Longyearbyen Community Guidelines

Please see our tips and tricks to get around!
 

Welcome to Longyearbyen, the northernmost town in the world.
Although we locals live ordinary lives up here, you will soon see that this place is quite extraordinary. It takes years of experience to really understand it. You are visiting for a short period – let our knowledge guide you. We encourage you to do as the locals: respect wildlife, nature and each other!  

These are our community guidelines:

Read them carefully and get the best experience of our little Arctic community

• For your own safety, do not leave town without polar bear protection. The “King of the Arctic” is seldom far away. 

• Feel free to chat with the locals but always ask before photographing them. Please respect people’s privacy and don’t take photos of children at kindergartens or school. 

• You are welcome to stroll around town, but please walk on the lefthand side of the road if there is no pavement. 

• The Svalbard reindeer, grouse and birds can often be spotted around town. Enjoy our wildlife from a safe distance and please don’t disturb the animals and birds.

• Dogs in and around dog yards are a common sight. Please don’t feed, touch or disturb the dogs. Going close to the dogs for photos is not permitted. However, in commercial dog yards, close-up contact with the dogs is part of the experience.  

• We have many beautiful flowers in and around town. Enjoy this sight but don’t pick them.

• Please help us respect our cultural heritage. Leave all cultural relics alone. All traces of human settlement from before 1946 are protected by law. 

• The use of drones within 5 km of Longyearbyen Airport is prohibited. 

• Please help us keep beautiful Svalbard clean. Use the rubbish bins provided and don’t leave any traces behind, including small items such as cigarette butts. Please only flush natural waste and toilet paper in the toilet to protect the fjords ecosystems from untreated sewage. 

• Leave no lasting signs of your visit. Do not engrave on rocks or buildings and do not build cairns, rearrange stones or in any other way leave visible signs of your visit. 

• You may photograph parked snowmobiles, but please don’t touch them. 

• We encourage you to buy locally made products but remember that we don’t have a tradition for bargaining.

I love food, but please do not feed me!

Useful tips and tricks
 

• Always go on organised tours when leaving the settlement. Local guides will take care of your safety and share amazing stories with you. This combination creates the best experiences!

• The local drinking water is excellent, and you can drink it straight from the tap. However, don’t drink from streams or rivers as the water may contain the extremely rare but dangerous tapeworm parasite.

• Longyearbyen Church is open 24/7, you are welcome to visit any time but please respect services.

• Svalbard is exempt from VAT and all goods are tax-free. Please pay by card as there are no banks or ATMs in Svalbard.

• Please respect the wildlife, nature and each other.

Do not leave town unarmed

You can find the guidelines as a PDF here.