Eleven bookable guided hikes from Longyearbyen, from a 2.5-hour town walk to the Sarkofagen summit. Why you cannot legally hike alone, real prices, and how hard each one is.
Eleven real guided walks from $161, with 48 reviews across the six that carry a rating. Every one is guided, because outside the settlement the law requires someone to carry protection against polar bears.
Listings checked by Lars Hansen, Norway tour specialist
Short answer
You cannot legally walk outside Longyearbyen without protection against polar bears, which is why every hike here is guided and why the guide carries a rifle. Eleven real listings run from about $161 for the Platafjellet plateau to $451 for guided ski touring, covering summit hikes, valley walks, glacier snowshoe routes and one trek to an abandoned mining settlement.
Hiking in Svalbard is unlike hiking anywhere else in Europe, and the difference is legal rather than physical. Outside the settlement boundary you are required to carry means of frightening off a polar bear, and visitors on an organised tour are exempt from that duty because the guide carries it. So the guided walk is not a service you are buying for navigation. It is the mechanism that makes the walk possible at all.
The terrain rewards it. There are no trees, so the views are unbroken from the first hundred metres of ascent. The ground is loose scree and moraine rather than path, and in summer it is often boggy tundra over permafrost. Nothing here is technical, but almost everything is harder than the distance suggests.
Ratings and review counts are the platforms' own figures, read off each live listing. Where a listing has no reviews yet we say so rather than leaving a blank. Prices are the from-prices shown at the time of reading and move with your date and country.
Most reviewed in this category
Explore the Arctic wilderness on a guided trekking in Bjørndalen. Spot wildlife, enjoy hot drinks and snacks, and learn about life in the High Arctic from your guide.
The locals favorite summit. Join us on a hike to the summit of Platåfjellet in Longyearbyen. A guided moderate hike with panoramic views of Adventfjorden, town and surrounding mountains
Hike to the wide plateau of Platåfjellet on a guided tour from Longyearbyen. Learn about the geology, mining era, and tundra ecology of the area from your historian guide.
Hike to the summit of Blomsterdalshøgda on a guided tour from Longyearbyen. Enjoy a simple outdoor snack or lunch at the top and take in panoramic views over Adventfjorden.
Embark on a challenging hike to the Sarkofagen summit in the Arctic. Traverse the Larsbreen glacier, enjoy breathtaking views, and learn about the region's history from your guide.
Join a guided HYPE HIKE from Longyearbyen and reach the peak around the city in just 2.5 hours. Enjoy snacks and warm drinks, and get picked up from your accommodation.
Experience true Arctic freedom on a guided ski touring adventure in the wild mountains surrounding Longyearbyen.
Join our guided hike to Svalbard’s glaciers from Longyearbyen. Explore a frozen landscape, learn about the Arctic, and enjoy hot drinks and snacks in the wilderness.
Leave Longyearbyen behind and explore Svalbard's stunning Arctic fjords on a guided hike through spectacular mountain landscapes, with breathtaking views and true Arctic wilderness.
Create your perfect Svalbard experience with a private local guide. Explore Longyearbyen and the Arctic landscape with a tailor-made itinerary designed around your interests.
A trek out of Longyearbyen along coastal trails and moraine fields to Adventcity, an abandoned coal settlement left to rust since the 1950s, with a historian guide explaining why people came and why they left.
Real durations and from-prices, with an honest read on effort. Ascent figures are from Longyearbyen at roughly sea level.
| Route | Time | Effort | Real from-price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Town walking tour | 2.5 hours | Easy, flat | $112 | Longyearbyen itself with a local guide. No rifle needed inside the settlement. |
| Bjorndalen Arctic walk | 3.5 hours | Easy to moderate, valley floor | $193 | The most reviewed walk in this category. Wildlife, the Seed Vault, snacks. |
| Platafjellet plateau | 2.5 to 3.5 hours | Moderate. A steady climb on loose ground. | $161 | The classic view straight down onto the town and Adventfjorden |
| Blomsterdalshogda | 2.5 hours | Moderate | $201 | The ridge above the Seed Vault, quieter than Platafjellet |
| Sarkofagen summit | 4 hours | Hard. Sustained ascent, scree, exposed top. | $227 | The best summit near town, over the Longyearbreen glacier |
| Glacier snowshoe | 3.5 to 5 hours | Moderate to hard in deep snow | $272 | Onto a glacier in winter, often with an ice-cave stop |
| Ski touring | 5 hours | Hard, and you need to be able to ski | $451 | Backcountry ascent and descent in the spring window |
| Why every hike is guided | The polar bear protection duty applies the moment you cross the settlement boundary. Visitors on an organised tour are exempt because the operator carries the rifle and the responsibility. |
|---|---|
| Summer hiking season | Roughly June to September, once the snow has gone from the lower slopes. Snowshoe versions of similar routes run through the winter instead. |
| Ground underfoot | Loose scree, glacial moraine, and boggy tundra over permafrost in summer. Waterproof boots with ankle support, not trail runners. |
| River crossings | Several summer routes cross meltwater streams that rise through the day. Guides plan around it, but expect wet feet on the longer walks. |
| What is supplied | Guide, rifle, safety equipment, and snowshoes or crampons where the route needs them. Boots are sometimes rentable; check the listing. |
| Weather | No shelter and no trees means wind is the deciding factor. Hikes get cancelled less often than boats, but they get rerouted regularly. |
Not outside Longyearbyen, in any practical sense. Anyone leaving the settlements must carry means of frightening off a polar bear, and getting your own firearm permission takes up to eight weeks. Visitors on an organised tour are exempt from that duty because the guide carries it. Inside the town boundary you can walk freely and unarmed.
Platafjellet for the view, at around $161 and two and a half to three and a half hours: it is the flat-topped mountain directly above town and it delivers the photograph everyone comes back with. Sarkofagen is the better mountain if you want a real summit and can handle four hard hours. Bjorndalen is the best all-round day if you want wildlife and the Seed Vault without the ascent.
Harder than the durations suggest. There are no maintained paths, so you are on scree, moraine and boggy tundra, and in winter you are snowshoeing through deep powder. Nothing is technical and no route needs climbing skill, but a four-hour Svalbard hike is more work than a four-hour hike almost anywhere in mainland Europe.
Snow-free hiking runs roughly June to September, with July and August the most reliable. Outside that the same terrain is walked on snowshoes, which several operators run from about November through April. April and May are the awkward months, too wet for snowshoes and too snowy for boots.
Waterproof boots with ankle support, wool base layers, a windproof shell and a warm mid-layer, even in July. There is no shelter and no trees, so wind is the thing that makes you cold rather than air temperature. Bring more layers than the forecast suggests and something waterproof for your legs if the route crosses meltwater.
Worth a look for the snowshoe routes that end underground.
Worth a look for walking to the bird cliffs.
Worth a look for the flat, in-town alternative.
Reading first: the rule that makes hikes guided · boots, layers and the wind · what else fills the days
Compare all eight categories by season or go back to every Svalbard tour.