The guide
Everything you'd ask a friend who lives at 78° North
Planning
- How to Get to Svalbard You fly to Svalbard. Direct flights run Oslo to Longyearbyen in about 3 hours. Routes, costs, and the passport rule you must not miss.
- What a Svalbard Trip Really Costs A clear Svalbard budget: per-day costs at three levels plus 3-day and 7-day trip totals, using real prices. Where to save and what is fixed.
- Svalbard Safety & Polar Bears Svalbard is safe in town. Outside it, polar bears are a real risk and an armed guide is required by law. Honest framing of every risk.
- What to Pack for Svalbard A Svalbard packing list for winter and summer: what to bring, what guides provide, and the small things people forget like a sleep mask.
- Svalbard Travel FAQ Answers to the most common Svalbard questions: flights, seasons, aurora, polar bears, money, language, internet, kids, mobility, and booking.
- First-Time Svalbard Itineraries Three ready-made Svalbard plans for first-timers: a 3-day winter escape, a 7-day summer week, and a 10-day deep trip, as day-by-day tables.
Svalbard vs. the alternatives
- Svalbard vs Iceland Svalbard vs Iceland compared honestly: wildlife, aurora, cost, accessibility, crowds, and daylight extremes — plus which suits which traveller.
- Svalbard vs Greenland Svalbard vs Greenland compared honestly: wildlife, aurora, cost, accessibility, crowds, and daylight — and which High Arctic trip suits you.
Looking for seasons and months?
Temperatures, daylight hours and what runs when live in their own section.
Go to When to Go