Things to do in Longyearbyen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Longyearbyen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Polar night, late Oct to mid Feb, total darkness about 14 Nov to 29 Jan, aurora at any hour and festival culture.
Light winter, mid Feb to mid May, the best all round window and peak season, with full winter programme in daylight.
Midnight sun, sun never sets about 20 Apr to 23 Aug, boats, kayaks, hiking, walrus and Pyramiden and Barentsburg by water.
Autumn darkening, Sep to late Oct, first aurora chances return, prices and crowds drop, but storms are disruptive.
What's on
- Dark Season Blues late Oct, ~23-26 Oct
World's northernmost blues festival, marking the start of polar night.
- Christmas in Longyearbyen Christmas
Local and cozy, book dinners early.
- Polarjazz early Feb, ~5-8 Feb
World's northernmost jazz festival, running since 1998.
- Arctic Chamber Music Festival ~19-23 Feb
Chamber music festival in light winter.
- Sun Festival Week / Solfestuka ~1-14 Mar
Concerts and outdoor gatherings for the sun's return, first appearance over town about 8 March.
- Svalbard Skimaraton ~18 Apr
Ski marathon in late light winter.
- Spitsbergen Marathon early Jun, ~6 Jun
Running at 78 degrees north on a bear guarded course.
- Longyearbyen Literature Festival ~8-12 Sep
Literature festival in early autumn.
Best things to do in Longyearbyen
Svalbard Museum
Best orientation in town, covering whaling, mining, exploration and natural history before any excursion.
Gruve 3
Guided walk and optional crawl into the coal mine that operated from 1971 to 1996, left much as it was.
North Pole Expedition Museum
Deep focus on the race to the Pole by air, with Amundsen, Nobile and the Norge and Italia airships.
Svalbard Brewery
Guided tasting at the world's northernmost commercial brewery, using water partly from Bogerbreen glacier.
Svalbard Church
Warm wooden church open 24 hours, with coffee and a community lounge, above the old permafrost cemetery.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
See the illuminated entrance wedge from outside only, best as one stop on a guided town sightseeing tour.
Longyearbyen Guiding
Twice daily minibus town tour with a guide who grew up in Longyearbyen, covering Nybyen, mines and vault viewpoint.
Nordover Art Centre
Art and cinema in the centre, a cultural counterweight to mines and glaciers and a real polar night evening.
Where to stay in Longyearbyen
Sentrum / main street
first trip, all-round base
Flat walkable spine by shops, restaurants and almost every excursion pickup, best in polar night and storms.
Haugen / Funken hillside
views and quiet
Residential slope above the centre with the best fjord and town views, ten minutes downhill to dinner.
Skjæringa / harbour edge
character base
Oldest part of town by the harbour, four minutes from the centre and more exposed to fjord wind.
Nybyen
budget and social travellers
Old miners' barracks up the valley, atmospheric and cheaper, 20 to 25 minutes from the centre with avalanche flags.
Think twice about
- Barentsburg and Pyramiden as a base
Pyramiden has no independent traveller infrastructure and Barentsburg has no independent transport link, so visit both as day trips.
- Longyearbyen Camping as a sole base
Exposed fjord side field at the settlement edge with electric fencing after the fatal 2020 bear attack, a deliberate adventure choice only.
- Listings outside the settlement boundary
Scattered visitor cabins outside the boundary are in rifle required country without the guided system that makes it safe, unless sold as a guided package.
Best restaurants in Longyearbyen
Huset
Flagship fine dining in a 1951 community house, a long Arctic tasting menu and one of northern Europe's great cellars.
Gruvelageret
Town's top rated table, a set multi course Arctic menu in a small restored mining warehouse near Nybyen.
Restaurant Polfareren
Best centre dinner, contemporary Nordic cooking with reindeer the signature and a serious wine list.
Funktionærmessen
Scandinavian fine dining with the best restaurant view in town, over the town, fjord and mountains below.
NUGA
Credible Japanese and sushi at 78 degrees north, with Arctic char and northern fish in sushi form.
Restaurant Kroa
Beloved all rounder in a rustic explorer hall, big portions, moose, burgers, pizzas and the friendliest service.
Stationen
Old mess tradition gathering place in the mall, fish soup, burgers and local beers over long hours.
Fruene Kaffe og Vinbar
Cafe heart of town for coffee, house baked cakes, sandwiches, in house chocolates and an evening wine bar.
Outdoor things to do in Longyearbyen
Green Dog Svalbard
Consensus kennel for dog sledding you drive yourself, from half day runs to the signature sled to ice cave day.
