Svalbard General Tips

Svalbard Hospital

by Saagar

There is a small hospital in Longyearbyen with a resident surgeon. For really very serious cases, patients are airlifted to Tromsø or Oslo University clinics. There are helicopters stationed at Svalbard that have air ambulance capacity.
You find the hospital in a fairly large yellowish building on the main pedestrian street in Longyearbyen.
In addition there is a private medical doctor service, too, in the same area where Spitsbergen Travel start their tours from, down at the Ingeniør Paulsen's building. His name is Jon Sandmo, phone 79022040/90186536 for appointment. www.polarlegesenteret.no
Interestingly, birthing is not allowed at Svalbard, so pregnant women are sent back to the mainland by plane a month or so prior to expected date of giving birth. I presume that in case of complications coinciding with bad weather, the mother and child might be in trouble given the insufficient facilities in Longyearbyen.

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	Trouble with the law? Try a lawyer... Tip Rating:

By Saagar on April 7, 2005

Lawyers a bit down to the
left...

by Saagar

Your husband got eaten by a polar bear? Complaints about being cheated by a cruise organiser? Wrangling with the Sysselmannen over expedition permits? If you need assistance in dealing with the law, there are at least three lawyers in (or experienced in) Longyearbyen:

Advokat Skotte: phone 88003040, e-mail skotte@skotte.no www.skotte.no

Advokatkontoret i Longyearbyen, personnel present every 4 weeks from the firm Haavind Vislie, otherwise the main office is in Oslo, call 22433000. In Longyearbyen: Mr. Håkon Bleken h.bleken@haavind.no, and Mr. Geir Steinberg g.steinberg@haavind.no

The lawyers' office in Longyearbyen is located in the business house (Næringsbygget) on the main pedestrian drag, or P.O.Box 403, NO-9171 Longyearbyen. In Oslo: Bygdøy Alle 2.
www.haavind.no

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	Tender-service in Longyear-bay Tip Rating:

Updated By globetrott on May 31, 2006

Tender-service in Longyear-bay

by globetrott

In Lonyear-bay we always had to disembark our passengers by tender-boats. This is something you always have to considder, when calculating your time ashore. At first the passengers could go ashore, afterwards the crew, who had also the last tender already 30 minutes before the last tender for passengers would leave.

This is Svalbard - these mountains are situated opposite of Longyearbyen, Svalbard's capital.
.Our cruise-ship M/S Vistafjord had to anchor off the small port, where only rather small ships may dock.

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	Björnoya - the bear island Tip Rating:

Updated By globetrott on May 31, 2006

Björnoya - the bear island

by globetrott

We passed by Björnoja whenever we had a cruise to Spitzbergen. Bjornoya is uninhabited nowadays except for 8 people living there in a permanent weather-station, but it used to be an important trading-place during the time of whale-hunting with big ships in 1850 - 1910

You better be careful and always have a rifle or gun handy, when taking a walk "on the wild side " in Bjornoja, of course you would never kill the bear, but such a rifle might help you a lot to persuade the bear to search for some other " dinner "

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	Natural Icecubes were served in the bar Tip Rating:

Updated By globetrott on May 31, 2006

by globetrott

When cruising through the quiet and remote fjords of Svalbard / Spitzbergen, the bar-waiters onboard of M/S Vistafjord had a special surprise for our guests :It always was announced as a special event, when during a cruise in Svalbard / Spitzbergen a big natural ice-cube was taken onboard. It was cut into small pieces and served with the drinks in the bar.

what a great way to serve your whiskey on the rocks, with ice-cubes that had been frozen thousands or even millions of years ago.

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	Icebergs all over Tip Rating:

Updated By globetrott on January 13, 2003

by globetrott

Icebergs will be found in the water all over Svalbard

only about 10% of the are visible, the rest is under water and might be a certain danger for the ship

And these Icebergs consist of ice from the glacier - that means it is sweet-water - and will melt slowly in the icy saltwater

Svalbard Page by wideview

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	Blue ice and hundred of miles of virgin snow Tip Rating:

Updated By wideview on September 27, 2002

Snowmobiling in February at
noon.

by wideview

Snowmobiling for several consecutive days, over glaciers and frozen sea, far away from any inhabitated place, under the sky at the end of the polar night, is an experience that I will never forget.

The beautiful colors of the sky and of the ice. The wild nature and the extreme landscape.

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	Winter darkness polar night at Svalbard Tip Rating:

Updated By Saagar on March 9, 2007

Day or night - or inbetween?

by Saagar

There is no sun at Longyearbyen, Svalbard from 26 October to 16 February.

The coming of the sun is celebrated with a Light Feast in Longyearbyen.
However, there is a good chance to see the Northern Lights - Aurora Borealis; see web pages http://geo.phys.uit.no/index.html.

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	Spitzbergen Tip Rating:

Updated By globetrott on November 5, 2002

by globetrott

have a look at these mountains and you know, where the name "Spitzbergen" comes from...
.
...be prepared that in summer the sun will not go down at night and you may take pics at midnight, although it is a cloudy day (night)

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	The weather forecast for Svalbard Tip Rating:

By Saagar on April 8, 2005

Right conditions for an
outing? Nordenskjold Peak

by Saagar

Check these links for weather forecast for Svalbard:

http://met.no/svalbard/longyearbyen.html2nonscript