Illustration.
Longyearbyen · 3 hours by car · Up to 8 guests
Svalbard Northern Lights
Arctic Footsteps picks you up at your hotel in Longyearbyen and drives out of the town lights into Adventdalen, stops near the Svalbard Global Seed Vault for a warm drink, then carries on towards Mine 3 or turns back, wherever the sky looks best. Warm drinks, cookies and two or three stops under the sky. The lights are a natural phenomenon and cannot be guaranteed.
Pick your evening
Which Northern Lights Tour in Svalbard?
For a first northern lights evening in Svalbard, book Arctic Footsteps’ Longyearbyen: Northern Lights Adventure by Car, from US$184 a person (checked November 2026). It takes up to 8 guests by car or minivan from your hotel in Longyearbyen for about 3 hours, out of the town lights into Adventdalen. On 26 November 2026, 20 January and 17 February 2027 it started at 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM or 8:30 PM.
Longyearbyen: Northern Lights Adventure by Car
Arctic Footsteps: about 3 hours by car or minivan, a stop near the Seed Vault, then on towards Mine 3 where the sky is darkest. Warm drinks and cookies; a photographer's digital files are an optional extra.
See dates →Longyearbyen: Northern Lights tour in a car with a local expert
Backyard Svalbard AS: 2 hours by car or van from 8:00 PM with coffee, tea and hot chocolate. It needs 2 participants to run; if it falls short you are offered another date or a refund.
See the tour →Svalbard: Northern Lights Photography Tour with local expert
See & Explore: 4 hours from 7:00 PM with help setting up your camera, pickup from 10 hotels and guesthouses. No refund if you see no lights or it is cloudy or snowing.
See the tour →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Rather go by van, on a photo safari or privately by snowmobile? The comparison table and two more tours sit below.
- 4.6 / 5 8+ Reviews
- No sunrise From 27 October 2026 to 15 February 2027 the Sun stays below the horizon in Longyearbyen (computed)
- Up to 8 guests A small group by car or minivan, with pickup at your hotel in Longyearbyen
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Evening Includes
A car or minivan from your hotel, a local guide who watches the weather and the light, warm drinks and cookies at the stops.
Arctic Footsteps' own highlights, inclusions and notes, as listed on GetYourGuide in November 2026.
Highlights
- Feel the thrill of chasing the Northern Lights in the Arctic wilderness
- Enjoy warm drinks and cookies as you listen to local stories from your guide
- Travel in a comfortable car to the best vantage points for aurora viewing
- Visit the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and Mine 3 outside on your journey
- Experience the magic of the aurora dancing above the snow-covered landscape
What's Included
- Guided Northern Lights adventure
- Warm drinks
- Cookies
- Local storytelling
- Car
- Professional photographer
- Optional purchase:
- If you don't have your own camera, you can buy a digital photo package from your guide at the end of the tour and receive the photos that night
Good to know: The tour is conducted in the evening · Weather conditions may affect visibility of the Northern Lights · Not suitable for: Children under 6 years · Not Included: Meals
How the Evening Goes
Out of town into the dark valley, a stop near the Seed Vault, then wherever the lights show.
Pickup at Your Hotel
Arctic Footsteps collects you from your hotel in Longyearbyen. On 26 November 2026, 20 January and 17 February 2027 the tour started at 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM or 8:30 PM.
Into Adventdalen
The car or minivan leaves the town lights behind for the Adventdalen valley. The first stop is near the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, for a warm drink and the story of the vault.
Two or Three Stops Under the Sky
From the vault the tour carries on towards Mine 3 or turns back, depending on where the lights appear and the conditions. You spend time outside at each stop, so dress in warm, windproof layers.
Back in About 3 Hours
The 3 hours include pickup, drop-off, driving and stops. A professional photographer takes photos on the tour; the digital files are an optional purchase from your guide, and you receive them the same night.
Photo Gallery
Longyearbyen After Dark
Snow, mountains and the open valley outside Svalbard's main town, where the evening tours stop to watch the sky.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Arctic Footsteps' evening by car from Longyearbyen: hotel pickup, Adventdalen and a stop near the Seed Vault, then on towards Mine 3, with warm drinks and cookies. Up to 8 guests, about 3 hours. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Plan Your Evenings
Svalbard Northern Lights Questions
The best months, the polar night dates, which tour, the forecast, photography, and how Svalbard compares with Tromsø.
Prices are each page's featured tour: GetYourGuide checked November 2026. Tour prices are in US dollars.
