By air
Longyearbyen (LYR), flights from Oslo and Tromsø
Europe · Norway
Svalbard, Norway
Polar bears at the top of the world
Getting there
Best time to visit
March to May for snow; June to August for boat trips
Don't miss
Longyearbyen
Pyramiden
The Nordenskiöld glacier
The Global Seed Vault (from outside)
Things to do
Boat trips to the glaciers
Snowmobiling
Dog sledding
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Svalbard Global Seed Vault/Peter Vermeij · Attribution
What to pack
Serious cold-weather gear
A quieter corner
The ice caves under the glaciers in spring
Questions travellers ask
How do I get to Svalbard?
Fly to Longyearbyen (LYR) — there are flights from Oslo and Tromsø.
When should I go to Svalbard?
March to May for snow, or June to August for boat trips. Either way, bring serious cold-weather gear.
What can I see on Svalbard?
Longyearbyen, Pyramiden and the Nordenskiöld glacier, plus the Global Seed Vault — from outside. In spring, look for the ice caves under the glaciers.
What activities are there on Svalbard?
Boat trips to the glaciers, snowmobiling and dog sledding. Refuel with reindeer and Arctic char.
About Svalbard
- Island
- Mountains
Where it is
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole; glaciers cover about 60 per cent of it, and its main settlement is Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen.
History
The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz came upon the islands in 1596, and whalers used them as a base in the 17th and 18th centuries. Coal mining began in the early 20th century, when an American company founded Longyearbyen, named after one of its founders, John Munro Longyear, and the Svalbard Treaty of 1920 granted Norway sovereignty over the archipelago.
People
A few thousand people live on Svalbard, most of them in Longyearbyen, where Norwegian is the main language, while Barentsburg is a Russian coal-mining settlement. Research, tourism and mining are the main livelihoods, and people from many countries live and work here.
Known for
- Polar bears and Arctic wildlife
- The Global Seed Vault near Longyearbyen
- Boat trips to glacier fronts
- The abandoned Soviet mining town of Pyramiden
- Dog sledding and snowmobile trips
Did you know?
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, dug deep into a mountain near Longyearbyen, stores duplicate seed samples from gene banks around the world as a safeguard for the planet's food crops.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.