Poli Arctici
Small owner led specialist for long snowmobile days to the east coast, Tunabreen and Tempelfjorden.
Svalbard Wildlife Expeditions
Guided ice cave and glacier hike into blue meltwater tunnels under the ice, with helmets and spikes provided.
Better Moments
Small boat summer day to the Nordenskiöldbreen calving front and Pyramiden, the Soviet town evacuated in 1998.
Hurtigruten Svalbard
Hybrid electric catamaran fjord and walrus safaris that approach wildlife quietly, warmer and more forgiving.
Husky Travellers
Tiny family dog sledding business built around a racing musher, home cooked cabin food and stories.
Spitzbergen Adventures
Owner run credible second choice for snowmobile, ice cave, sightseeing and hiking when leaders are full.
Svalbard Adventures
Svalbard Hotell group operator for snowmobile, sled and boat trips, a trustworthy peak week second choice.
Best hotels in Longyearbyen
Funken Lodge
Best hotel in town, a boutique restoration of the officials' mess with the most loved breakfast and fjord views.
Svalbard Hotell Polfareren
Smart mid luxury central default with modern rooms, a respected restaurant and excursions from the lobby.
Radisson Blu Polar Hotel
World's northernmost full service hotel, biggest in town, with fjord view public spaces and easy logistics.
Basecamp Hotel
Trapper styled lodge hotel with driftwood and a glass roofed common room, run by the expedition company.
Mary-Ann's Polarrigg
Institution built from old rig structures, with the Vinterhagen greenhouse restaurant and sauna culture.
Svalbard Hotell The Vault
Central value sibling of Polfareren with a seed vault theme, free bikes and parking noted by aggregators.
Coal Miners' Cabins
Social budget classic in the 1948 Stormessa mess hall, with shared kitchens, lounges and barracks style rooms.
Gjestehuset 102
Genuine cheapest good bed in town, with cosy rooms, a liked breakfast buffet and free tea and coffee all day.
Is Longyearbyen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | NOK 2,200 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | NOK 4,250 a person |
| Splurge | NOK 8,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Gruve 3: a few days ahead
- Svalbard Brewery: weeks ahead
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault: a few days ahead
- Longyearbyen Guiding: a few days ahead
- Camp Barentz: weeks ahead
- Green Dog Svalbard: months ahead
- Poli Arctici: months ahead
- Svalbard Wildlife Expeditions: weeks ahead
- Light winter from mid February to May is peak, and Green Dog, Poli Arctici, Gjestehuset 102 and Funken sell out months ahead for March and April.
- Book in order flights, hotel, two main excursions, then Huset and Gruvelageret, as soon as dates exist.
- Huset and Gruvelageret need days to weeks in season, and Kroa, Polfareren and NUGA need booking on weekend and festival nights.
- Build one unscheduled half day into 4 to 5 nights because snowmobile, boat and kayak products cancel or move for weather.
- Small capacity fills first, so book brewery tastings, Husky Travellers and Better Moments 12 seat boats before big operator products.
Is Longyearbyen safe?
- Never leave the settlement except on an organised tour with a qualified guide, past the bear signs travellers must have rifle protection and know how to use it.
- Stay with the group on tour, never approach wildlife for a photo and never feed anything, and carry all food and rubbish back.
- Respect avalanche closures and hotel posted warnings, and layer as briefed against wind chill and frostbite on snowmobiles.
- Carry insurance explicitly covering Svalbard activities and rescue, as serious medical cases fly to Tromsø.
Longyearbyen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Seed Vault as a destination in itself, it is a locked wedge in a hillside and only works as a photo stop on a wider tour.
- Any seller promising you will definitely see a polar bear on a day product.
- Camp Barentz at full price in summer daylight, when the money is better spent on a boat or hike.
- Non local resellers selling Longyearbyen products without inspecting them, book direct or via Visit Svalbard.
- Two near identical Isfjorden fjord cruises on one trip, which crowd out ice cave, hike and mine days.
- Main street souvenir tat over brewery cans, gallery prints and photographs and the museum bookshop.
Getting around Longyearbyen: public transport and more
- Flights are the only way in for a normal trip, SAS and Norwegian via Oslo and or Tromsø, and no ferry exists for independent travellers.
- Walk in town, the centre is 15 flat minutes end to end and Nybyen adds 20 to 25 minutes.
- The airport bus meets flights and stops at main hotels, and taxis serve the Funken hill and luggage moves.
- Rental cars are pointless because roads end a few kilometres out of town in both directions at a polar bear sign.
Who Longyearbyen suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Longyearbyen your trip
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