One of many greatest questions we had whereas planning our journey to Svalbard was “what will we pack?” Svalbard is situated to this point north that it’s straightforward to imagine that it will likely be ice-cold all yr spherical. Excellent news! That’s not the case, no less than not throughout the summer season months. Even so, we packed an assortment of light-weight, heat garments and threw in our heavy winter coats, simply in case we would have liked them. On this Svalbard packing record, discover out what we truly used, what by no means bought touched, and the one factor we actually wished we had!
Summer time Climate in Svalbard
For those who have a look at Svalbard on a globe you get a way of how far north it’s. And you’ll suppose that it might be fairly chilly right here, even in the summertime months.
The bigger island of Spitsbergen, the place Longyearbyen is situated, receives the nice and cozy Atlantic present. This present helps to reasonable the temperatures on Svalbard. Positive, it may get downright frosty within the wintertime, however throughout the summer season months, it may be fairly comfy.
Summer time in Svalbard might be surprisingly heat. Each day temperatures might be fairly balmy (given its arctic location), starting from 3°C to eight°C (36°F to 47°F). Add within the midnight solar, and the temperatures don’t change a lot over the course of the day, because the solar by no means units.
We spent 4 days in Svalbard on the finish of June. In Longyearbyen, the typical temperature hovered proper round 4°C (40°F). It rained the day we left and we had snow showers on our hike up Hiorthfjellet.
If you’ll be in Svalbard throughout the summer season months, you’ll be able to anticipate chilly temperatures with an opportunity of rain.
Svalbard Packing Listing
Right here is our summer season Svalbard packing record.
Clothes (per individual)
- 2 pairs of mountain climbing pants (Tyler had a pair of denims)
- 1 wool base layer
- 2 long-sleeved shirts
- 1 fleece
- 1 rain jacket
- 1 wool hat
- 1 pair of skinny gloves
- 1 pair of thick gloves (by no means used them)
- 1 heavy coat (solely used as soon as)
- 1 pair of pajamas
- underwear
- wool socks
For essentially the most half, we wore our mountain climbing pants with a long-sleeved shirt, a rain jacket and/or a fleece, and a pair of sunshine gloves, and felt very comfy strolling round Longyearbyen.
The one time we wore our heavy coats was throughout the cruise to Pyramiden. And even then, we have been nonetheless just a little bit chilly. It’s a giant merchandise to pack and we solely used it as soon as however I’m very glad we had our heavy coats.
We by no means used the bottom layer for our legs or our thick gloves.
Footwear
All of us wore Merrell waterproof mountain climbing sneakers. The waterproof characteristic is vital, particularly in the event you plan to do any mountain climbing. The bottom might be very moist and muddy from the melting snow, so your sneakers should be waterproof with a purpose to hold your ft dry.
On our hike up Hiorthfjellet, we walked by snow that was nearly as much as our knees in locations, so our ft bought drenched, even with waterproof sneakers. A pair of gaiters could be a good suggestion in the event you plan to do that hike or one thing related.
The start of the hike up Hiorthfjellet. Longyearbyen is within the background.
Miscellaneous
- Sun shades
- Sunscreen
- Binoculars – polar bear recognizing!
- Climbing poles
- Journey umbrella
- Energy adapters
- Journey Energy strip
- Again up arduous drive
- Digicam
- Hydro Flask Water bottle
- Laundry equipment: clothesline, detergent, and common drain stopper
- Form Vitality bars – good for snacking
Sun shades are a should. And guess what, with that midnight solar, you could even want them at 1 am, in the event you’re up that late!
Don’t overlook your energy adapters so you’ll be able to cost your electronics. Bringing alongside a small energy strip makes your life so much simpler since there by no means appears to be sufficient retailers in some lodge rooms.
A digicam is a very powerful factor on this record, in the event you ask me. And it’s at all times a good suggestion to again up your pictures on a again up arduous drive.
We love the Hydro Flask water bottles!! In environmentally pleasant Norway and Svalbard, accommodations and eating places will gladly refill your water bottles for you. And sure, the water is protected to drink.
To be taught extra about our images gear, we now have an in-depth publish: Journey Pictures Gear Information
Oh, that Midnight Solar!
It was right here in Svalbard the place we skilled the midnight solar for the primary time. At first, it’s actually cool. At midnight, daylight is streaming in by your home windows. And you then strive to fall asleep. It feels extra like you are attempting to take a nap, not go to mattress.
You’d suppose that accommodations could be ready for this and supply blackout curtains. Nope. We stayed in 2 accommodations in Svalbard and seven accommodations as we highway tripped by northern Norway, and only one lodge offered blackout curtains (our lodge in Tromsø).
I had a horrible time sleeping. Really, all 4 of us had a horrible time sleeping.
When it appears to be like like noon, all day and all evening lengthy, your physique by no means actually will get these cues to get sleepy. It’s the strangest factor. I might ultimately go to sleep but it surely was arduous to remain asleep with the brightness in our lodge rooms.
So, the one factor I REALLY wished we packed, however didn’t, was a sleeping masks. Do your self a favor and put this on the prime of your record! 🙂
Have enjoyable planning your journey to Svalbard. It’s an superior place and one in all our new favourite spots on the planet.
