“Spitsbergen” is Dutch - spits meaning “pointed” and bergen meaning “mountains.” It was so named in 1596 by Dutch Arctic explorer Willem Barentsz. It took some time for the name to catch on – English whalers would refer to the archipelago as Greenland until the late 1780s. The Norwegian name is Svalbard.
Touched by three seas – The Norwegian Sea, the Greenland Sea, and the Arctic Ocean – Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago of northern Norway.
Its rugged mountains and rolling tundra offer plenty of opportunities for hiking and snowshoeing. Spitsbergen is by far the largest wilderness area of Europe and offers some of the finest scenery and wildlife experiences in the world.
Cruises to Svalbard
Around Spitsbergen, In the realm of Polar Bear & Ice
Full Spitsbergen Circumnavigation
OTL11-22 Take a cruise around Spitsbergen and explore the icy waters of the North Atlantic. This special expedition offers you the chance to catch site of whales, reindeer, Arctic foxes, walruses, seals, and the star attraction, the polar bear.
m/v Ortelius
Cruise date:
9 Aug - 18 Aug, 2022
Price:
5150 USD
Around Spitsbergen - Kvitoya, In the realm of Polar Bear & Ice
Full Spitsbergen Circumnavigation with a visit to Kvitøya
PLA11-22 This cruise around Spitsbergen gives you a great chance to see whales, foxes, reindeer, seals, and polar bears. The expedition will make a landing on the island of Kvitøya, a site of historical significance, and home of a large walrus population.
m/v Plancius
Cruise date:
11 Aug - 20 Aug, 2022
Price:
5150 USD
North Spitsbergen - Farthest North
Sailing Farthest North
HDS11X22 Start your North Spitsbergen cruise with a trek around historic Longyearben, then join our expedition to the north of the island to take in the fantastically beautiful landscapes, the thousands of seabirds, and of course the star of the show, the polar...
m/v Hondius
Cruise date:
16 Aug - 23 Aug, 2022
Price:
3710 USD
Around Spitsbergen - Kvitoya, In the realm of Polar Bear & Ice
Full Spitsbergen Circumnavigation with a visit to Kvitøya
PLA12-22 This cruise around Spitsbergen gives you a great chance to see whales, foxes, reindeer, seals, and polar bears. The expedition will make a landing on the island of Kvitøya, a site of historical significance, and home of a large walrus population.
m/v Plancius
Cruise date:
20 Aug - 29 Aug, 2022
Price:
on request
North Spitsbergen - Farthest North
Sailing Farthest North
HDS12-22 Start your North Spitsbergen cruise with a trek around historic Longyearben, then join our expedition to the north of the island to take in the fantastically beautiful landscapes, the thousands of seabirds, and of course the star of the show, the polar...
m/v Hondius
Cruise date:
23 Aug - 30 Aug, 2022
Price:
3850 USD
Svalbard cruise video
Svalbard photo
Svalbard story
Sights and Sounds of Spitsbergen Aboard the New Hondius
Looking out over the pack ice after reaching 80 degrees north, this was the moment when I really felt like I was in the
Svalbard blog
Insider’s Expedition: Interview with Toto van der Horst-Vermue
As part of our reservations department, one of Toto’s responsibilities is helping book our guests on the many Antarctic
Svalbard experiences
See the highlights you may experience:
Svalbard wildlife
See the highlights you may experience:
Map of
Svalbard cruise reviews
Amazing Boat, Amazing Guides, Amazing Hotel service- Everything was absolutely Incredible
It was like an absolute dream! The activities were action packed, flexible, and we always felt incredibly safe. The ship and hotel crew were incredibly kind and helpful, catering to our every need. The guide
Read full review »Arctic Adventure
Wonderful Arctic experience with Oceanwide Expeditions on MV Plancius around Spitzbergen. So much more than we had hoped for. Highly recommended.
