“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
PLA07-22 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 Plancius
Cruise date:
6 Jul - 15 Jul, 2022
Price:
5150 USD
North Spitsbergen, Arctic Summer
Watch for wildlife in iconic Arctic terrain
RVR26-22 The North Spitsbergen cruise sails to some of the remotest locations of northern Europe. The expedition gives you the opportunity to spot historic whaling remains, glaciers, a variety of Arctic birds including the Little Auk, and polar bears.
s/v Rembrandt van Rijn
Cruise date:
6 Jul - 16 Jul, 2022
Price:
3840 USD
Around Spitsbergen, In the realm of Polar Bear & Ice
Full Spitsbergen Circumnavigation
HDS07-22 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 Hondius
Cruise date:
7 Jul - 16 Jul, 2022
Price:
5150 USD
East Spitsbergen - Arctic Academy
Dutch scientific expedition to Spitsbergen
OTL08-22 This is a voyage, with a group of scientists on the ship, who will follow-up on the investigations which Dutch researchers began on Edgeøya in the 20th century. Academic voyage organized by the Dutch University of Groningen to the Island Edgeøya south...
m/v Ortelius
Cruise date:
13 Jul - 22 Jul, 2022
Price:
5150 USD
North Spitsbergen, Arctic Summer - Hike & Sail
Explore the shores and seas of an amazing island
RVR27-22 The North Spitsbergen cruise sails to some of the remotest locations of northern Europe. The expedition gives you the opportunity to spot historic whaling remains, glaciers, a variety of Arctic birds including the Little Auk, and polar bears.
s/v Rembrandt van Rijn
Cruise date:
16 Jul - 26 Jul, 2022
Price:
on request
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
Oceanwide participates in fourth annual Cleanup for Sarah
During Cleanup for Sarah, we encourage our staff and followers on social media to join us in removing litter from nature
Svalbard experiences
See the highlights you may experience:
Svalbard wildlife
See the highlights you may experience:
Map of
Svalbard cruise reviews
Amazing trip
What a great trip that was! A cruise near Spitsbergen. For us as a couple a first time that we experience such a trip. Everything was perfectly arranged. Activities every day. Delicious food. In the evening
Best experience I ever had
I have to say that I never expected the cruise to be so perfect. The whole crew and guide team were amazing, very knowledgeable (shared a lot of different information regarding the nature there), very nice a
Best trip ever
Me and some other students from the Arctic center in Groningen got the opportunity to go on this trip at a discount and I feel so grateful. It truly was a one in a lifetime experience, the guides were amazin
Read full review »Basecamp
It was an excellent trip with perfect Organisation and planning. The crew was very friendly and competently. We would like recommend Oceanwide to our friends.
Read full review »Fantastic trip to Svalbard
It was a great trip with beautiful, enthusiastic guides en great service on the ship.
Read full review »
Unforgetable trip
All of the crew, staff and guides were very kind, the ship was comfortable, and the food was excellent. Amazing landscapes. Zodiac cruises looking for wildlife and landings made me feel like an arctic explor
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
