cup of bonfirecoffee), or with her nose deep in a book telling tales of old Arctic adventurers, at least, for as long as her restlessness allows it. Aríen is working for us all four seasons. On the snowmobile in winter, where she safely guides the way for our guests through the white tundra. And during summer she guides on our hiking, boat and kayaktrips. She will make sure you get all the facts you want to know, get the close experiences and the better moments. And just maybe, if lucky, some wildlife.
Noora Peteri
Noora is a passionate adventurer who was born and raised in Finnish Lapland. Being outdoors, respecting and learning about nature has always been one of the most important things to her. In 2014, during her studies to become Youth worker and being a downhill ski instructor, she decided to help one local Safari Company in her home town Levi, doing mostly snowmobile safaris and hiking trips. That time changed her life and when her studies were done, she started to work as a full time wilderness guide and has been more than happy to made that decision. It has lead her to many new adventures, new countries, taught her a lot and given her a unique way to meet people from around the world and to share stories with them. She is looking forward to show and guide you through the beautiness of the Arctic.
Dan Pastolachi
Dan is one of those guys who prefer to stay outside of their comfort zone, take on new challenges and constantly push their limits. In 2015 he decided to combine all of that with his passion for nature, sports and adventure, do a complete change of his career and lifestyle, and become an outdoor guide. Shortly after, his calling for the north, and love for dogs and winter, brought him to Finland. Here he got bitten by the “dogsledding bug”, and that’s when he realized that the cold arctic is his true home, even though born in sunny Moldova. In the following years he studied, and took on various guiding jobs throughout Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, which helped him gather a vast and varied set of skills, experience, stories and even more love and respect for nature, which he will gladly share with you. He often compares himself to a Swiss army knife – whatever the problem, he will have the tool to solve it.
Shane Hawkwood
Shane has a real passion for being outdoors and sharing that passion with other people. Teaching adventure sports and guiding was a logical career choice and that is what he has been doing for the last 13 years. It has taken him all around Europe, Canada and New Zealand, guiding and teaching people in the great outdoors.
His favourite part of his work is observing wildlife in its natural habitat.
Ingrid Bårdseth
As a young girl Ingrid moved to Svalbard and lived here for a whole year with her family, before moving back to the mainland to the city of Hamar. Here she lived for several years completing her education.
The last one and a half year she has been in the Norwegian army protecting our border as a Ranger in the northern parts of Norway. She is now back in Svalbard to explore more of the amazing nature here, and protect our guest other types of threats.
Marcos Sobral
Marcos is a professional Photographer from Lisbon, but he as also been working as a Guide since 2012 in his beloved Lisbon. After 7 years of too much sun and heat he decided to go to the warm Arctic Circle in 2019 to work as a Photographer Guide for the Northern Light in Tromso. Missing the warm temperatures of the Arctic he decided to move back there, this time to Lapland, to work as a Snowmobile Guide.
Following his biggest passion, exploring and discovering the world, he now decided he was again done with the surfing in Portugal and went to the Northernmost inhabited place in the world, Svalbard.
Marcos is passionte about outdoors and adventure, and in his free time you’ll see him surfing (maybe not in Svalbard), skydiving, rock climbing, hiking, kayaking and exploring nature around him wherever he is, specially in the Polar regions which he his in love with.
Julian McGale
Julian is one of our Captains and has been at sea for over 15 years. He has navigated to all corners of the globe from Alaska to the Gulf of Guinea and the North Sea to the South Pacific on all kinds of ships. After a career on commercial ships Julian took his love for adventure and the seas to the next level and commanded vessels working on ocean conservation. He faced challenging missions with largely volunteer crews, mentoring them from enthusiastic ‘green’ hands to determined crews capable of weathering storms and defending the oceans. Originally from Scotland, Julian first visited Svalbard in 2016 and was captured by the rugged beauty, the history and harsh but fragile nature which sustains a unique range of life. Last year he was called back to the cold north and decided to spend a longer time in the Arctic following a few years in tropical climes. With his years of experience, he will safely command the boats of Better Moments in this unique arctic wilderness taking you to remote and beautiful landscapes and nature.
Joonas Faarinen
Joonas comes from northern Finland and he has been working at commercial vessels operating mostly in the Baltic sea area for almost fifteen years. He has always enjoyed winter and tries to spend his freetime on snow. Seven years ago he made his first splitboarding trip to Norwegian mountains around Tromsø and fell in love with the combination of the sea and mountains. That‘s why he didn’t hesitate when he got a change to come to Svalbard and work in this amazing environment.
Brigitte Meier
During the last 22 years, Brigitte has worked as a Scuba Diving Instructor and boat Capton and has traveled the world and worked in many different countries. Sailed across the Atlantik and spend many years at sea in the pacific., above and underwater. Halv Swiss-Norwegian, the Arctic has always fascinated her and working with nature has always been her biggest passion.