Read full review »Trip of a lifetime
Myself and my 11 yrs old twin boys went on this trip. Words can not describe how fantastic it was. I was a little bit apprehensive that the boys were a bit young but they had a fantastic time. I can not faul
Read full review »Amazing experience
This was a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a destination one can only dream of. The dream was realized thanks to the exquisite organisation of Oceanwide. The ship, the crew, everything and everybody went the extr
Read full review »Abundant wildlife, spectacular zodiac cruises
Abundant wildlife, including 4 polar bears, 2 blue whales, 40+ belugas, arctic foxes, reindeer, ivory gulls, king eider. Very spectacular zodiac cruises near glaciers. Beautuful hikes. Excellent staff. Great
Read full review »Svalbard
Good expedition with seeing beautiful arctic wildlife
Read full review »Svalbard FAQ
Where do we go on Svalbard?
Svalbard is one of our core Arctic locations, a great place for enjoying wildlife, activities, and scenery. For this reason, there are too many areas we visit to list here. For details on intended routes and landing sites, see the Svalbard page at ou
Read more »What is the best time to travel to Spitsbergen?
This depends on what you want to experience at Spitsbergen. In case you want to experience the Polar night or the Aurora Borealis, November to February is the best time to travel to Spitsbergen. Do you want to see the midnight sun and enjoy boat trip
Read more »When is the winter season in Spitsbergen?
The sun sets for the last time in Spitsbergen in mid-September and rises above the horizon again in mid-February. The winter landscape and temperatures prevail until May.
Read more »What is the temperature and weather like in Svalbard?
The weather in Spitsbergen differs per area and location. Although snow can occur throughout the year in Svalbard, the North Atlantic Current helps provide Svalbard with warmer temperatures than many other areas within similar latitudes. However
Read more »Where can I see polar bears during a Svalbard voyage?
As polar bears can travel great distances in a day, it is impossible to say where and when we will spot them. Sea ice is the best place to look, so we tend to focus our efforts there. Though you will have a good chance of seeing polar bears in Svalba
Read more »What wildlife can I see in Spitsbergen?
Your cruise to Spitsbergen will come with an enormous amount of opportunity to spot wildlife. Polar bears are obviously the main attraction regarding wildlife. There are six national parks throughout Spitsbergen, and Svalbard alone is known to c
Read more »
About
Svalbard weather
Svalbard is located in the high Arctic and shares the Arctic’s designation as a technical desert when it comes to annual precipitation (or lack thereof). Particularly the eastern part of Svalbard sees relatively little precipitation annually. The west coast sees more precipitation in the form of rain and snow. Depending on when you take your Svalbard cruise you can expect temperatures to average anywhere from -14°C in the winter to 6°C in the summer.
Facts about Svalbard
- The name “Svalbard” is an old name (going back to at least the 1100s) meaning “cold coasts.”
- Longyearbyen, Svalbard’s only true town, was founded by an American in 1906. It has a little over 2000 inhabitants.
- Almost 65% of Svalbard is a protected nature reserve or a national park.
- Svalbard is the archipelago (chain of islands) off the north coast of Norway.
- Svalbard has the world’s third biggest ice sheet, coming behind only Antarctica and Greenland.
- Svalbard is made up of 4 main islands, and almost 150 smaller islands.
- Nobody gets buried on Svalbard. Because of the cold in the ground bodies generally fail to decompose, meaning that the graveyards would quickly get overrun. Therefore bodies are shipped to mainland Norway and buried there.
Travel to Svalbard
Travel to Svalbard and experience one of the Earth’s northernmost human inhabitations. Your Svalbard expedition cruise will take you to a beautifully stark landscape of glaciers and rugged snow-capped mountains. During your Svalbard holiday you’ll explore the preserved and protected history of the region, watch high Arctic wildlife on both land and at sea. Come during the late autumn/early winter months and your Svalbard cruise will be capped off by the great wonder of the Polar skies, the Northern Lights. For the polar bear enthusiasts special polar bear itineraries are arranged to offer the best polar bear experiences.
Polar bear video by Vedat Mihmat
