Backpacking Svalbard, Adventure in the Arctic

The plane was flying North. The sky was getting darker and the adrenaline was pumping up. My backpacking trip to Svalbard was about to start!

I looked at the map and I was closer to the North Pole than to the European mainland. After cruising for a few hours, the plane started to descend, went through the clouds, and a white land appeared in my eyes. Immersed in the dark and shaken by a strong wind, the plane landed. I just reached the Northernmost inhabited place in the world. I was in the Arctic.

Where is Svalbard?

If you look at a map, you’ll realise Svalbard is the closest you can ever get with a commercial flight to the North Pole, only 650 miles away.

It officially belongs to the Kingdom of Norway but it has some special regulations, it isn’t in the Schengen Area or the EEA, hence you need a passport to get there.

How to get there?

You can reach Svalbard by plane, from mainland Norway only. You fly to Longyearbyen, the capital city, from Oslo and Tromso. SAS and Norwegian are the only 2 airlines operating the route.

There are some cruise ships that visit Svalbard in summer, but prices are expectedly high.

When to go there?

Due to its location, Svalbard experiences 3 different seasons:

• Polar Summer (mid May-September): The Midnight Sun, perfect for hiking and spotting wildlife. Plus it’s the warmest season.
• Northern Lights Winter (October-February): Always dark, you can admire Northern Lights and experience a true Arctic winter.
• Sunny Winter (March-mid May): The light returns and the country gets back to life. Great for pictures and adventures in the snowy mountains.

I went backpacking Svalbard in the end of November, deep into the Northern Lights season. 5 days of darkness and some incredible activities. An average of minus 20 degrees and one of the most touching experience of my life: admiring the Aurora Borealis.

Backpacking Svalbard: What to do?

Longyearbyen

Capital city and home to about 2400 people, almost 95% of the entire population of the country. I went solo backpacking to Svalbard and it was an amazing experience. After landing at the airport I immediately realized what an Arctic wind is like: super cold and strong. Got by luggage and jumped on the only bus that runs in Svalbard, which took me to my hostel. Left my bag and went exploring the city by foot.

There isn’t much sightseeing to do in Longyearbyen. Check the Svalbard Church, the Svalbard Museum and a promenade where all the shops and restaurants are. Explore the area and stroll around the small houses where people live. You can have some very nice encounters with the local wildlife.

On the way back I was caught by a snow storm and it took me an hour to get back to the hostel.

Polar Bears

You’ll see many warning signs about polar bears.

Svalbard is estimated to have more polar bears than humans and some safety measures are required. When venturing outside of the main settlement you are obliged to carry a gun or a rifle to protect yourself. If you don’t have one, or you don’t have a shooting certificate, you must be accompanied by someone who has it, and that’s the reason everything you want to do in Svalbard as a tourist needs to be done with a guide who has a rifle.

They say it’s safe to walk in town without carrying a gun but they sometimes find polar bear footprints there too… so during my daily 3km walk from the hostel to town I was always a bit worried of a possible unfortunate encounter!

As mentioned, Longyearbyen doesn’t offer much to do, but it’s the base for some incredible Svalbard activities:

Hike the Plateau Mountain

A few guys from the hostel had booked this tour so I decided to join them. It is quite an easy hike of about 45 mins to reach the top of this small mountain, overlooking Longyearbyen. It was super cold so when we reached the top so we warmed up with hot blackberry tea we had in the thermos, while enjoying the amazing view.

Visit the Ice Caves

The hiking trip to the Ice Caves was more challenging. It was a group of 8 people, and it took us around 4 hours to reach the caves. We had headlamps as we were further away from the town and behind a mountain, so the lights of Longyearbyen could not enlighten our route.

We were in complete darkness, hiking snowy mountains in the Arctic, possibly home to some polar bears. I was ecstatic. We stopped here and there to admire the view, and I really couldn’t believe where I was.

We finally reached the caves and the guide had to dig in the snow to find the entrance, so tiny that only one person at time could fit.We entered inside the mountain and walked about 5 mins until we reached a point where the passage was getting so narrow that we couldn’t fit it anymore.

It was nicely warmer inside the cave as it maintains a temperature just a few degrees below 0 and there is no wind. I took advantage of that to eat my sandwich as I couldn’t take my gloves off outside!

And this is a short clip of me struggling to get out of the cave.

Super enthusiast about the adventure we started to hike back to town, when all of a sudden the guy in front of me turns his head and starts yelling: STOP!! NORTHERN LIGHTS!

Northern Lights in Svalbard

Wait whaat? We all turned towards the mountain behind us and saw this nature wander. Magical!

The adrenaline was pumping and I started going back towards the top of that mountain to have a better view. 2 other guys followed me and we started to run, admiring that beauty. The guide was yelling to stop and come back, that it was too dangerous for polar bears and we needed to stay near him. But hey, I couldn’t really understand anything at that point, I was high on adrenaline and couldn’t stop. After some minutes of running we reached a nice spot and we looked back. The group was gone, we were immersed in the dark, on a polar mountain, surrounded by this green magical lights: the Aurora Borealis.

I still have goose bumps today thinking about that moment, and admiring those magical lights in one of the most remote places of the planet! It was definitely the highlight of my backpacking trip to Svalbard.

Adventure to Trollsteinen

The day after the caves I decided to hike Trollsteinen, the hardest trip that could be organized from Longyearbyen. There were 3 other people joining and the guide explained the complexity of the hike. It would take more than 10 hours and once we start there is no way back. Also, the night before there was a strong snow storm so we would need snow shoes and there could be avalanches.

We started the hike and it was much colder than the day before. After a few hours we reached the caves, that were on the way to Trollsteinen. A person in the group was having a hard time following us and the guide explained that we needed to go faster as another storm was expected later that day and it was too dangerous to face it at the summit. C’mon dude hurry up I wanna make it to the top!

