In photos: 20 reasons to visit Svalbard

1. The ‘Longyear Town’

Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s most populous settlement and de facto capital, was named after American John Munro Longyear who established the town after his Arctic Coal Company began mining the region in 1906. Known as the ‘Longyear Town’, Longyearbyen is the world’s northernmost settlement with a population greater than 1,000.

Its colourful buildings are fringed by hulking mountains and two glacier tongues, but Longyearbyen is seldom described as beautiful. What makes it so alluring is what it promises; a gateway to a sub-polar world of magical seascapes and remarkable wildlife. The ‘Longyear Town’ is where the adventure begins.

2. Unusual road signs

You know you’re somewhere different as soon as you arrive in Longyearbyen and drive the road from the airport into town. Around the world, a red triangular road sign lets you know you’re approaching a hazard. Perhaps the road will narrow, is slippery, is merging with traffic or there is a zebra-crossing ahead.

But in Svalbard, things are different. There is so little traffic in a town of just 2,368 people that there are rarely road hazards ahead. Instead, this is polar bear country where visitors are routinely warned to be aware and not to leave the confines of the capital without a trained guide. 

3. SANDY BEACHes strewn with ice ‘cubes’

Our first landing was at Magdalenefjord on the west coast of Spitsbergen where we found a sandy beach strewn with giant ice ‘cubes’. The strange shapes and structures, hewn by the elements, are the remnants of icebergs and drift ice washed ashore in the idyllic fjord. It’s easy to see why Magdalenefjord with its spectacular blue-green bay surrounded by dramatic peaks and glaciers is one of Svalbard’s most popular anchorages.

4. Attending the Captain’s party

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A glass of champers at the captain’s party

Back aboard, passengers and crew gathered at the stern of the ship for canapés and a glass of champagne. The captain and his officers arrived and after a short welcome speech, we raised our glasses and toasted the captain and his crew. Kia and I quietly toasted for a second time as, due to our twice-postponed Antarctic voyage which had eventually taken place earlier this year, we had now crossed both the Antarctic and Arctic circles in a calendar year.

5. Sipping Cocktails under the Midnight sun

As the evening drew on, we found ourselves unusually energetic, not realising that it was well past midnight. You see, on other trips during which we saw the midnight sun – in the Faroe Islands and Antarctica – it hung low against a gloomy sky. In Svalbard, however, it was high, bright and blazing – strong enough for me to reapply sunscreen at midnight! It was also deeply disorientating. Eventually, after one too many cocktails, we forced ourselves to bed despite our bodies still thinking it was daytime. 

6. The Walruses of Smeerenburg

Our second landing was at Smeerenburg (meaning Blubbertown), an abandoned settlement in northwestern Svalbard which was a Dutch whaling centre during the 17th century. In its heyday, it had a summer community of 200 people assembled to hunt and harvest the blubber of the Greenland right (bowhead) whale.

Today, it is a popular spot for walruses. We watched them from a distance on land and then took a closer look at the huddle from our Zodiacs. These unlikely creatures are weirdly arresting: bulbous and unwieldy and yet somehow majestic. Found only in the far north of the planet, walruses are highly sensitive to noise. Any sign of danger can cause them to stampede into the water. As such, we had to keep our voices down throughout our visit to Smeerenburg.

8. Arctic Terns fishing

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An Arctic tern in Svalbard

During our Zodiac cruise around Smeerenburg, we visited a colony of Arctic terns. Due to its long tail streamers and slender shape, the Arctic tern is also called the ‘sea swallow’.

Arctic terns are known for their huge migrations, covering around 40,000km (25,000mi) from their Arctic breeding grounds to Antarctica where they enjoy the southern summer. They also make for excellent fishers. We watched one deftly diving into the water to nab a small fish before returning ashore to its nest.

9. Cutting through the Pack ice

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Cutting through the pack ice

During our voyage, we reached 81°17’5”, the furthest north our ship, the Ocean Atlantic, had reached all season and within just 800km (500mi) of the North Pole. It was also the furthest north we’d ever been.

As we rounded the north coast of Svalbard, the horizon quickly changed. Gone were the craggy snow-capped mountains and glaciers plunging into the sea; instead, the Arctic Ocean spread out before us with sheets of pancake pack ice hypnotically drifting on its surface.

The surface waters around the Arctic freeze during the winter into a thick slab of ice, effectively making the ocean impassable. As the slab begins to thaw in the spring and summer, it breaks up into an arresting expanse of pack ice.

