Svalbard and Jan Mayen Travel Blogs

Longyearbreen glacier walk...
Jun 30, 2006 (19 photos)

... order to ensure that I got a window seat. The Lonely Planet describes the descent to Longyearbyen, the main settlement in Svalbard, as "otherworldly" provided the weather's clear. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy for me, but there were enough gaps to get ...

Accident in the Glaciology Course!!!
Feb 26, 2004 (9 photos)

This trip was one of the programmed excursions included into the Glaciology Course that we took in Svalbard.  What we did not know was that it was going to be such a cold day (only -27ºC, but with strong winds and the adition of the windchill due to ...

25 days of adventure in the true north!!!!
Sep 13, 2008 (5 photos)

... brief details of our trip from 20.7-15.8.2008 to svalbard spitsbergen, 1. day plane: vienna - munich - oslo - longyearbyen 2. day resting and organizational matters 3. day boattravel to the ghosttown pyramiden 4.-8. day hikes around pyramiden 9. day ...

Nordenskjöld
Mar 21, 2004 (12 photos)

... very nice view, except if the day is cloudy and windy...as of course was that day. However, the excursion was a lot of fun and kind of tricky, as Guillermo did not know the way to the top perfectly, so he had to orientate himself with the compass and the ...

Alesund at entry to number of fjords
Aug 5, 2008 (6 photos)

... Balmoral Alesund is an attractive town with varied architecture on a promintory at the entrance to a number of fjords, surrounded by spectacular scenery. Climb to viewing point and cafe on hill above town to record spectacular panoramas.  

Cruise with the Stockholm
Aug 8, 2003 (17 photos)

... weeks cruise with the ship Stockholm, which turned into a beautiful experience. It was almost his first contact with Svalbard, and gave him the chance to see wonderful floating glacier fronts, climb mountains surrounded by glaciers, walk across bedieres ...

Plateau Berget
Apr 5, 2004 (7 photos)

... day was so foggy that we could hardly see more than 5 meters away. Kind of scary, because of the polar bear thing, but fun anyway. We actually thought a bit about geology in the ascent! We had lunch in the station, and came back from this half day trip.

Leaving Svalbard
Apr 4, 2008 (6 photos)

... them. We went back to hotel, had a coke and some chocolate and then boarded the bus to the airport. Ate lunch at the airport after checking in then boarded the plane for the flight via Tromso to Oslo. Good clear day so more pics of Svalbard from the plane.

Friendly seagull
Jun 6, 2004 (3 photos)

A very nice seagull...standing on the balcony of our Norwegian and Danish friends, Hilde and Sigve. They even liked to eat from their hands (what Bea checked personally).

Longyearbyen, the solitary Norwegian town
Aug 1, 2003 (36 photos)

... (1700 inhabitants), but its coal mining related activities are decreasing in favour of others as tourism and scientific research (being Svalbard a natural outdoor laboratory to test many important facts as the magnitude of the global climate change). ...

Gruvefjellet, the snow avalanche
Apr 6, 2004 (16 photos)

As a landscape, this was maybe one of the most beautiful days we had in Svalbard. However, we always enjoy a bit of risk in any adventure, so...why not being exposed to a snow avalanche? In previous days to this short one-day excursion, we had been ...

Gruvefjellet hillside, Sarkofagen and Moraine Cave
Mar 7, 2004 (20 photos)

... Nybyen. An easy ascent, but a nice view over the Longyearbyen Valley. The 2 glaciers that finish in the valley (Larsbreen and Longyearbreen) are separated by Sarkofagen. The moraine cave digs its way into the Larsbreen glacier, and runs for some tens of ...

Marine geology cruise (Greenland & Barents' Seas)
May 4, 2004 (14 photos)

The longest boat trip we've ever made began the 4th of May, 2004. In the Research Vessel Jan Mayen, an icebreaker property of the Norwegian Polar Institute, we set off for the Greenland and Barents Sea, where we expected to collect core samples to ...

Arctic fox
Apr 15, 2004 (2 photos)

Arctic fox... One of the most interesting (and few) mammals in Svalbard. It is quite evasive, partially beacause it needs it (they can feed from the remains left behind by polar bears), but beautiful as well, both in its summer and its winter coats. As you ...

Polar Bear!!!
May 8, 2004 (2 photos)

From the R/V Jan Mayen (although it took us a while to get the camera ready, and the pics are not from very close), we saw a polar bear. Those were very tense minutes, because before we saw it, the captain of the ship warned us about the high probability ...

