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  • Jo Ann Schwartz July 7, 2016 at 7:33am

    Thanks everyone for all the tips!

  • Richard Swanberg July 7, 2016 at 6:08am

    yes stay at the Svalbard Hotel  and take the boat trip to Barentsburg, (a Russian settlement  on the Island)

    We went on the MS Langoysund which was save and enjoyable. They served barbequed whale for lunch!

  • Diane Ness Laucks June 14, 2016 at 10:09am

    My husband and I stayed at the Hotel Spitsbergen--we loved it!  The hotel is located on a hill about a 10 minute walk from downtown.  The hotel had a wonderful restaurant and several small rooms where you can sip a drink and socialize.  The room was very comfortable.  When you enter the hotel, you take off your shoes and place them in a "mud room" so the hotel remains clean.  The hotel arranged a private taxi tour of Longyearbyen.  A highlight for me was a stop at the Global Seed Bank--unfortunately, people are not allowed inside.

    Diane 

  • Elliot Koch June 13, 2016 at 1:52pm

    there is the 5 star hotel the Radisson SAS

     you can go outside of town but you need a guide with a rifle as that is the general rule  Polars will get you LOL

     

     the Museum and schol across the way from the  hotel is a must ands going walking through thr]=e town poking your head into different stores  is what i did

  • Craig W. Roark May 16, 2016 at 5:40am

    I remember when traveling to Svalbard from Tromso flew on Braathens SAFE   The flight left Tromso at 00:30  flew over the pink colored snow capped mountains over the fjords. Seeing the Midnight Sun reflections was incredible. After that flew right over Bear Island. Arrived in Longyearbyen at 02:00 in the morning. At the time there  weren't any hotels there so camped out with this guy who was a deflection from East Germany. There was three feet of snow on the ground still, couldn't leave Longyearbyen UNLESS WE OBTAINED A GUN FROM LOCAL POLICE DUE TO POLAR BEARS AS THE TOWN WAS FENCED OFF. A visit to the Lofoten Islands is a MUST!!!!  Below is a photo I had taken from  the flight from Tromso to Longyearbyen of the snow capped fjords near Tromso taken at 00:45 ( 12:45 am ) in the morning.3133929895?profile=original

  • Jo Ann Schwartz May 7, 2016 at 6:35am

    Thanks Stefan!

  • Stefan Krasowski May 6, 2016 at 3:26pm

    This site has the most comprehensive activity calendar: http://www.visitsvalbard.com/.

    Based on my winter trip, most of the offerings are virtually the same across companies in content and price so pick what fits your schedule. They are not too flexible and tours fill up so you should book anything you really want to do. Summer will be much better, I wasn't too crazy about the winter activities, the place is generally under cloud cover and range of options is more limited then. In summer I would be most interested in the multi-day activities that go to other settlements.

    Flight prices are more reasonable with Norwegian now running flights up there, but don't forget your United/Star Alliance awards, can be good to book all the way there and enjoy stopovers in Oslo or Tromso.

    I was booked at the Radisson Blu, then they closed for a month for renovations so was put in a nondescript place. The most lively I visited was Basecamp Trappers.

  • Jo Ann Schwartz May 5, 2016 at 6:28am

    Thanks Drew.  I was able to download your article and it's very helpful.

  • Drew Kirk May 5, 2016 at 5:41am

    Hi Joanne,  I'll try to attach a copy of a magazine piece I wrote about my trip to Spitsbergen a couple of years ago.  Enjoy your trip and let me know of any questions. 

    svalbard.docx

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