10. making the Polar plunge

The Polar Plunge is a fearsome rite of passage for visitors to the Polar regions and entails jumping into near-freezing water (1-2°C). We did a shore plunge as part of our 10-day expedition to Antarctica, which was fun but not as thrilling as plunging from the ship.

We were delighted when the captain announced we could make a Polar Plunge from the ship while pack ice drifted mere metres from the hull. It was certainly different and undoubtedly colder!

11. Counting GUILLEMOTS by the thousands

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Thousands of guillemots on the cliffs of Alkefjellet

Roughly translated as ‘Bird Mountain’, Alkefjellet was one of the most spectacular places we visited during our voyage. On our afternoon Zodiac cruise, we coasted along beneath towering cliffs which are home to approximately 60,000 pairs of Brunnich’s guillemots. These sturdy seabirds are among the most numerous in Svalbard but despite their numbers, they must endure some cunning and tenacious adversaries.

12. Watching an Arctic fox hunt

While at Alkefjellet, we witnessed one of the best moments of our trip: an Arctic fox hunt. These creatures have evolved into excellent killers. Their fur is white in the winter but turns grey-brown in the summer to help with camouflage. 

We watched as a wily fox bounded down an impossibly steep cliff and crept into a nest of guillemot eggs. It plucked one up between its teeth and bounded off to bury it. Moments later it repeated the trick, each time sending a flurry of birds screeching. In total, it managed five or six kills – the circle of life played out before our very eyes. 

13. Immense glaciers

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Glaciers galore

Unsurprisingly, ice is never far away in Svalbard – even during the summer. In fact, there are over 2,100 glaciers in Svalbard covering around 60% of the total area. Some, such as Austfonna on Nordaustlandet (Svalbard’s second-largest island), are so big they’re officially classed as ice caps – only Greenland and Antarctica have larger sheets of ice.

These panorama-defying sheets of ice are at their most sensational when they meet the sea. Here, car-sized chunks of ice audibly calve away from the face of the glacier and thunder into the sea, morphing into fairytale icebergs sculpted by the waves. During our voyage, we saw dozens of such glaciers, each one with its own unique form, each one magnificent.

15. Kayaking between icebergs

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Kayaking at Hamiltonbukta

Kayaking at Hamiltonbukta (Hamilton Bay) was another highlight of the voyage. After wriggling our way into a heavy-duty dry suit, thick gloves and booties, we motored out to the fjord and were soon paddling in surreal surroundings.

At one point, our guide stopped us and asked us to close our eyes for a minute of quiet reflection. The only sound was the clink of ice chunks – known as ‘bergy bits’ – bouncing off each other. In an action-packed expedition, these precious moments of stillness helped us appreciate the true magic and magnitude of nature in the Arctic.

17. Topping out on Arctic summits

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At the summit of a small hill on Alicehamna

There are 1,258 named mountains in Svalbard and thousands more unnamed. The territory’s highest peak is Newtontoppen (Newton Peak) at 1,713m (5,620ft). While we didn’t get the opportunity to tackle any big climbs during our voyage, we did hike up some moderate hills during our landings at Ytre Norskoya, Faksevagn and Alicehamna. The summits of these mini-mountains were marked with simple crucifixes or cairns and boasted breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, bays and glaciers.

18. Posing seals

Svalbard is home to a number of seal species including bearded, harp, ringed and harbour. With their thick layers of insulating blubber, true seals (otherwise known as earless seals) are well adapted to these icy waters. Unlike their Antarctic relatives, Arctic seals are hunted relentlessly by a land-based predator: polar bears.

As such, you rarely see Arctic seals lounging on land. Instead, they prefer to rest on sea ice, icebergs or, as we frequently witnessed, on lone rocks. Here, they constantly shift, keeping an eye on their surroundings for furtive polar bears. We spotted several seals during the voyage, each one striking the same pose.

19. A window into Svalbard’s dark past

Svalbard was discovered by the Dutchman Willem Barentsz in 1596 and, soon, reports of the large numbers of whales, seals and walrus in its waters reached seafarers back in Europe. By 1612, systemic whaling in Svalbard had begun leading to the decimation of local whale populations. Numbers to this day have still not recovered.

Evidence of Svalbard’s whaling heritage can be found in many places including the remains of stoves used to boil the blubber at Magdalenefjord and Smeerenburg. Sadly, Norway continues to hunt whales – one of just two remaining countries (the other being Japan) after Iceland announced that it would cease its commercial whaling practices by 2024.

20. Visiting The world’s northernmost settlement