About Svalbard Guide

Svalbard Guide is a hobby site, built with Claude, AWS and Astro as a way to learn about modern programming. By day I work in cybersecurity. I've been to Svalbard a couple of times to experience the unique nature and atmosphere of this beautiful, remote place.

It may be a small place, but there's a lot to enjoy. With the sun at an active point in its cycle there have been plenty of northern lights, and interest in the Arctic in general is high, so Svalbard is becoming very popular with tourists. Being a remote island with a lot of demand for accommodation, it's also quite expensive, which makes good planning all the more worthwhile.

I hope you find the site helpful, and that you have a great trip to the High North!

How the articles are made

• Checked against sources. Facts that change, such as rules, prices, opening hours and transport, are checked against official and local sources: the Governor of Svalbard, Visit Svalbard, Lovdata, Avinor and the operators themselves. Every article lists its sources at the bottom.
• Dated. Each article shows the date its facts were last verified. Svalbard changes quickly, so if something matters to your trip, confirm it with the operator or the authorities before you go.
• Researched with Claude, reviewed by me. Articles are researched and drafted with the help of Claude, an AI assistant, and I review every article before it is published.
• Left out if unverified. When a detail can't be confirmed, it stays out of the article until it can.

Photos

All photos are real, open-licensed photographs, mostly from Wikimedia Commons. No AI-generated images are used. Each photo is credited with the photographer's name and its licence, linked to the original.

Independence and funding

Svalbard Guide isn't connected to Visit Svalbard, the Governor of Svalbard or any tour operator. In future, some pages may include affiliate links, which earn a small commission if you book through them at no extra cost to you. Any page with affiliate links will say so clearly at the top. There are no display ads.