Northern lights guide · Svalbard
The far north of the far north, where it's dark at lunchtime and the polar bears make the rules.
Longyearbyen is a small town on Svalbard, far out in the Arctic Ocean north of mainland Norway. In the middle of winter the sun stays so far below the horizon that noon looks much like midnight, which means the northern lights don't have to wait for evening. It's also polar bear country, and that changes how you go looking for them.
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days in a row without a sunrise in Longyearbyen
of proper darkness on 15 December
on the airport bus into town
of road on the whole of Svalbard, and none between the settlements
Good, and with a twist. The dark season here is long, and the region gets more clear nights than most places in the northern lights belt. From mid-November to late January the sun stays at least six degrees below the horizon, so day and night look much the same. If you're lucky, you can see the lights in the middle of the day.
The catch is the weather. It's the Arctic, storms happen, and tours get cancelled. Give yourself a few nights, and watch the cloud forecast on Yr more than the aurora forecast.
The official northern lights season runs from 1 October to the end of February. After that the light comes back fast, and by the end of April the sun doesn't set at all.
The one rule
Don't walk out of town to find the dark.
Polar bears can turn up anywhere on Svalbard, including near Longyearbyen. Outside the settlement you need a rifle, scaring devices and the training to use them. As a visitor, that means a guided tour. It's not a suggestion.
How long it's properly dark in Svalbard, on the 15th of each month this season. Worked out from the sun's position, so it updates itself every year.
"Dark" means the sun is more than 12 degrees below the horizon. Times are local, for a flat horizon. Mountains make it darker a bit earlier.
The dark season this year runs from 23 September to 19 March. The sun doesn't rise at all from about 27 October to 15 February. That's the polar night. In early November and in February you still get pastel twilight in the southern sky around noon, but from mid-November to late January even midday is as dark as the evening.
A bright moon washes out weak lights. Strong ones still show up fine, so don't cancel a trip over it. If you can pick your dates, aim for the week around one of these:
A heated tracked vehicle out of town into the dark, with a guide who carries the rifle. The most comfortable way to get away from the street lights in the polar night.
See the snowcat tripSnowmobiles, dog sleds and other ways to look for the lights. Every one of them leaves town with a guide, which is the point.
Find a northern lights tourOn a strong night you'll see the lights from Longyearbyen itself, over the rooftops and the mountains around the valley. The street lights wash out the faint ones, but you're allowed to walk around town as much as you like.
For a really dark sky you have to leave the settlement, and that's where Svalbard is different from the rest of Norway. The local guidelines are clear: always join an organised tour when you leave town. Guides carry a rifle and know the area. Hiring a snowmobile and heading off on your own is not an option for most visitors.
So book a tour, and book it early in your stay. If the weather cancels it, you still have time for another try.
On Svalbard there are really only two options: in town, or out of town with a guide. Wear shoes with grip and something reflective, and never walk on the road to look up.
The town is surrounded by mountains, so look up from wherever you are on a clear night. Find a spot away from the brightest lights, but stay inside the settlement.
Local tip
Ask at your hotel where the edge of the settlement is. It's closer than you think.
Snowcat, snowmobile or dog sled, the tour takes you away from the town lights into the valleys where the sky is properly dark. The guide watches for bears so you can watch the sky.
Fun factOn the mountain Breinosa above the valley is the Kjell Henriksen Observatory, a northern lights research station opened in 2007. It was moved up there partly to get away from light pollution.
See the snowcat tripWarm, guided and away from the lights. Check that warm clothing is included if you didn't pack for the Arctic.
See the snowcat tripAll of them leave town with a guide. Book early in your stay to leave room for a weather cancellation.
Find a northern lights tourFast, loud and fun, and the guide takes care of the route and the bears.
See the snowmobile tripsThis is where you get to meet the dogs. The ones you see in town aren't for petting.
Meet the sled dogsEverything is in town, and the airport bus stops at all the hotels.
You fly to Longyearbyen via Oslo or Tromsø. Svalbard is outside Schengen, so bring a passport or a national ID card even if you're coming from mainland Norway.
The airport bus meets every flight, stops at all the hotels and takes about 15 minutes. It cost 110 kroner at the last check. There's only 40 km of road on the whole archipelago and no road to the other settlements, so everything beyond town is by tour.
Longyearbyen has its own guidelines for visitors. Ask before you photograph people, and never photograph children. Don't touch, feed or approach the dogs in town, even for a photo. If you see a polar bear, move away calmly, get somewhere safe and call the Governor of Svalbard.
Wool closest to your skin, a warm middle layer, a windproof shell, a hat, mittens over thin gloves and two pairs of socks. You'll be standing still in the cold for a long time. Many tours lend you a thermal suit, so check before you pack.
Shops close on Norwegian public holidays. Most tours still run, and so does the sky. These fall in this year's dark season:
Northern Norway
Tromsø
The lights are up there. Your job is to get under a clear bit of sky.
48 days without sunrise
Finnmark
Alta
Smaller than Tromsø, fewer tour buses, and the sky has more than one way out of the clouds.
52 days without sunrise
The coastal route
The Northern Lights Promise
No lights, free trip. It sounds simple, and it nearly is. Here's the small print, in plain English.
What the free voyage really covers
Lofoten
Lofoten in 3 days
Red cabins, white peaks, fish drying on racks, and a sky that sometimes turns green. Here's how to fit it into three days.
Lights, villages and stockfish racks
Last checked November 2026. Sources: Visit Svalbard, Northern Lights Winter, Visit Svalbard, Longyearbyen community guidelines (2026), Visit Svalbard, travel information, Governor of Svalbard, polar bear safety, Avinor, to and from Svalbard Airport, Arctic Norway, daytime northern lights in Svalbard, UNIS, history of the Kjell Henriksen Observatory.