Svalbard, Norway

[Masbroughlad]

Hope to be heading for Svalbard in late November. Anyone been there who can give any thoughts please?

Went to Tromso 2 years ago in search of the Northern Lights but they never showed. Hopefully better luck this time.

No trains there, but believe there is an airport bus?

 

[rf_ioliver]

Went to Tromso 2 years ago in search of the Northern Lights but they never showed. Hopefully better luck this time.

No idea about the transport, other than there is an airport, but aurora is a real possibility...BUT...depends upon whether the Sun has been active and more importantly that the sky is dark (if you see aurora in the day then it was one **** of an outburst by the Sun), AND, the sky is clear - clouds ruin everything when it comes to aurora spotting.

This is a useful site regarding aurora planning: http://spaceweather.com/

Enjoy!

Ian

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I was on an Air New Zealand flight back to the UK once, on the polar leg from Los Angeles.
We were woken up for breakfast by the crew to be told we had missed a fantastic aurora display while over Greenland.
Grrrr...

 

[Firesprite]

Hope to be heading for Svalbard in late November. Anyone been there who can give any thoughts please?

Went to Tromso 2 years ago in search of the Northern Lights but they never showed. Hopefully better luck this time.

No trains there, but believe there is an airport bus?

There is an airport shuttle corresponding to all arrivals and departures. The airport shuttle stops at every Hotel in Longyearbyen. The airport shuttle does not accept foreign currency, but you can pay by credit card.

As for the Northern Lights it depends on how active the Sun is. Aurora activity is cyclic, peaking roughly every 11 years. The next peak period is 2024, At this time in the cycle you will have about 50/50 chance of see the Aurora.

 

[theageofthetra]

The biggest issue with Svalbard in the weather- the airport can often close. I would seriously look at visiting as part of a cruise on a small ship as once you take into account flight and accommodation costs it may not be that much more expensive. Also food is v expensive.

If you are going under your own steam I would suggest Tromso as a base with a hotel with a short cancellation policy clause then if there is a window of good weather go to Svalbard.

 

[Calthrop]

Hope to be heading for Svalbard in late November...

No trains there, but believe there is an airport bus?

To be awkward / pedantic, the above (my bolding) is not necessarily 100% true. This island group has had in the past, industrial lines serving its various coal mines. Some ten years ago, one such line was still active at a mine at the Russsian settlement of Barentsburg, near Longyearbyen; don’t know whether that still holds good.

At the port of Ny Ålesund, a short stretch of 891mm? 900mm? (accounts differ) gauge track is preserved, with on it Borsig 0-4-0T no. 2 of 1909, and a few wagons. This loco was recently away from Svalbard to undergo conservation work; may now be back in its normal place.

My computer skills are poor, and I seem to have great problems nowadays with creating links; however, Googling “Svalbard railways” yields a surprising amount of information.

 

[185]

The snowmobile trip over the frozen fjord to the abandoned Russian mining settlement at Pyramiden is a must at certain times of the year.