Land of the King of Arctic – Polar Bears
Within the Svalbard Archipelago there are about 2500 humans and 3000 polar bears. Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The largest island of the Svalbard archipelago is called Spitsbergen, which means “rugged mountains”; is a land forged by ice, wind and sea. A journey around Spitsbergen gives you ample opportunity to explore all the aspects of this fascinating arctic island. There are two main “cities”: Longyearbyen which is under Norwegian control and Barentsburg, which is Russian. You can explore glaciers, mountains and fjords in the west, and the barren High Arctic wilderness in the eastern part of Svalbard.
Cruising Waters - Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, Norwegian Sea
Capital - Longyearbyen
Area - 61,022 sq km
Population - 2667 (2016)
Time Zone - GMT + 1 and in the summer months GMT + 2
Local Language - Approximately 70% population in the Svalbard is Norwegian hence Norwegian is the official langugage. Remaining 30% people are Russian and Ukrainian hence Russian is spoken in those settlemets.
Major Airports - Longyearbyen is the airport in Svalbard. Flights are available from Oslo and Tromso.
Local Currency - Norwegian Krone (NOK) is widely used and accepted. It is suggested to carry the currency instead of exchanging currecy and using ATM as there are limitations on the facilities.
Visa - Schengen Visa is mandatory because Norway is point of entry and exit.