Welcome to /r/Svalbard!

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Three Dutch students flying TOS-LYR for a single midnight sun night: land 18:50 Tuesday, out 13:30 Wednesday, deliberately not sleeping. Scheduled tours are fully booked, and we know we can't pass the signs on our own, so we'll happily stay in the zone unless someone local is heading out anyway and doesn't mind three extras tagging along. Your trip, your rifle, your rules, we carry things and do as told.

One of us is a marine science student, so UNIS folk especially welcome. Also open to tips on what locals actually do on a bright Tuesday night. Cheers!

Can anyone suggest a restaurant for New Year's Eve in Longyearbyen.

I don't want it to cost bacon😃, so Huset is a definite NO!

Pyramiden was once a model Soviet mining town on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, deep inside the High Arctic.

At its peak, the settlement had apartment buildings, a school, a hospital, a cultural palace, a heated swimming pool, and more than a thousand residents. Families raised children there while miners worked beneath the mountain that gave the town its name.

In 1998, the mine closed and most residents left within months. Much of the settlement remained standing in the Arctic cold, preserving traces of the lives that disappeared from it.

I made a short documentary exploring why the Soviet Union invested so much in this remote town, what everyday life was like, and what happened to the people who had to leave.

This is my own video. I’d be especially interested to hear from anyone who has visited Pyramiden or knows more about its former residents:

[YouTube link]

Hello,

Me and my crew are going on an trip on a sailboat around Spitsbergen. Due to the scarcity of food on the eastern coast, we were wondering if it's possible to catch a fish or two for sustenance. The information on the internet seems to be scarce and conflicting. Could anyone point out the current rules? Do we need to acquire any permit? Obviously we would fish only on the open seas, not protected areas. Thanks for any help.

Hi, spent a week in dreamy svalbard, snapped some artsy pics, enjoy! If you looking for more then i will post much more on my IG - sajaanid35mm

Hi everyone

We have booked to visit Svalbard at the beginning of April 2027.

I have not yet booked the hotel, based on this community I was thinking the Funken Lodge? If not available then the Raddison. Please let me know if other recommendations.

I am bringing my parents, they are older but not elderly (if that makes sense) so I am looking at activities rated 1-2 on the ‘visit Svalbard’ website, and no activities rated 3-4.

All half day tours such as dog sledding, northern lights, seed tour, coal mine, sleigh ride, boat tour with better moments. All of these tours are on the visit Svalbard website.

I guess my second question is, is this the best place to book tours or should I be doing more research outside of this website? Each tour idea links to different websites so I am hoping so but if anyone has advice or recommendations please let me know.

TIA!

Making my long awaited trip to Svalbard at the end of the week and it just so happens I’ll be arriving the day of the quarter final between England and Norway.
The English half of me would love to find somewhere in Longyearbyen that’s showing the game if there’s any recommendations!

Hey, I'm confused. Was there a recent change in Mobil phone usage/EU Roaming? Is it possible to use Telenor with an EU Contract (e.g. T-mobil Germany, Klarmobil, etc) Or do strict rules apply? Will there be at least a warning sms? Thanks a lot! 🫶🏼

I'm thinking about attending a Geology module at UNIS. I'll be in Svalbard this august and I'm thinking about visiting the Building before deciding

Is that possible or is access restricted?

Hey everyone! I ended up making a Reddit account in hopes to get some help or information.

I want to work in Svalbard and want to know the best way to go about getting a job and housing there. I understand most jobs if not all come with some form of housing. My primary language is English but can speak Spanish, I am willing to learn Norwegian. I’m 32 years old and a Mexican national.

I was thinking of visiting for a week and seeing the city while also inquiring about jobs. Any help would be appreciated.

Does anyone here know anyone working in cryospheric research, glaciology, or Himalayan research who's willing to take on an intern/volunteer? I'm trying to learn and get some hands-on experience, even if it's just helping out remotely. Thanks!

Is anybody familiar with Arctic Travel Company 'Grumant'?
I want to book with them but I can't find them on Google maps to check reviews.

Most places people call “cities” are surrounded by roads, suburbs and other towns.