Reindeers
Jan 15, 2004 (10 photos)

... arctic herbivorous animal! We have a special affection for these "little" boys, maybe because they are cruelly killed there by biologists and hunters who think that it is a nice sport! We had a lot of nice experiences with them because they were in every ...

Arriving in Svalbard
Apr 1, 2008 (5 photos)

Clear weather as we approached Svalbard meant we got some good pictures from the plane. Arrived in Longyearbyen a little late due to the extra passenger issue at Tromsø. We had to walk across the tarmac in Longyearbyen, -19C when we arrived so it was a ...

And Even Further North...
Jul 12, 2009 (5 photos)

... The main attraction for tourists here is polar bears.  There is a stable population of about 3000 bears in the Svalbard area and if you plan to venture from any settlement there are dire warnings about possible polar bear attacks.  My hostel was ...

Land of the midnight sun
Aug 23, 2008 (9 photos)

The starting point for my Arctic Expedition around Svalbard, an island archipelago lying North of the Norwegian mainland, was Longyearbyen.   Longyearbyen, lying at 78 degrees North, is the main town of Svalbard, with  about 1900 ...

Svalbard
Jul 13, 2007

... sadest thing was the huge amount of rubbish that was on the beach.  It all washes up from the gulf stream and ends up on the shores of Svalbard.  We collected ove 50 kgs on the way back to the Zodiacs on our return to the ship.In ...

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous...and Polar Bears!
Jul 14, 2009 (34 photos)

... economical cabin.  The pictures on the website looked nice but I've been fooled by that before so I was pleasantly surprised and found myself giggling while exploring my deluxe (by my standards) cabin:  champagne on ice, fresh fruit bowl, flat ...

Snowmobiling to East Coast of Svalbard
Apr 3, 2008 (4 photos)

... and have a very brief introduction into driving a snowmobile. We left at 9.45am for a 10 hour trip to the east coast of Svalbard and back. S was given a few chances to get up to speed for the trip but the dogsled fall left her low on confidence and she ...

Dogsledding in Svalbard
Apr 2, 2008 (3 photos)

... half way when we hit our first hill. Driver had to push the sled up the hill in knee deep snow. Switched places with S driving and me as passenger at the half way point. After a few minutes we hit a bump and S fell from the sled, luckily I managed to ...

Skidoo, seal and sun
Apr 26, 2007 (22 photos)

... polar bear and to do a treck in the Spitzberg. All the day done under the supervision of our guide armed with a riffle gun to use if a polar bear wants to get a small human snaks!! One good thing to add for Svalbard, if that the island is free of tax.

Midnight sun
Apr 25, 2007 (9 photos)

... earth First of all, if you are going near the north pole, please make sure that there is no marathon! I arrived in Svalbard (for those who wants to read a book in english: Northern lights from Philippe Pullman) in the beginning of the afternoon, ...

Arctic Adventure
Aug 23, 2008 (27 photos)

Life in the Arctic   For my expedition around Svalbard, I was on the Russian ship: Akademik Shokalskiy.  It is an ice-strengthened ship which can take about 50-60 passengers.  The captain and crew are Russian, while the hotel and ...

Retour par l'autoroute
May 6, 2005 (6 photos)

Nous voilà déjà sur le retour, 2 jours de skis pour retourner au bercail. Le guide qui voulait qu'on reste groupé, a maintenant récupéré la pulka avec les chiens et se laisse traîner par les chiens 500 mètres devant nous. Cool la vie. De plus, à moins qu'il soit ...

Pyramiden and Nordenskiolden Glacier
Jul 7, 2007 (24 photos)

If you're going to do a boat trip in Svalbard i would recommend the Pyramiden trip. A 10 hour boat trip visiting the abandoned mining town of Pyramiden and Nordenskiolden glacier. Saturday 7th of July, an overcast, windy day. Not the best conditions for ...

Nightswimming in the Arctic
Jul 9, 2007 (8 photos)

... other 2 got out that water very quickly much to the enjoyment of the crowd. Definitely feel dirty after swimming in there but i can now say i have swam in Arctic water and survived!!! when i find a suitable computer i will upload some comical photos.

Cercle Arctique : Spitzberg
May 1, 2005 (3 photos)

... me suis coincé le bas du dos. Ca va être folklo le trek !!! Quelques mots sur le Spitzberg, c'est l'île principale de l'archipel Svalbard géré par la Norvège au niveau du cercle polaire à 78° Nord Mon billet d'avion sous les yeux, je m'envol pour Oslo puis ...