Four Evening Tours from Longyearbyen Side by Side
How long, when they start, how many guests, what is included and what each says about a night with no lights. GetYourGuide prices with the month they were checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE Arctic Footsteps, by car | Backyard Svalbard AS | See & Explore, photography | Frostbite Expeditions AS, by van |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From US$184 per person (checked November 2026) | From US$186 per person (checked November 2026) | From US$205 per person (checked November 2026) | From US$184 per person (checked November 2026) |
| Length | About 3 hours, including pickup and drop-off | 2 hours | 4 hours | 3 hours |
| Start | 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM or 8:30 PM on 26 Nov, 20 Jan and 17 Feb | 8:00 PM on 26 Nov, 20 Jan and 17 Feb | 7:00 PM on 26 November 2026 and 20 January 2027; not on sale on 17 February 2027 | 6:30 PM or 10:00 PM on 26 November 2026 and 20 January 2027; not on sale on 17 February 2027 |
| Group Size | Up to 8 | Up to 6; at least 2 needed to run | Up to 8 | Up to 8 |
| Getting On | Hotel pickup in Longyearbyen | Hotel pickup in Longyearbyen | Pickup from 10 hotels and guesthouses in Longyearbyen | Hotel pickup in Longyearbyen |
| Included | Warm drinks, cookies, stories about the aurora; a photographer's digital files are an optional purchase | Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and light Arctic snacks | Help setting up your camera, transport during the tour | Warm drinks and snacks, a guide with safety equipment, liability and search-and-rescue insurance |
| No Lights? | Northern lights cannot be guaranteed; free cancellation up to 24 hours before | Sightings cannot be guaranteed; free cancellation up to 24 hours before | No refund if you do not see the lights or if it is cloudy or snowing; full refund if the tour is cancelled for unsafe driving | Sightings cannot be guaranteed; free cancellation up to 24 hours before |
| Not For | Children under 6 | No limits listed | Children under 6 | Wheelchair users |
| Best For | A first evening out, with three start times to choose from | The smallest group, in 2 hours | A long evening with time to set up a camera | Guides in English, Norwegian, Polish or Czech |
| See dates | See the tour | See the tour | See the tour |
Two More Ways
A Photo Safari and a Private Night by Snowmobile
Svalbard Photography AS's small-group photo safari with help on camera settings, and Arctic Footsteps' private snowmobile tour, where the guide drives and you ride as a passenger.
PHOTO SAFARILongyearbyen: Northern Lights Photo Safari (Max 8 guests)
Svalbard Photography AS's 3-hour photo safari into Adventdalen for up to 8 guests, with pickup in Longyearbyen, help with camera settings, exposure and focusing, and hot drinks and snacks. Guides in English and German.
PRIVATELongyearbyen: Private Northern Lights Snowmobile Tour
Arctic Footsteps' private 3-hour night by snowmobile from your Longyearbyen accommodation: the guide drives and you ride as a passenger, with helmet, goggles and balaclava, hot drinks and snacks. No children under 12.
Northern lights in Svalbard
How the Evenings Work
When it is dark enough, how a tour runs, what clouds and the moon do, what it costs, and what to know before you book.
When it is dark enough
Visit Svalbard, the islands’ tourism organisation, gives the northern lights season as late September to mid-March and the best hours as 18:00 to midnight, and it adds that there is no guarantee you will see them. Its own pages do not agree on the dark season: the FAQ puts it at 26 October to 16 February, a longer article on the polar night says “around the end of October until the middle of February”, and the seasons page names 1 October to 28 February “Northern Lights Winter”.
Our own computation for Longyearbyen gives the plainest answer: the Sun does not rise from 27 October 2026 to 15 February 2027. In those weeks the sky is dark for most of the day, and on 21 December it is fully dark for more than 15 hours. From late February the nights shorten fast, and from about 5 March 2027 there is no full darkness at all. The best time, month by month sets out the dates, and the polar night dates explain why the sources differ.
How an evening runs
The tours compared here pick you up at your hotel or guesthouse in Longyearbyen and drive out to where the town’s lights do not reach. Arctic Footsteps always goes first into Adventdalen and stops near the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, then carries on towards Mine 3 or turns back, depending on where the lights appear. You get out at two or three places, with warm drinks and cookies, and the guide explains how the aurora works.
The others follow the same idea with their own stops. Frostbite Expeditions AS's van tour visits the historic Northern Lights Observatory, Mine 5 and the Seed Vault, and adapts its route to the weather and the aurora forecast. Svalbard Photography AS's photo safari heads into the darkness of Adventdalen and spends its time on camera settings and foregrounds.
What decides the night
Two things: whether the aurora is active, and whether the sky above you is clear. The first is a space-weather question, the second a weather question, and neither has an answer days ahead. None of the six tours promises a sighting. Two of the eight reviews on Arctic Footsteps’ car tour, both from October 2026, say cloud or bad weather hid the lights, and both still gave the tour five stars.
In the dark season you may even see the lights in the middle of the day, Visit Svalbard says, if you are lucky, though daytime displays can be weaker than those seen in the evening. Reading the forecast explains NOAA’s Kp index, which we show live, and Yr’s cloud forecast for Longyearbyen.