I think he was suffering and he had frozen feet but didn’t give up and kept up with the rest of us. After a couple more hours of hiking the side of the mountain we finally reached the to. Only 45 minutes of hiking the crest were separating us from the peak.

Hiking on the crest of a snowy mountain in the arctic with precipices on both sides it is something I won’t forget. The wind was blowing hard, the snow began to fall and all of a sudden we were in the middle of an arctic storm, while on the crest of the mountain. The worst case scenario as described by the guide.

He suggested to stop there and go back but hey I am not gonna give up, I want to reach the top! The other guys kind of agreed with me so we kept going. We tied each other’s up with a rope and kept walking on the crest trying not to fall. It was insanely cold, the perceived temperature with the wind was almost minus 40 and we were exhausted. But then we saw it, ahead of us, this huge rock full of snow, the peak of Trollsteinen.

We reached it and the last effort we needed was to climb that 3 meter rock covedered by snow and ice, to get to the top. I went on a quick exploration with the guide to check what was the best side to climb. However the wind and the snow were too strong and the whole rock was full of ice. I tried to put my foot on an icy rock and started to climb but I slipped and luckily the guided hold my arm. There was a precipice all around us and it was hard to keep the balance under such a strong snow storm. Unfortunately we couldn’t do the last climb and reach the top. But hey, it was still one of the craziest adventures of my life!

When backpacking Svalbard you must do the trip to Trollsteinen, it’s an unforgettable experience!

Visit the Coal Mine and the Global Seed Vault

Coal mining has been the most important industry in Svalbard ever since and that’s the main reason the first settlements were built. Over the decades, miners from all over the world have worked in Svalbard and the 2 small towns of Barentsburg and Ny Alesund were built only for miners to live and work there.

Nowadays mining is still an industry but tourism is the main source of income for the island. I went on this tour to see one of Svalbard’s oldest coal mines and understand what the life of a miner used to be there.

We walked inside the mine for a few hundred meters, and the guide explained us the main principles how a mine works. Not much of an adventure here, but definitely interesting to know more about mines and discover a bit of the history of this remote country. Plus, I had never been in a mine before!

On the way back we stopped to see the Global Seed Vault. Just from the outside though, no one is allowed in. The Vault holds more than 980,000 seed samples, originating from almost every country in the world. It is essentially a huge safety deposit box, keeping the world’s largest collection of agricultural biodiversity.

Svalbard was chosen for its remoteness and the permafrost that allows to maintain a stable temperature all year long. And additional cooling system inside the Vault keeps the temperature at minus 18 degrees.

Backpacking Svalbard: Where to stay?

There is only one backpacker hostel in Svalbard, which happens to be the Northernmost hostel in the world: Gjestehuset 102. It is located right at the end of the settlement of Longyearbyen and it requires a bit of walk to get to town. Prices are high but that’s what you expect in Svalbard. It is well maintained, offers free breakfast and you can book all the activities at the reception.

Backpacking Svalbard: What to eat?

As I was backpacking Svalbard on a budget I didn’t go eat out much, as prices are very high. Buy groceries at the Northernmost supermarket in the world, and cook in the kitchen of the hostel.

However, if you are not vegetarian, there is one thing you need to try in Svalbard: the Seal. It is a local speciality and probably the only place where you can actually taste it. It tastes like a mix between fish and meat and it has a dark colour which resembles the beef.

Reindeer steak with berries and potatoes is also an amazing local dish to try and it tastes so good! I got this meal for free, all paid by Norwegian, as my flight got cancelled and I had another day in Longyearbyen, with all expenses covered by the airline.

Backpacking Svalbard: Where to party?

With all those adventures during the day I wasn’t really planning on partying in Svalbard. I was scheduled to leave on a Friday morning but the plane couldn’t land due to another snow storm and I got to stay another night in Longyearbyen.

So it was Friday Night, perfect to enjoy Svalbard Nightlife.

SvalBar (great name, isn’t it?) is the place to be for some pregame. Pretty much anyone from the island goes there in the weekend so it is packed and it hosts some great parties! I wasn’t expecting Svalbard to be so international but I actually met people from all around the world that were living there! After having a great start of the night, at around 1 or 2 am it is time to hit the club.

Huset Nightclub: It is the only club in Svalbard and you should check it out. A little far away from town, you might need a taxi or walk around 30 mins from SvalBar. It is open until 4-5 am and you can have some good fun there!

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The next day the weather was great and I returned to Oslo. One night there and back to Italy, just in time for celebrating Christmas with the fam and leaving again for a new adventure to Central America!

Backpacking Svalbard: Interesting things to know

-In some of the small settlements people don’t lock their cars in case a polar bear shows up one can hide in the car.

-No bodies can be buried in Svalbard because it is too cold and they are sent to mainland Norway.

-The tax on alcohol is lower in Svalbard than in mainland Norway so many Norwegians fly to Svalbard for the weekend to get cheap booze.

-Everything there is the Northernmost (supermarket, public bus, hostel…)

-It belongs to Norway but you need a passport to go there (also Norwegians need to show it).

-it is a Visa free zone and anyone can live in Svalbard.

-To see Northern lights you have to look South. Svalbard is located even farther North than the Aurora Borealis.

Tips: Check the website Visit Svalbard to plan and arrange all your activities in Svalbard.

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If you are thrilled by remote places in the far North of the world, check out the article about my trip to Lapland. I went to Finnish Lapland right before going backpacking to Svalbard. I spent a fantastic time in the Santa Claus land, full of reindeers, incredible landscapes and frozen lakes where to cool off after a hot sauna.

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