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On several occasions we had the chance to walk around a bit: the excursions on Svalbard were rather soggy, so it was essential to have good hiking boots or even rubber boots, because we had to overcome snow, melting water and quite a bit of mud!
On the second day we went on a tour from Longyearbyen to Barentsburg and the only possible way to go there was by boat. There are two tour companies offering day trips and they are basically identical. The departure times differ a little and what I heard, the food as well! We decided to take the earlier tour and were quite satisfied with it! The two companies are Spitsbergentravel and Wildlife.no.
Even with a small vessel like the Professor Molchanov we could not manage to land in most of the places, so we used the zodiacs. At first I was a little scared, but with a little bit of practise I felt absolutely safe! And the zodiac drivers were superb! By the time we reached the Svalbard coast we all were experts and enjoyed our shore excursions a lot!
Oh, what can I say? What a wonderful ship - a former research vessel now designed for up to 54 passengers. Nice cabins, wonderful crew and staff, delicious food, open bridge and a concept of a very ecologic type of tourism - I loved every second of the cruise and would highly recommend it without hesitation!For some more impressions of this wonderful vessel, please have a look at my "hotel/accomodation tips"!
To get from Longyearbyen/Spitsbergen to Tromso/Norway we went with SAS Braathens. We only paid 90 € p.p., but did book way in advance! The flight schedule was a little mean - we had to get up at 3.30 a.m., because the plane left around 6 a.m. .... hahaha - but you can't have it all!!!
Use you frequent flier points on Star Alliance SAS, Lufthansa, Thai, United etc.) to get there; Svalbard is treated as a Norwegian domestic destination (two hours off the mainland). This is the farthest destination you can fly by bonus points within the domestic or Nordic bonus points level system. I met a Dane once who flew from Copenhagen via Oslo to Longyearbyen, but were to return the next day, just for the heck of it - to see how far he could fly for free!But you have to book a long time ahead to ensure a seat using bonus points/mileage points - maybe as much as 6 months to be on the safe side...
The company Lufttransport seems to be able to help. I have seen that they have Dorniers and helicopters based at LYR. Just ensure you have the right permits for where you want to go first...Office in Longyearbyen, open weekdays 8-16.
NB! I AM MADE AWARE THAT THIS FOLLOWING INFO USED TO HOLD TRUE, BUT DEFINITELY NO LONGER. THE HURTIGRUTEN SHIP NO LONGER PLIES TROMSØ-LONGYEARBYEN, ONLY THE SVALBARD CRUISES OUT OF LONGYERBYEN. BUT LET'S HOPE THEY WILL RESUME....? DATE OF THIS INFO UPDATE: 15 AUG 05.As soon as the summer season begins at Svalbard an old, nostalgia issue Coastal Express Liner plies the stretch from Tromsø via the North Cape, Bear island to Longyearbyen and up to the magic 80 degrees north, ice permitting, at the north end of Svalbard. You can jump off at Longyearbyen, or board there, depending on avaiable capacity. You can do all sorts of packages with this ship, too, just the thing from Longyearbyen and to the north and back again, or fly up and ship down - whatever.
There are three or four main itinerarys you can use to reach Svalbard by air.1) Most commonly from the Norwegian mainland directly from Oslo nonstop, or from Oslo via Tromsø, or from Tromsø itself. The combined airlines SAS/Braathens fly these routes. Norwegian tried to fly for a while, but apparently no longer. In case they do re-emerge on this route, they will probably be the low-cost alternative.2) From Murmansk there are occasional flights by Aeroflot, but there is no set schedule.3) From Moscow there are likewise flights once in a while.4) From Kiev, ditto, by Polkovo.I assume th cheapest option will be from Murmansk, but the most regular scheduled flights will be from Norway. There are daily flights as you can check for yourself at WWW.sas.noIf you can use Star Alliance bonus travel awards you are a lucky person (also if you can find a seat during the high season). You can also put...
You can rent a car and travel around the 45 km of surface roads in and around Longyearbyen. Not surfaced, but surface. Underground there must be about 400 km of roads in the horizontal mine shafts. All the mountains around Longyearbyen are like Swiss cheeses.The roads are gravel roads, most of them, and not that many kilometres are open during winter time.You can rent a vehicle right on arrival at Longyear Airport.
Spitsbergen Hotel Longyearbyen
33 Opinions
Radisson Sas Polar Spitsbergen Longyearbyen
2 Reviews and 69 Opinions The SAS hotel has a very central location only 100 m from the main shopping area. It has 95 rooms...
Spitsbergen Guesthouse Longyearbyen
16 Opinions
Reviews and photos of Svalbard attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Svalbard sightseeing.
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Q: Me and my husband are planning our anniversary trip in Spitsbergen. We're from Mexico and want this to be the trip of a lifetime....
A: Hi - welcome to VT! I'd recommend staying at the Radisson. It's really nice and the restaurant is excellent. Spitsbergen Travel (www.spitsbergentravel.no/eng/) booked...
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