Polar Questions

It depends on what you want. March to May offers snow, sea ice in some fjords, returning daylight and snowmobile or dog-sledge trips. June to August is ship season, with bird cliffs, walrus haul-outs and the midnight sun. Late autumn and winter bring darkness, northern lights and very quiet streets.

In Longyearbyen the midnight sun lasts from roughly late April to late August. The polar night, when the sun stays below the horizon, runs from roughly late October to mid-February. In Ilulissat, further south, the midnight sun season is shorter, roughly late May to late July.

No. The aurora needs dark skies, and in High Arctic summer the sky never gets dark. Plan for autumn, winter or early spring if the northern lights are your goal.

Outside the settlements, the Governor of Svalbard expects people to carry suitable means of protection against polar bears and to know how to use them. Most visitors meet that requirement by travelling with licensed guides who carry rifles and flare guns. Renting a firearm yourself requires a permit and training.

Nobody can promise it. Your chances are best on multi-day ship voyages around northern and eastern Svalbard in summer, where bears follow the ice edge. Day trips from Longyearbyen rarely see bears, and that is generally a good thing for both sides.

Svalbard sits outside the Schengen area under the Svalbard Treaty, and no visa is needed to be on the archipelago itself. However, most flights connect through mainland Norway, so you must meet Schengen entry rules for that leg. Check the current rules for your nationality with Norwegian authorities.

By air, usually connecting through another Greenlandic airport such as Nuuk or Kangerlussuaq, or by coastal ship in summer. There are no roads linking Greenland's towns, so flights and boats are the only ways between them.

Please don't. Hidden crevasses, meltwater channels and unstable ice make glaciers dangerous without rope, crampons and a trained leader. Guided walks on Vatnajökull or in Svalbard teach the basics safely.

Ships reach remote coasts and the ice edge, which is where most wildlife is. Land-based trips are slower, often cheaper, and keep more spending in local communities. Many travellers combine a few days in Longyearbyen or Ilulissat with a short voyage. Read our low-impact guide for questions to ask operators.

Use a long lens, stay quiet and low, and stop moving the moment an animal reacts to you. Never use food, calls or drones to attract animals; drone flights are restricted in much of Svalbard and near wildlife. Our wildlife chapter explains the warning signs.