Guides

Longer guides: what to see, do and eat in Longyearbyen, and how to choose the way you see the rest of Svalbard.

Four small inflatable boats full of passengers leave white wakes across a calm fjord towards a glacier front scattered with ice

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

The grey timber buildings of the old coal cableway centre standing on stilts above the town, with snow-covered mountains across the fjord behind

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

Inside a glacier ice cave, with a blue, rippled ice ceiling arching over a meltwater stream running between rocks

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

The weathered timber walls of Gruvelageret, an old mining warehouse turned restaurant, with its sign above the door and snowy mountains behind

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

A white Arctic fox sitting on a rocky, moss-covered ridge against a pale grey sky

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

Curtains of green and red northern lights rising above dark, snow-covered mountains under a starry sky

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

The midnight sun glowing orange on the horizon under streaked clouds, with a few red tents on a rocky plain in the foreground

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

Green northern lights curling across a deep blue night sky above a row of snow-covered mountains

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

The white buildings of Isfjord Radio in the snow, with a tall lattice radio mast and satellite dishes beside them

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