A short flight from Norway’s main land, takes you to the mighty and arctic landscape at the Svalbard Islands. Explore raw wilderness adventures, the unique animal life, and eat and live well in the lively city of Longyearbyen.
The polar climate, rich wildlife, wild nature and old mining towns of Svalbard have fascinated travellers for a long time. Longyearbyen is an international citywith many cultural events, such as concerts, festivals and exhibitions. Dine on arctic food traditions like seal, whale, reindeer, grouse and Arctic char at one of the many restaurants. Svalbard also has a local beer brewery and one of Norway’s greatest selections of Champagne.
From the city of Longyearbyen you can go on exciting trips by boat, kayak, snowmobiles or dog sledding. You can go hiking or skiing, just don’t venture anywhere outside the city border without a professional guide, because in addition to the 3,000 people living there, Svalbard is also home of the mighty polar bear.
«Svalbard is as close as most mortals can get to the North Pole and still capture its spirit.»
— Lonely Planet
“Svalbard” means “cold coasts”, however, the archipelago has a relatively mild climate compared to other areas at the same latitude. The constant midnight sun in the summer and the dark period during winter make for two entirely different experiences. The polar night is special to Svalbard – it’s the darkest time of the dark period from mid-November to the end of January. It gets dark enough that you can see the striking northern lights during the day.
Historically, both whaling and mining have been major industries at the archipelago, but now polar exploration and tourism are the main focus. Svalbard’s nature is unforgiving, but fragile. Nearly two thirds of the surface of Svalbard is protected, and it’s crucial to show caution for the wild animals living there.
Longyearbyen has achieved the certification Sustainable Destination. Although this does not mean that the destination is sustainable, it does mean that it has made a commitment to work systematically to reduce the negative effects of tourism, while strengthening its positive ripple effects
The most common way to travel to Svalbard is by plane. Find more inspiration on Svalbard’s official website.
Explore all the options below, or go directly to:
Dogsledding and activities
Stay active and explore Svalbard by dog sledding, skiing or hiking!
LongyearbyenBespoke ski touring in Svalbard with certified Svalbard guides - Backyard Svalbard
Have you ever dreamt of doing ski touring in Svalbard? Our bespoken ski touring tours in scenic Svalbard nature are unique. Backyard Svalbard is a passionate crew of ski guides, and we will help you find the best fitted tour for your group.
LongyearbyenArctic sauna - SvalBad
Take a time-out and find inner peace at SvalBad, our floating, wood burning sauna. Here you can enjoy the view of Hiorthfjellet or, if you're lucky, see the northern lights during the polar nights. If it gets too warm in the sauna, you can take a refreshing bath outside in the arctic waters of Adventfjorden.
Book nowLongyearbyenDog sledding on wheels - Basecamp Explorer Spitsbergen
Basecamp Explorer have a 90 huskies that are eager to take you out on a trip while in Svalbard. On this adventure you will learn how to handle your own team of six dogs. They all have their own names and a friendly personality.
Safaris and sightseeing
Join guided tours to learn about the culture, see the nature and the animals living there!
Book nowLongyearbyenWildlife and Glacier | Hybrid Catamaran Tour - Hurtigruten Svalbard
Join Hurtigruten Svalbard on a boat tour with a hybrid-electric catamaran. With this new vessel, an exciting and more environmentally friendly boat trip awaits you. The tour takes you through breathtaking landscapes, to Billefjorden and the glacier Nordenskiöldbreen.