What it costs
| Tour | By | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Lights Adventure by Car (Arctic Footsteps) | Car or minivan, up to 8 | 3 hours | US$184.04 a person on 26 November 2026, 20 January and 17 February 2027 |
| Northern Lights tour in a car (Backyard Svalbard AS) | Car or van, up to 6 | 2 hours | US$232.94 a person on the same three dates |
| Northern Lights Photography Tour (See & Explore) | Van, up to 8 | 4 hours | US$205.08 a person on 26 November 2026 and 20 January 2027 |
| Northern Lights Chasing by van (Frostbite Expeditions AS) | Van, up to 8 | 3 hours | US$184.04 a person on 26 November 2026 and 20 January 2027 |
| Northern Lights Photo Safari (Svalbard Photography AS) | Up to 8 guests | 3 hours | US$167.47 a person for two on 26 November 2026 and 17 February 2027; no option for one adult on 26 November |
GetYourGuide, checked November 2026. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every tour above.
For one evening out with a guide who knows where the dark spots are, the Arctic Footsteps tour is the one to book: it was on sale on 26 November, 20 January and 17 February, at three start times, and for one person it costs the same as Frostbite Expeditions AS’s van tour and less than the others in the table.
See dates for the evening by car
The tours compared sets out what each of the six includes, from the private snowmobile night to the photo tours.
Before you book
- Warm clothing: every car and van tour here asks you to bring your own, and Backyard Svalbard AS's tour lists winter clothing as not included. Visit Svalbard’s advice for winter is your warmest clothes, several layers of wool or fleece and a balaclava that covers head and neck; you stand outside at every stop.
- Children: Arctic Footsteps’ car tour and See & Explore's photography tour do not take children under 6; the private snowmobile tour takes no one under 12.
- Walking out on your own: polar bears can be anywhere in Svalbard all year, Visit Svalbard says. Inside the town limits you may walk on your own, but not past the polar bear warning signs on the roads out of Longyearbyen, and anyone travelling outside the settlements must carry a means of scaring off polar bears, the Governor of Svalbard says. A dark spot outside town is where the guide drives you.
- Book early in your stay: if cloud spoils the first evening, you still have another. Every tour here allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Out of Town, into the Dark Valley
Arctic Footsteps' 3-hour evening by car from your Longyearbyen hotel: Adventdalen, a stop near the Seed Vault, then towards Mine 3 where the sky is darkest, with warm drinks and cookies. Starting from US$184 per person.
See datesMore from Longyearbyen
Evening and Winter Tours with Open Dates
Other northern lights evenings and winter trips from Longyearbyen with live availability. Pickup, what is included and the cancellation terms show before you book.
Svalbard Northern Lights: Questions
Which tour, when to go, what it costs, start times, nights with no lights, warm clothing, children and polar bears.
For a first evening, Arctic Footsteps' Longyearbyen: Northern Lights Adventure by Car, from US$184 a person (checked November 2026): about 3 hours by car or minivan with hotel pickup, up to 8 guests, into Adventdalen and past the Seed Vault towards Mine 3. For the smallest group, Backyard Svalbard AS's 2-hour car tour takes up to 6. The comparison table above sets four evening tours side by side.
Yes, in the dark months, on a clear night with enough activity, and never with a guarantee. Visit Svalbard gives the northern lights season as late September to mid-March and the best hours as 18:00 to midnight. By our computation the Sun does not rise in Longyearbyen from 27 October 2026 to 15 February 2027, so the sky is dark for most of the day. See the best time, month by month.
Arctic Footsteps' car tour cost US$184.04 a person on 26 November 2026, 20 January and 17 February 2027. On the same dates Backyard Svalbard AS's 2-hour tour cost US$232.94 and See & Explore's 4-hour photography tour US$205.08 a person (GetYourGuide, checked November 2026).
In the afternoon or evening. On 26 November 2026 and 20 January 2027, Arctic Footsteps' car tour started at 3:30 PM, 7:00 PM or 8:30 PM, Frostbite Expeditions AS's van tour at 6:30 PM or 10:00 PM, See & Explore's photography tour at 7:00 PM and Backyard Svalbard AS's car tour at 8:00 PM.
Not for the lights themselves: none of these tours promises a sighting. All of them allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before. See & Explore's photography tour states that no refund is given if you do not see the lights or if it is cloudy or snowing, and refunds in full if it cancels the tour because driving is unsafe.
It is the darkest time, which helps, but cloud still decides any one evening. Visit Svalbard's polar-night article puts the darkest part at about 14 November to 29 January and says you may even see the lights in the middle of the day if you are lucky, though daytime displays can be weaker. See the polar night dates.
Yes: the car and van tours ask you to bring warm clothing, and Backyard Svalbard AS's car tour lists winter clothing as not included. Visit Svalbard advises your warmest winter clothes, several layers of wool or fleece and a balaclava that covers head and neck.
From age 6 on Arctic Footsteps' car tour and See & Explore's photography tour, which do not take children under 6. Arctic Footsteps' private snowmobile tour takes no one under 12. The evening tours run late, so plan the next morning around them.
Only inside the town limits. Visit Svalbard says polar bears can be anywhere in Svalbard all year and that you should not pass the polar bear warning signs on the roads out of Longyearbyen on your own; the Governor of Svalbard requires anyone travelling outside the settlements to carry a means of scaring off polar bears. The tours drive you to dark spots outside town with a guide.
Still have questions? Email us at info@svalbardnorthernlights.com