We visited Svalbard (Spitsbergen) end of March 2019, i.e. during the winter period, since in our opinion the archipelago looks much nicer when everything is covered in snow and ice.

Of course, the consequence is that temperatures are a lot lower than during the summer period (-15 / -20 C°). Also, since there are no roads between the villages, travel is by way of snowscooters while in summer it is also possible to visit e.g. Barentsburg and Pyramiden by boat (although end of March Barentsburg could also be reached by boat).

As mentioned in a previous review, there are daily flights from Oslo to the ‘capital’ Longyearbyen by SAS and Norwegian (SAS stopping in Tromsø) – both arrive around noon.    

We booked a 4-day snowscooter trip which has the advantage that both the (magnificent) nature and the ‘human presence’ on Svalbard can be experienced.  During these four days we visited a.o. Russian coal mining town Barentsburg (with a visit to the mine, apparently the only working mine in the world which can be visited), ghost town Pyramiden, Tempelfjorden, Sassendalen, Sassen-Bünsow Land National Park and much more.

Highlights were the Nordenskiöld glacier with its blue ice (since the Bille fjord where the glacier ends was frozen, we could drive right up to the glacier) and Pyramiden, but during the whole trip there were stunning views. We also encountered numerous reindeer, a number of polar foxes and a polar bear a couple of hundred meters away (but unfortunately no northern lights).

In this respect, note that while in theory a self-drive is possible, in practice a guided tour is the best option since as mentioned there are no roads (so you have no idea where to drive) and one has to carry flares, a rifle, ... to scare off polar bears (and kill if this doesn’t help).

It’s also worth mentioning that the weather is very unpredictable and can vary a lot in different regions of the archipelago. We got caught in a (small) snowstorm one day which changed the planned itinerary a bit. Apart from this, in certain places the route also depends on the condition of the ice, i.e. is it thick enough to drive over it.  

In terms of accomodation, we stayed in the Barentsburg Hotel (the only hotel in town, but there is also a hostel), the Pyramiden Hotel (also the only hotel and also the only building still occupied) and Russki Dom in Longyearbyen. These were all of good quality but we cannot comment on price since they were included in the package. For diner, we can recommend the Red Bear in Barentsburg (with own brewery using glacier water), Isfjord Radio on Kapp Linné and Stationen in Longyearbyen where you can taste reindeer- or whale meat if you like.

In our opinion, Svalbard definitely deserves to be on the WHS list as natural- or as mixed site!