Svalbard Travel Forum

Hi
I am thinking of making two trips to Svalbard, one in the summer to experience the midnight sun and one in the winter to experience the winter night and hopefully see the northern lights.
i have never been before but I have the brochures from Spitsbergen travel at home. I have a couple of questions:
1/ i assume there is less to do in the winter, should I make this a shorter visit?
2/ Do I need to plan my whole trip before I go or can I sign up to treks etc once i am there?
3/ I will be travelling alone so is it a friendly place for a lone traveller?

many thanks
Kieron

Just a question...if it is only the northern lights you are after, why go there twice (I mean, it is expensive). There is a lot to do in winter in the north of Sweden and Abisko is a great place for northern lights. I'm not working for the Swedish tourist board or anything, just curious since it's an expensive journey. :)

I am also eager to experience the 24hr of darkness, does that reach as far down as North Sweden?

Thanks for this, I have looked on the web for Abisko and it seems like somewhere I would like to visit! I will keep it in mind for the winter.

thanks
Kieron

Yes, anything above the Arctic Circle gets "polar nights". However, it of course gets darker the further north you go. But don't think it gets pitch black. Look at my Jukkasjärvi pictures for a typical sunny (yet not sunny of course) morning (10.00) up there. For a not sunny daytime midwinter, check Abisko again. Abisko, on level with Narvik has light 10.00-14.00 and even though the sun never gets above the horizon, it gets bright. It probably does further north too, just even shorter hours...

Hi!
To tell you as it is - there is not mouch to to in the winter on Svalbard. A few days should cower it I guess.
A very friendly place to stay at, is "Guesthouse 102" - Look at my Svalbard VT page - you might get some ideas.... Have a nice trip (or two) to Svalbard...

Re: Northern Lights: it's a bit of a waste to go to Svalbard looking for this phenomenon since Svalbard is a bit north of the northern lights belt. Yes, better try northern Sweden/Abisko was suggested, Norway's Troms and Finnmark counties. The darkenss at Svalbard is pitch dark indeed, no sign of light during the darkest period, so for other activities than staring into the sky, stay on the mainland. But as Bente says, Svalbard is a friendly place and you will get in contact with people. Your 2nd question: through www.svalbard.net you can get info with tourism activites organised by (nearly) all agents at Longyearbyen and a calendar of activities is published on a weekly basis. Off the main season you can be quite sure to book trips once you are there. However, if you intend to do a longish trek advertised as cheap or discounted (well...)waste not a minute in booking.
Olav