Fun things to do in Svalbard

In use until the late 1970ies, the ropeways from the various mines converged here at the exchange. It is now maintained as a museum piece, quite interesting to see, and the place gives a good overview of Longyearbyen, too. It is a good evening stroll. Don't go much beyond here without some polar bear defence. With a gun, you can safely walk the Burma Road (yes, it is called so) toward the airport, nice stroll with a view, no cars.

In the same area is a sundial - of course the northernmost in the world etc.... not much use for it half of the year...
Then there is the column monument to the victims of WW2 on Svalbard in the same area.

Svalbard reindeers are tame as puppies, and hunters who go for them during the season (there is some culling) are talking about how bad it feels to walk up to the Rudolfs and shoot them point blank...

They are seemingly tame because they have no history of beeing much hunted or chased by people and thus humans do not constitute any hazard to them. But they are wild, not herded or deliberately tamed like on the mainland. As an ecological adjustment the Svalbard race of reindeer are plump and stocky, which ensures survival in very cold conditions and with limited food supply to heat a big, lanky body.

So, reindeer is one of those things you can see at Svalbard - easily. And take some good photos, too. Could be one at the airport terminal as you arrive?

I was curious about this myself, and did a bit of research ... with some disappointing news:

Yes, saltwater fishing is free and available to all, but there may not be that much to be caught from land, by a rod. Adventfjorden and parts of isfjorden are silted by glacial waters, not good for fishing...
There is one exception - arctic char: it is an anadrome fish (lives in saltwater as well as freshwater), and can be caught by rod. But, sorry, it's mainly for people who actually live on Svalbard and they also need to have a permit issued for char fishing. The issuing authority is Sysselmannen/the Governor in Longyearbyen. The available info says only a few permits/licences are issued each year, and then only for specially interested people. Apparently, regulations aerre thawing up a bit as not so many locals go fishing, so new regulations will make it possible for visitors to come for fishing, too. But still it will entail some distant travels from Longyearbyen.

Go to Greenland, Iceland or Northern Sweden/Norway to do easier arctic char fishing...
Maybe you have aquaintances who do fishing in Svalbard and then you should be able to join. If not, have some char as served by Nansen restaurant or Huset in Longyearbyen...

While flying to Svalbard can be done cheaply, it is less of a chance to stay and do sightseeing on the cheap. Nevertheless, here are some suggestions:

1) Walking the peripheral roads of Longyearbyen on a photo safari
2) Check what's on offer in the tourist office or on internet event calendars, and read up on their general info
3) Visit the Svalbard Museum
4) Eat good food at the café at Huset - the restaurant there is expensive
5) Buy a cheap bottle of wine (still good quality!!!) or a six-pack of beer and some food and have a midnight bonfire picnic (summer....)
6) Visit a husky or greenland dog kennel, maybe the owners will take you in for a show?
7) Read a book on the coal mining history (check the tourist office, Svalbard Museum or the library) and walk to some of the mines and check for yourself.
8) Rent a gun (100 NOK shared among some persons) and go for hikes outside the settlement; Lia, Sarkofagen, Platåberget, Nordenskjoldfjellet, Bjørndalen).
9) If you camp for cheap at the campsite near Hotellneset, rent a bike to get around.
10) Eat the dish of the day at Busen in Lompen Senteret.
11) Visit the church (free, and they have cheap coffee and waffles)
12) Search for fossils at the morene of the Longyear glacier.
13) Watch sea birds and polar foxes in the bird cliffs.

These are some of the key places to see/visit in Longyearbyen, without having to bother about joining some very expensive tours. This list will definitely fill a weekend or easily more of you go hiking, too.

Svalbard Kirke is the world's Northernmost church.

It's the only church I've visited, where the church porch (in Norway called weaponhouse) actually is used for storing weapons (because carrying weapons into the sanctuary is prohibited).

It's the only church I've visited where the vicar greeted us all to find out how many different nationalities and languages present. The Church is Lutheran, but both Roman Catholics and members of the Russian Orthodox Church took part in the service, when we visited.

Mine 3 is located in the mountain-side, just above the airport outside Longyearbyen. This coal mine was closed in 1996, and now parts of it is open to visitors. An ex-miner was our guide, and he shared his knowledge and stories with us. I found it very interesting.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is also located at the site. We got to see an example of the tubes stored in the vault, but the vault itself is not open to public.

http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/campaign/the-high-north/miljo/svalbard-global-seed-vault.html?id=540131

The staff at our hotel booked the tour for us, and we was picked up at the hotel.

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The tour-companies offers several trips. Some short - some longer. We opted for a short trip, and it ended up even shorter. The weather got so bad we had to abort and return to Longyearbyen, for safety reasons.

But it was fun as long as it lasted!

Be prepared to drive your own snowmobile. Bring you driving license.

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For a dog-lover like me, this was the perfect day.

We drove out of town, to where the dogs are located. We got to spend some time with the dog, learned how to put the harnesses on and make them ready for the ride. We teamed up in pairs - and off we went!

The ride itself goes to the snowmobile-free Bolter-valley. All you could here was the panting dogs. On our day, the weather was wonderful and made the experience even more memorable.

When we returned to the kennel, all I wanted was to go for another ride.