Best Hikes in Norway

14 Best Hikes in Norway to Put on Your Bucket List

Julie Norway, Svalbard 16 Comments

If you ask us, putting one foot in front of another on a hiking trail is the best way to experience Norway. Hike along the jagged mountain peaks of the Lofoten Islands, the picture perfect fjords in southern Norway, and through some of the world’s most awe-inspiring landscapes. Stand on iconic Trolltunga and Pulpit Rock and even Kjeragbolten (if you …

Things to do in Svalbard

Svalbard Travel Guide & Itinerary for First Time Visitors

Julie Norway, Svalbard 14 Comments

Svalbard. An arctic playground where there are more polar bears than people. This is a land of glaciers, the northern lights, the midnight sun, and frozen tundra. Svalbard may seem barren, but it is filled with arctic wildlife like reindeer, walrus, and polar bears. If you like the idea of exploring the great outdoors, your options are almost endless, winter …

Things to do in Longyearbyen

Top Ten Things to Do in Longyearbyen, Svalbard

Julie Norway, Svalbard 5 Comments

Longyearbyen is the world’s northernmost city. This is a town where the streets have no names, reindeer wander through town, and there are more snowmobiles than people. If you have plans to visit Svalbard, Longyearbyen is where you will eat, sleep, and fill your time in between arctic adventures. The best thing to do in Svalbard is to leave the …

Cost to Visit Svalbard

Svalbard Budget: How Much Does it Cost to Visit Svalbard?

Julie Norway, Svalbard 12 Comments

Do you have big dreams of visiting Svalbard? Then you probably also have the question how much does it cost to visit Svalbard? The short answer: it can be very expensive. We spent four days in Svalbard at the end of June 2018. Here is our Svalbard budget, with a full cost breakdown of flights, activities, food, and accommodations. Why …

Pack for Svalbard

Svalbard Packing List: What to Pack for the Summer Months

Julie Norway, Svalbard 4 Comments

One of the biggest questions we had while planning our trip to Svalbard was “what do we pack?” Svalbard is located so far north that it’s easy to assume that it will be ice-cold all year round. Good news! That’s not the case, at least not during the summer months. Even so, we packed an assortment of lightweight, warm clothes …

Pyramiden Svalbard

Cruising to Pyramiden, a Russian Ghost Town in Svalbard

Julie Norway, Svalbard 10 Comments

Cruising to Pyramiden, an abandoned Russian mining town near Longyearbyen, is one of the most popular excursions in Svalbard. On the way, you also get to see a massive glacier, go whale watching, and if you’re really lucky, you could even spot a polar bear. According to National Geographic, Pyramiden is one of the top ten best ghost towns to …

Hiorthfjellet

Kayaking Adventfjord and Hiking Hiorthfjellet: A One Day Adventure in Svalbard

Julie Norway, Svalbard 5 Comments

Svalbard offers a wide range of adventure activites. Ride on a rib boat and search for walrus, kayak in front of an active glacier, or cruise out to an abandoned mining town. For a really cool one day adventure, how about kayaking across Adventfjord and then hiking to the summit of Hiorthfjellet, one of the tallest mountains in the area? …