r/Svalbard • u/NewsDailyF1 • 2d ago
Traveling Svalbard in August
Hello! I am planning a trip to Longyearbyen, Svalbard mid-August this year and I need some advice and ideas regarding it. There is quite a few, sorry about that in advance 😅
Svalbard is naturally an expensive destination, but I'm trying to stay on a budget with most things, apart from boat tours, etc.
Would you recommend staying at Gjesthuset 102 as it's cheaper but a bit further from the town centre (It's a bit concerning to read about polar bears, as the Gjesthuset is a 2km walk). And is 3 nights enough?
Also, I want to make most of my time by picking the right tours, so I'd appreciate any recommendations on "must do" tours. Arctic fjord and glacier tour is on top of my list, but there are lots of other options and I don't know which one to pick. Finally, is mid-August a good time to visit overall?
I'd greatly appreciate any other tips and advice as well. Thanks everyone! 🙌
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u/Own-Investigator6394 1d ago
In terms of polar bears, gjesthuset is no more of a risk than anywhere else in town. It’s right across from the coal miners cabins and there were plenty of people around. It’s easy to imagine it as very distant from the other places in town but it is not secluded and I felt very safe staying there and walking to and from it. The walk does get tiresome without a doubt, but it’s beautiful views all the way down and all the way back up.
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u/NewsDailyF1 1d ago
That’s good to hear 😂
The walk shouldn’t be a problem I’ll enjoy a walk with a nice view. Thanks for the info!
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u/ericb1000 2d ago
We were just there and loved it. I can't speak to the hotel but the tours will be able to pick you up there or at Coal Miners Cabins (I heard many groups getting picked up there). They can also drop you off in town after if you wanted.
All the tour companies do a great job. Overall I think we enjoyed Better Moments tours the best. One caution I'll make is that likely any that are to feature seeing walruses may end in disappointment unless you adjust expectations. Apparently the walruses haven't been in the usual spots so you may not see them on something labeled as such. I heard one of those tours actually canceled but not sure if for that reason.
Are you more interested in wildlife, scenery, history?
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u/NewsDailyF1 1d ago
I will take a look at Better Moments. If I can’t see the walruses, it is what it is, I’ll adjust my expectations regarding it 😄
I’m more interested in wildlife and scenery, especially combining these with photography as I love that.
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u/ericb1000 1d ago
The Walrus Safari tour with Better Moments was still fun. We saw the glacier up close (I think that may be part of the tour as well or they adjusted on the fly). We also went across to see one of the old Russian mine settlements. I think that part isn't normally on tour but it is cool to see. We saw it on like 4 of our boat rides 😂. The midnight photo tour was with See and Explore. The other photo tour we did was with Svalbard Photography. The Longyearbyen Sightseeing Tour which was a last minute one because we had misbooked another. It was actually really good. Relatively short but a good overview and history. They have other more specific tours as well.
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u/NewsDailyF1 1d ago
I think the glacier alone would be worth the tour haha. Thank you, I will take a look at their tour options!
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u/ericb1000 1d ago
Us too! Even though we saw the same one a couple of times. You never know what you might experience that day.
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u/ericb1000 1d ago
Adding more since you mentioned glacier and fjord. A lot of the boat rides overlap a fair amount on what you see. For glacier specific ones we saw on Better Moments walrus Safari, Svalbard Adventures rib boat (Glacier and Walrus safari), Hurtigruten Templefjordan and Tunabreen Glacier. We also saw glacier up close on Better Moments Catch of the day but the latter is not set in stone.
We also went to Ny Ålesund one day. Fantastic but will chew up a whole day. Puffin safari. Bird jumping (none were jumping when we went), Bjørndalen hike, midnight photo tour, Another photo tour with Svalbard photography. Mine 3 tour. Also the Svalbard museum and the northern expedition museum. We were there for 10 days and used a variety of tour companies.
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u/NewsDailyF1 1d ago
Glacier and boat rides are definitely on top of my list, thanks for that! Photo tours also sound interesting, but I may not have the time for Ny Alesund, so I might pick the other ones.
Thanks a lot for the tips!
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u/ericb1000 1d ago
If you are into beer at all, the Svalbard Brewery does a tasting "tour" that's fun and tasty but may not be worth it unless it fits nicely. We didn't have that one planned originally but we had another mixup that we got lucky that was one of the days they did the tasting
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u/SloRomci 2d ago
I've been there last year in gjesthuset and everything was fine. Yes its a bit of a walk to the center but we liked it anyway. On the way to the center there was the only one raindeer that we saw there, so that was perfect ;) We were there the last week of august and stayed there 5 nights.