Photograph of Polar Bear

Polar Bear on Spitsbergen by Gary Crowder.

SPITSBERGEN

Best Wildlife in Spitsbergen

Mammals
Polar Bear, Walrus, Arctic Fox, Reindeer, and Bearded, Harp and Ringed Seals. Also a chance of Beluga, and Bowhead and other whales.

Birds
Atlantic Puffin, Little Auk, Brunnich's Guillemot, Grey Phalarope, Ivory and Sabine's Gulls, Long-tailed Skua, King and Common Eiders, Barnacle, Brent (pale-bellied) and Pink-footed Geese, Long-tailed Duck, Rock Ptarmigan, Red-throated Diver, Northern Fulmar (mostly dark 'blue' form), Purple Sandpiper, Glaucous Gull, (Black-legged) Kittiwake, Arctic Tern, Great, Arctic and Pomarine Skuas, Black Guillemot and Snow Bunting.

Plants
The colourful Arctic flora includes abundant Saxifrages.

Best Sites for Wildlife in Spitsbergen

The extent of the pack ice is unpredictable but it is usually at a minimum in late July-early August when it is even possible to circumnavigate Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, but should there be more pack ice than usual at this time of the year or at other times during the short northern summer cruising season it may not be possible for the ships to visit all of the sites listed below. However, few mammals or birds are restricted to specific sites and most occur all along the northern and eastern coasts at least.

Photograph of Walrus

Walrus on Spitsbergen by Coke & Som Smith.


Best Times for Wildlife in Spitsbergen

The peak time for Polar Bears is late July-early August when there is usually the least amount of pack ice, thus enabling ships to sail deep into their prime habitat along the northern and eastern coasts. Unfortunately, activity at the seabird breeding colonies has usually passed its peak by this time, late June-early July being the peak time for birds, as well as plants.

Recommended Books etc. for Spitsbergen

Spitsbergen by A Umbreit. Bradt Travel Guides, 2009 (Fourth Edition).

Birds and Mammals of Svalbard edited by K M Kovacs. Norsk Polarinstitutt, 2006.

A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife by R Sale. Helm, 2006.

Collins Bird Guide by L Svensson et al. Collins, 2010 (Second Edition).

Birds of Europe by L Jonsson. Helm, 1999.

The Flora of Svalbard by O Ronning. Norsk Polarinstitutt, 1996 (Third Edition).


Collins Bird eGuide.

Trip Reports for Spitsbergen

Many trip reports, some for Spitsbergen, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to Spitsbergen. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to Spitsbergen' below.

Local Guides and Tours in Spitsbergen

The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.

Accommodation in Spitsbergen

Some Organized Tours to Spitsbergen

There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to Spitsbergen include the following.