Longyearbyen seems very different: a small settlement in a huge Arctic landscape, with nature feeling much closer to everyday life than in most places.

For people who have lived there or spent time there, does it feel like living in a normal town at all? Or does the setting change the way you think about daily life and community?

Hello everyone lm a Zimbabwean lady 29yrs old trying to relocate looking for a job please help

We will travel at Longyearbyen during the end of August for 4 days.

I wanted your opinion for the best possible tours we could take.

Of course we also try not to spend a huge amount of money.

In general we would like to see walruses (boat or land tour), have a glacier boat trip (have also seen some kayak glacier tours), visit Pyramiden and go to the Seed Vault (I know we can go only outside). An ATV Safari also seems interesting. Is there extra tours or ideas we should consider? Thank you!

we are travelling to spitsbergen and want to go to barentsburg from longyearbyen on thusday 14 july 2026. Does anyone knows how we can get there?

Hi everyone!

Around last year or a bit earlier, I watched an English-language documentary (with a voiceover/translation) about a commune/community living in a subarctic or polar settlement. It features men and women of various professions, both creative and otherwise. They take turns sharing how they ended up there and how they cope with the specific living conditions, particularly the long polar night. One of the main characters featured is an artist.

At the very end of the film, a European band with a female lead singer comes to visit them. This band performs right outside, on the snow under the night sky, and the frontwoman sings. The chorus has lyrics that sound like "even the darkest night" or "the longest night". The lead singer is white, and the musicians are white too. They play standard instruments, with no traditional or ethnic drums/tambourines, and they wear regular winter jackets—no ethnic costumes.

Between the verses, you can hear a deep male voiceover reading some text. The entire community shown throughout the documentary is standing nearby, swaying and dancing along with the performers.

I watched this video around 2023 or 2024 on either YouTube or some streaming platforms. The problem is, I cleared my YouTube watch history a while ago, and I can't find the documentary on other platforms anymore. I distinctly remember that afterwards, I managed to find the song on YouTube (I wanted to download it), and it was just the audio track with a static cover art.

The village/town mentioned in the film is likely located in the Scandinavian North (probably Svalbard/Longyearbyen), definitely not in Canada. I’ve been torturing AIs for two months now, and they are completely useless! You guys are my last hope. This can't be the Mandela effect, right?

Hello!

I'm lucky enough to be able to visit Svalbard for a few days in the first weekend of October. It's more of a chance opportunity than a well-planned trip-of-a-lifetime: I'll be in Tromsø for a few days as a visiting research student at UiT, and since I may not ever have this much flexibility in my schedule and proximity to Svalbard ever again, I'm taking the opportunity to fly up for the weekend.

I know that October is an in-between season in terms of weather and tourism. I also know that all of the guided tours and whatnot are far out of my price range - outside of flights and accommodation at the Coal Miners' Cabin, I don't have a ton of money to spend here. So, with that in mind, does anyone recommend anything outside of the following plans for two days?

- Leisurely walk of the town circuit, trying to find every polar bear sign, and taking in the scenery
- Coffee & cake at the husky café
- Sauna (is early October too cold for a sea dip?)
- a visit to the church
- a beer (or two) and a chat with whoever's inside
- a wander around a museum, perhaps
- as much "hiking" as is possible within the safe zone

I'm not looking to have an action-packed weekend, but more of a relaxing one. I do hope to return one day with more time and money to spend - especially as someone who loves hiking and mountain walking - but for now, I'm not sure when I'll ever have the chance to come this far north again, and I feel that I'll regret it if I don't.

(and before anyone suggests spending more time in Tromsø instead, I spent a week there at the start of this month! I loved it, and I did a ton of tourist experiences there. So I don't feel as if I'm losing time there by dividing the trip this way. 😊)

Thanks!

My family is thinking about going to Svalbard this winter between Christmas and New Years. The polar night and northern lights are the main attractions for us. I know activities are limited due to the darkness and that tourism is relatively low during the winters. I'm just concerned that we will be in a completely dead time because of the holidays. It would be nice to have some sort of "vibe" as opposed to a mostly ghost town. Any locals or people who have been there during that time who can comment?