A Fresh Perspective on Travel Every Day
Celebrity influencer Cecilia Blomdahl has captured the magic of life in Svalbard, Norway. Known for its stunning glaciers and unique Arctic environment, this remote region feels worlds away from the hustle and bustle of mainland life. Most tourism in Svalbard centers around Longyearbyen, affectionately referred to as “the village” by locals, which proudly holds the title of the world’s northernmost city.
Your first visit to Svalbard may seem a bit daunting – located midway between Norway and the North Pole, this remote Norwegian island is a land of extreme climate, glaciers, and polar bears. This, combined with Svalbard’s unique laws, can make it feel far removed from the rest of the world.
Svalbard feels like a place removed from time and space. Ringed by looming glaciers, the archipelago experiences long hours of daylight – or darkness – and temperatures can plummet lower than -50°F. Simply calling it ‘otherworldly’ minimizes how central polar landscapes are to human survival. Perhaps it is more accurate to call it the Earth’s frozen heart instead.
A new hybrid-electric vessel has set sail in Svalbard to take tourists on a unique walrus safari. The Kvitbjørn (meaning polar bear) runs on electric power when cruising near land, providing a sustainable experience and increasing the chances of spotting the elusive animals along the icy shores. The significant reduction in noise allows the vessel to approach the shore without disturbing wildlife.
With so much of the world inaccessible right now, we’re taking a look through our archive of travel writing to revisit our past trips and to look at how GoTravelDaily has spent decades exploring the world in the hope of better understanding it. In this piece from 2017, Amanda Canning joins three centuries of adventurers and fortune-hunters by traveling to Svalbard and, like them, experiences the Arctic wilderness in its purest form.