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Sign in with FacebookLatest Longyearbyen hotel reviews
Pro
Most accessible experience of tundra and far north
Con
Short season of decent weather, polar bears are real
In a nutshell
A very friendly and international atmosphere reigns.
Real Huskies are a few feet away
fred98115 Says: Our cruise excursion took us to a Wilderness Center where we met Husky dog trainers who teach dogs to pull sleds. They told us about the dogs, how they are trained, and gave us a demonstration of hooking them up to sleds. The dogs were excited at the thought of pulling the...
Snowmobile safari to the Eastcoast
TravelProtyr Says: This is the longest trip they have from Longyearbyen: usually it takes 8 to 10 hours. The most important thing about this trip is your clear awareness - are you a driver or a passenger? If this is your first time driving snowmobile (even if you are quite experienced car or...
JeanineSheep Says: We went to Longyearbyen, Svalbard, with 2 friends. They took the huskie-pulling-wagon tour with Svalbard Villmarkssenter, and had a terrific time, with tea and cake in an old, historic cabin. They were also offered "warm suits", which they foolishly refused and froze. We...
Kayak to Hiorthamn - Svalbard Wildlife
JeanineSheep Says: It was great to kayak across the Adventfjord. I love kayaking, and enjoyed the opportunity to kayak in very cold water using first class equipment. We got dry-suits, with good instructions on how to put them on, wool socks, rubber boots, life jackets, and gloves....
43 Opinions
Radisson Sas Polar Spitsbergen
2 Reviews and 85 Opinions The SAS hotel has a very central location only 100 m from the main shopping area. It has 95 rooms...
Restaurant Kroa: Arctic specalties
Palisanteri Says: Great food, great atmosphere, friendly service, oldest restaurant in Longyearbyen.I visited every day during my holiday.The giant white bust of Lenin peeking from behind the bar .Situated in the town centre. Fully licensed bar, pub and á la carte restaurant. Beef sandwich...
tini58de Says: When we visited Longyearbyen Church (see my To Do Tips), we were surprised to find a thermos full of coffee there, tea and waffles, cream and berries.Nobody was there to serve us, so we helped ourselves! There was a little written note asking us to leave the money there, so...
majakaro Says: The only way to get to Longyearbyen (asuming you're not allready on Svalbard) is by plane. There are currently two airlines flying to/from Longyearbyen, Norwegain and SAS. - Norwegian is considered the cheap airline, but you have to pay extra for bringing luggage that needs...
tini58de Says: From Longyearbyen we flew to Tromso/Norway on SAS Braathens. They offer cheap flights (we paid around 90€ p.p. from Longyearbyen to Tromso in 2005) and excellent service!The airport is not far away from the town and can easily be reached by taxi or airport shuttle!
tini58de Says: Snow scooters are the perfect means of transportation in Longyearbyen in wintertime! You find them everywhere usually until June. When the snow has melted, people "mothball" them for the summer, since they can use their cars then!
Helpfulness
By now you should be familiar with the Longyearbyen Church - not only a place to worship, but also a lovely café and a souvenir shop!!!
Next to the goodies we found lots of lovely souvenirs for sale - and since nobody was there to sell it to us, we just went by the list and left the money required! I bought some Svalbard socks for my husband and a supercute polar bear bookmark for my stepdaughter. They also had pens, mugs, caps, little polar bear toys etc.
What amazed me most was the confidence they had in the visitors - they did not even have a place to put the money in, but they were sure we would put it somewhere!
Highly recommended!
Updated Apr 14, 2007
tini58de Says: Because of the threat of polar bears many people will (have to) carry guns with them, which is a necessary thing to do! But no guns are allowed inside any building - which is a very clever regulation as well!Still it is quite unusual to see this kind of sign: "hey, please...
tini58de Says: This is a custom that you will find all over the northern European countries and it Svalabard does not make an exception from that rule: wherever you go and enter a building, you are kindly asked to take off your shoes! This held true for the tourist information, the church,...
fred98115 Says: Polar bears are real and they are in the area outside of town. There are a bit more than 2,000 people on Spitsbergen Island and about 2,000 polar bears. We heard the advice that if you are out of town then you should be armed and proficient in its use. Some people like to...
tini58de Says: At first I could not believe it, but it definitely is true:Polar Bears are an acute danger in Svalbard - and even in settlements like Longyearbyen you are not safe! There is a warning out that you should always carry a rifle when leaving the settlement - and that is no joke...
shugoey Says: Bring a lot of warm clothing even in summer. Just got back from Svalbard and the locals complained about the weather. It was too hot.. Well, it was between -4 and 0 degrees centigrades and to me it was cold. Hat, gloves and a good wind-proof jacket is a must. Also woolen...
Helpfulness
As almost everything else in Spitsbergen, this marathon has the attribute of being the northernmost marathon of the world! It is usually held in June and only the toughest people (men and women) run it!
When we were there we watched them run both marathon and half marathon and boy, did I admire them! Not only the distance, but also the temperature is difficult for those athletes. There was a participant who was almost 80 years old - it took him about 8 hours or even more to do it . We met him when everybody else was already celebrating! BUT HE DID IT!
The fastest runner needed 3:13 h!!
Updated Apr 14, 2007
Address: Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Website: http://marathon.svalbard.com/
Interesting town to walk around
fred98115 Says: It is a utilitarian town made up of services and buildings designed to weather arctic conditions. However, it is the most accessible town on Spitsbergen Island. Piping is insulated and above ground. Buildings are on pillars. This is due to the land having...
tini58de Says: Longyearbyen has been founded 100 years ago (1906) as a mining town - and that is what it is all about! Until recently the coal mines were the main employer and the major income, but now this has changed. Still you are able to visit various coal mines and see the statue of...
tini58de Says: When preparing a trip to Longyearbyen, the following links might be helpful:http://www.longyearbyen.nethttp://www.svalbard.comhttp://www.wildlife.nohttp://www.svalbard.nethttp://www.sysselmannen.svalbard.no
tini58de Says: If you are fond of seeing what it is like in Longyearbyen, there are several webcams there. But you better be aware of the fact that during winter time you might not really see much, since it is dark most of the day!!!Vice versa it is nice to look at the webcams in summer,...
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Svalbard Arkipelet ('Cold Coast')
Longyearbyen, the largest community on Svalbard, has a population of about 1100 people and about as many snowmobiles. Located in the Advent fjord at the entrance of the Advent valley, this community...
Longyearbyen - the northernmost city of the world
Longyearbyen is the capital of Svalbard - a small town with a harbor, a couple of set off coal mines and a few hotels. Really nothing spectacular and not even very beautiful, but I liked it! Well, to...
Longyearbyen is the capital of Svalbard / Spitzbergen Between 1978 and 1985 I came here 4 times a year to Svalbard, while I was working onboard of the luxury cruise-ship M/S Vistafjord
paradise or in the middel of nowhere
in the summertime you can even get very lucky and get sun or a terrible fog...when the sun is up its a uncredeble nature it is so unthouch and beautiful...go on boat trips or trekking there are a lot...
Longyearbyen, the smallest and northermost capital
Svalbard is probably one of the easiest places to reach in the arctic region. There is daily plains from the norwegian capital Oslo, and Tromso, the capital of Troms county in the north. In summertime...
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