Visiting Svalbard: A Wildlife Lover’s Guide to Expedition Travel in the High Arctic

On & off the ship

• Scanning the pack ice for polar bears. Nothing compares to the quiet tension of the ship easing along the ice edge while the expedition team scans the horizon. We had one unforgettable encounter on our voyage, with a curious male who walked toward us across the ice and then swam remarkably close to investigate us.

• Whale watching from the deck. Our captain was willing to adjust the itinerary whenever conditions or wildlife warranted it. The best moments are often the unplanned ones, like the 6:45 a.m. ship-wide wake-up call because a pod of belugas with calves is most definitely a “PANTS ON” situation.

• Ice landings. Speeding up the zodiac so you can (safely) launch it onto the ice, and then standing on pack ice above 81 degrees north just like a polar bear, is not something you’ll ever forget.

• Walrus snoozes. We anchored offshore and quietly approached a beach where dozens of walrus were piled on top of each other, snoring, grunting, and occasionally squabbling over the best napping spot.

• Exploring the tundra with the expert naturalists. Watching reindeer graze and three Arctic fox kits play in the sun a few dozen yards away were some of the best moments of the whole trip.

• Learning about Svalbard’s human history. Abandoned trapping huts, remnants of expeditions, and whale bones dot the coastline. Standing inside a century-old trapper’s cabin, in a place this remote, puts the whole trip in perspective.

Extending your stay in Longyearbyen? Add these:

• Svalbard Museum and the Polar Exploration Museum. Between these two small museums, you get the full arc of Svalbard’s human story—coal mining, trapping, early polar exploration, and today’s scientific research. Both are compact enough to see in an afternoon.

• Photo stop at the Global Seed Vault. The vault’s stark, otherworldly entrance, built into the mountainside, is one of the most-photographed spots in town, and a local guide can explain how its location helps protect global crop diversity.

• A guided day trip or tour. Polar bears are known to roam into town, so exploration outside the limits of Longyearbyen isn’t feasible without a licensed guide. Local operators offer seasonal excursions to ice caves, glacier hiking, kayaking, snowmobiling, dog sledding, and more.

Most meals happen onboard, but if your expedition includes a stop in Longyearbyen before or after sailing, you’re in luck. The town’s food scene punches well above its population’s weight.

Huset

One of Norway’s most celebrated restaurants happens to sit in the world’s northernmost town. The tasting menu leans into Arctic ingredients—reindeer, foraged tundra plants—paired with a wine cellar that feels wildly out of place this far north, in the best way.

Kroa

It’s built to look like an old trapper’s cabin, and it stays open later than almost anywhere else in town if you’re coming off a delayed flight.

Svalbar

A favorite gathering spot in Longyearbyen, full of locals and visitors swapping stories over good burgers and a serious beer list.