Book nowLongyearbyenCoal Mine 3
Have you ever been in a coalmine before? Join us today and dig deep in the history of Longyearbyen, the miners, all the coal dust and their life in the mountains. The Mining history is important for the existence of Longyearbyen, where this town wouldn’t be here without the coalmining. The name on the city comes from the man that started the coalmining here in 1906. The man was an American with the name John Munro Longyear, and he kept on for 10 years. Then in 1916 we have the Norwegian coal company that by the Arctic Coal Company from Munro, and then became the Store Norske Spitsbergen Coal Company. Its SNSK that still own the mines today, and it ended up with 7 mines in Longyearbyen. Today all this seven mines are closed down, without one! Mine number 7 is still in production, where we use coal to get electricity. So we have the only power plant station in Norway that runs on coal. We do now have the opportunity to show you one of this closed mines in the town. Join us on a historical travel in Mine number 3. This mine had production from 1971 – 1996 and is one of the last low drifted mines, it means that the coal layer wasn’t ticker than 60 – 90 cm. We will show you around in the building outside the mountain, where we do find the workshops and all the equipment they used. It’s quite an authentic mine, where the left everything in their hands and walked out the day they closed. So in the second you enter the building the walls speak to you, and it feels like there are still life in the mine. We have built a small tunnel for you so here it’s possible to get the true feeling of a miner’s work, and crawl through it. At the end we walk 300 meter into the mountain. Here you can see the coal lines and even some more historical interesting stuff. You see in 1984 there was placed a container with seeds in one of the side tunnels in the mine. This is a project from The Nordic Gene bank that wanted to try out if the seeds will manage in just the mountain temperature over 100 years. Every 5th year the take out one box, and this will be done till 2084. We will actually enter all the way to the entrance. There is also a new project going on in the mountain about storing data over 500-year, called The Arctic World Archive. The guided tours take 3 hours and start at 9am and 1 pm. We pick you up and leave you at your hotel, but if you want to go to the airport after the tour we do that to. You will get a mining suite (Lompen), headlamp and helmet when we arrive the mine, so this make you quite authentic. The tours go on English and Norwegian. It’s a tour that suits everyone, without the people with high claustrophobia or struggle with walking. And at last remember to put on thick clothes where its colder inside the building than outside. This tour is historical and exiting and gives you a whole experience of a miner’s life. Book a trip with us today!
Book nowLongyearbyenSnowmobile Safari to Northern Ligths Camp - Svalbard Adventures
It's important to have a good time when hunting the northern lights! Join us for a snowmobile safari where we leave Longyearbyen's vicinity on the hunt for favourable northern lights conditions with an extra level of comfort.
Where to stay
Book comfy hotels or cosy cabins. Find your home away from home.
Book nowLongyearbyenGjestehuset 102
Book nowLongyearbyenMary-Ann's Polarrigg
Book nowLongyearbyenHaugen Pensjonat Svalbard
Book nowLongyearbyenBasecamp Hotel
Book nowLongyearbyenSvalbard Hotel | Polfareren
Book nowLongyearbyenFunken Lodge
Book nowLongyearbyenSvalbard Hotel | The Vault
LongyearbyenLongyearbyen Camping
Book nowLongyearbyenRadisson Blu Polar Hotel Spitsbergen
Food and drink
Taste delicious local food and book a table at a fine restaurant.
LongyearbyenHuset Restaurant
LongyearbyenKroa - Steakers Svalbard
LongyearbyenKarlsberger Pub
LongyearbyenFunktionærmessen Restaurant
LongyearbyenVinterhagen Restaurant
LongyearbyenPolfareren Restaurant - Svalbard Hotell
LongyearbyenBarentz Gastropub
Getting here and around
Remember that Svalbard is not part of the Schengen area, so passports must be brought by all non-Norwegian visitors. Plan your trip to Svalbard with Entur, Norway's official travel planner.
By plane
There are daily flights to and from Svalbard throughout the year, and frequency increases in the summer.
Flight time is around 3 hours from Oslo and 1,5–2 hours from Tromsø.
An airport shuttle service is available for all scheduled flights and takes you to most hotels and guest houses for a fee.
Ad: Norwegian – cheap flights in Norway and direct flights from more than 70 European airports
By snowmobile
There are only about 46 kilometres of road on the Svalbard Islands. Driving off-road is strictly prohibited.
There are no roads between the various settlements. Instead, locals use boats in summer and snowmobiles in winter. Snowmobiles can be rented in Longyearbyen.
By boat
There is no regular boat transportation between the Norwegian mainland and Svalbard.
Several companies offer Svalbard safaris and round trips, but these do not offer passage to and from the mainland. You have to make your way to Svalbard through other means.
Check out ferry and cruise companies in Svalbard.
Seasons and climate
Despite the fact that Svalbard is so close to the North Pole, the archipelago has a relatively mild climate compared to areas at the same latitude.
In Longyearbyen, the average temperature ranges from -14°C during the winter to 6°C during the summer.
It is not uncommon to have long periods during the winter with temperatures between -20 and -30°C.
Periods of fog are common during the summer. In terms of precipitation, however, Svalbard may be described as an “Arctic desert” with annual rain and snowfall at a mere 200–300 millimetres. The weather on Svalbard can shift very quickly, and local variations are often considerable.
Get the latest weather forecast on yr.no. Read more about the northern lights in Svalbard.
See it for yourself
Are you dreaming of experiencing dog sledding or joining a guided tour in Svalbard?
Dog sledding in Svalbard
Join a guided sightseeing tour
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