Spot The Polar Bears In Spitsbergen

The adventure

The ship noses into the pack ice and the engines go quiet. Everyone is on deck with binoculars, scanning floe after floe, until someone on the bridge spots it: a cream-coloured dot that becomes a polar bear, padding across the ice with its nose to the wind, following the scent of the ship or a seal.

Svalbard sits roughly halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, and in summer the sun never sets, so a bear can turn up at 3am as easily as at lunch. Between sightings there are glaciers calving into fjords, walrus hauled out on beaches, Arctic foxes, reindeer and cliffs ringing with seabirds. But it's the bear you'll remember: the huge paws, the rolling walk, and the moment it lifts its head and looks straight at the ship.

Why it’s epic

• The Barents Sea polar bear population numbers around 3,000, and Svalbard is one of the most accessible places to see them.
• From late April to late August the midnight sun means 24-hour daylight for searching.
• Walrus colonies, Arctic foxes, Svalbard reindeer and huge seabird cliffs.
• Many voyages push north to the edge of the pack ice above 80 degrees north.

What it is

Svalbard is one of the best places in the world to see polar bears in the wild.

How to do it

Fly to Longyearbyen and join an expedition cruise around the archipelago.

Top tip

Bring binoculars; bears are often spotted on distant ice.

Need to know

• Cruises sail from Longyearbyen between June and August; small expedition ships give the most Zodiac landings and the best chance of bears.
• Leaving Longyearbyen on foot means carrying protection against polar bears, so go with guides who are trained and armed.
• Svalbard is outside the Schengen area, so take your passport even when flying via Oslo or Tromsø.
• Book a year or more ahead for the best cabins; sightings are likely but never guaranteed.

Plan this trip

Rough cost

£5,000 or more per person, including flights from the UK

Time needed

1 week

Best time to go

June to August

Fly into

LYR airport

An Arctic expedition cruise is a major spend, with most voyages costing several thousand pounds per person.

Sample itinerary

1. Day 1Fly to Winnipeg
2. Day 2Fly north to Churchill on Hudson Bay
3. Days 3–5Days out on the tundra in a polar rover, watching bears wait for the sea ice
4. Day 6Dog sledding or the Itsanitaq Museum, then fly back to Winnipeg

Make it happen

• Antarctic and Arctic expeditionsOceanwide ExpeditionsThe small expedition ships I sailed to Antarctica with, including the Hondius.
• FlightsKiwi.com

Some of these are affiliate links: if you book through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. More about this.

Why it’s on my list

The King Of The Arctic – The Mighty Polar Bear.

Spitsbergen is the place where I would most like to see the world’s largest carnivore. The polar bear population in the Svalbard archipelago and Barents Sea is around 3,000, which means more polar bears than humans!

Sightings are most common to the east of Spitsbergen however being wild animals roaming free they can appear anywhere, so never let your guard down when in Svalbard.

Adult polar bears vary in size from 200 to 800 kg.

Visit the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) to see a list of cruise providers to learn more.

Natural World Safaris offer an immersive tour to really explore this island and enhance your chances of seeing these beautiful bears.