Longyearbyen
Plan your base in Longyearbyen: getting there, polar bear rules at the town limits, seasons, local customs and what to book before you travel to Svalbard.
Plan your trip to Svalbard
A trip to Svalbard is a big investment, and the rules here are unlike anywhere else. This guide covers what you need to plan it well: where to stay, how to get there, how to stay safe among polar bears, glaciers and sea ice, and how to choose the right trip.
Every page is checked against official and local sources, listed at the bottom of each article, and shows the date its facts were last verified.
Places
The settlements of Svalbard, from Longyearbyen, where almost every trip begins, to the research town of Ny-Ålesund and the Russian mining towns.
Barentsburg
The Russian mining town on Grønfjorden: its Dutch and Soviet history, life there today, why local operators boycott visits, and how to see it on a guided trip.
Ny-Ålesund
Visiting the research town on Kongsfjorden: its mining and airship history, radio silence and walking rules, and how to get there on a day trip or cruise.
Photo: Harvey Barrison, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Pyramiden
The Soviet-era mining town on Billefjorden: its history, who runs it today, why local operators boycott landing tours, and how to see it from a boat.
Photo: Guillaume Baviere, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Practical
What to sort out before you go: flights and entry rules, staying safe, and how to travel among polar bears.
Getting there
How to get to Svalbard: flights via Oslo or Tromsø, passport and visa rules outside Schengen, the environmental fee, arrival, customs going home and cruises.
Photo: Ssu, CC BY-SA 4.0
Seasons: when to go
When to visit Svalbard: the polar night and northern lights, the sunny winter, the midnight sun and golden autumn, with what you can do and the rules in each.
Photo: Frode Ramone, CC BY 2.0
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Safety in Svalbard
Staying safe in Svalbard: emergency numbers, limited healthcare, weather and cold, avalanches, glaciers, sea ice and water, and when to join a guided trip.
Photo: R. Henrik Nilsson, CC BY 4.0
Polar bear safety
Polar bear safety in Svalbard: the town limits, what the law requires beyond them, distance rules, firearm rental, camps, and what to do in an encounter.
Photo: Andreas Weith, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Drone rules in Svalbard
Can you fly a drone in Svalbard? Mostly not: not in Longyearbyen, not in protected areas and not near bird cliffs. The rules, the exceptions and the paperwork.
Photo: Ian Watson, CC BY 3.0
Maps of Longyearbyen and the area around it
Maps of Longyearbyen, Adventfjorden and Adventdalen from the Norwegian Polar Institute, plus the best online maps, a town map and free map data for Svalbard.
Packing list for Svalbard
What to pack for Svalbard in every season: proper boots, indoor shoes, wool layers and windproof outerwear, plus where to buy what you forgot in town.
Photo: marsupium photography, CC BY-SA 2.0
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Rules and regulations for visitors
The rules every visitor to Svalbard should know: polar bears and firearms, trips outside town, wildlife, heritage, camping, motor traffic and drones.
Photo: Kawon Kez Sel, CC0
Guides
Longer guides: what to see, do and eat in Longyearbyen, and how to choose the way you see the rest of Svalbard.
Choosing an expedition cruise
How to choose a Svalbard expedition cruise: the 2025 rules on ship size and landings, what to ask an operator, and how to behave ashore among bears and birds.
Photo: Andreas Weith, CC BY-SA 4.0
What to see in Longyearbyen
The sights of Longyearbyen: Svalbard Museum, the old coal cableway, Mine 3, the Seed Vault, galleries, the church and the old cemetery, with opening hours.
Photo: Julianfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0
What to do in Longyearbyen
Things to do in Longyearbyen: the floating sauna, brewery nights, the pool and ski slope in town, plus guided dog sledding, snowmobiling, boat trips and hikes.
Photo: Mavlyudov Boris, CC BY 2.5
Dining in Longyearbyen
Where to eat in Longyearbyen: breakfast and cafés, lunch, casual dinners, fine dining at Huset and Funktionærmessen, and local food such as Svalbard reindeer.
Photo: Ssu, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Svalbard wildlife and where you might see it
The animals you are most likely to see in Svalbard on trips and cruises: reindeer, Arctic foxes, walruses, seals, whales, seabirds and polar bears.
Photo: Nancy Porcino, CC BY-SA 4.0
Northern lights and the polar night
When and how to see the northern lights in Svalbard, why you can see them at midday, what the polar night is really like, and how to make the most of it.
Photo: Martyn Smith, CC BY 2.0
Midnight sun and summer activities
Svalbard in summer: four months of midnight sun, boat trips to glaciers and bird cliffs, hiking, kayaking, tundra flowers and the rules of the season.
Photo: Christoph Strässler, CC BY-SA 2.0
Follow Svalbard online
Social media accounts, YouTube channels, news sites and webcams that publish from Svalbard: inspiration before your trip and the latest news while there.
Photo: Frode Ramone, CC BY 2.0
Amateur radio in Svalbard
Operating amateur radio from Svalbard: the CEPT licence and JW prefix, the JW5E club station in Longyearbyen, and IOTA, SOTA and POTA references.
Photo: Mikeangelo, CC BY-SA 3.0
Fun facts
Curious facts and short stories about Svalbard, its history, nature and everyday life.
Why Longyearbyen takes its boots off
In Longyearbyen you take your boots off at the hotel, the museum and even the library. Blame the coal: the habit goes back to the town's mining days.
Dogs per person: Longyearbyen's other population
How many dogs does Longyearbyen have? Hundreds of sled dogs in five dog yards, a lot of pets, rabies rules for every dog and no cats allowed at all.
Photo: Andreas Weith, CC BY-SA 4.0
Glaciers everywhere, but don't drink the tap water
Why Longyearbyen advises against drinking its tap water: manganese, then sulfate and nickel. A sip won't hurt you, and free drinking water is at the Coop store.
Photo: Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 3.0 no
More snowmobiles than people
Svalbard has about 3,000 registered snowmobiles, more than one for every resident of Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund. How it got there, and what it means for you.
Photo: Schwarz Weiss, CC BY-SA 3.0
Svalbard and the High North: why the big powers care
Why a small Arctic archipelago matters to Russia, NATO and China: submarine routes, satellites that see every polar orbit, undersea cables and research rules.
Photo: Bernt Rostad, CC BY 2.0
The marathons with polar bear guards
Svalbard has two marathons: one on skis in April and one on foot in June. Both claim to be the world's northernmost, and both come with armed polar bear guards.
The Svalbard Treaty: Norway's, but open to all
Svalbard was once no man's land. A 1920 treaty made it Norwegian, but let citizens of every signing country live, work, fish and mine there on equal terms.
The town with no bank and no ATM
Longyearbyen has no bank branch and no cash machine. In one of the world's most digital countries, nobody seems to miss them. Bring a card, not cash.
Photo: Count Iblis, Public domain
Vei 100, Vei 232: the town where roads have numbers
Longyearbyen's roads have numbers, not names, a habit from the coal mines. Only one road has a name, and the neighbourhoods have nicknames like Cowboy town.
Photo: R. Henrik Nilsson, CC BY 4.0
