Northern Lights Photography in Svalbard: Which Tour?
Northern lights photography tours in Svalbard compared: what each teaches, group sizes, start times, prices, what to bring, and the tour with a no-refund rule.
For a long evening with time to set up a camera and a guide to help, book See & Explore’s Svalbard: Northern Lights Photography Tour with local expert, from US$205 a person (checked November 2026). It runs 4 hours from 7:00 PM, picks up from 10 hotels and guesthouses in Longyearbyen, and takes up to 8 guests. Know its rule before you book: no refund if you do not see the lights or if it is cloudy or snowing.
On 26 November 2026 and 20 January 2027 it cost US$205.08 a person; 17 February 2027 was not on sale (GetYourGuide, checked November 2026). Free cancellation runs up to 24 hours before, and a tour cancelled because driving is unsafe is refunded in full.
What each photo tour teaches
See & Explore’s tour is the longer one, with 37 reviews and a 4.6 rating in November 2026. Guides help you set up your camera and take you to the best spots they can find for the lights. It is not a photography course. A guest in January 2026 gave three stars and wrote that it focused more on smartphone photos for social media than on serious photography, and that the group moved around a lot chasing better weather. A guest in January 2025 wrote, in Swedish, that the guides showed how to photograph the lights on a smartphone or a system camera alike. If you want help with your phone and a long chase, it fits; if you want a tutor for manual settings, read on.
Svalbard Photography AS's photo safari is built around the camera: help with settings, exposure times and focusing, plus composition and foregrounds, so the picture shows the landscape as well as the sky. It heads into the darkness of Adventdalen for 3 hours from 9:00 PM, for up to 8 guests, with guides in English and German, and hot drinks and snacks between stops. It had one review in November 2026. Its calendar showed no option for one adult on 26 November 2026; for two adults it cost US$167.47 a person on 26 November 2026, 17 February and 24 March 2027 (GetYourGuide, checked November 2026).
A photographer on the car tour
Arctic Footsteps' car tour is not a photography tour, but a professional photographer takes photos during the evening. If you have no camera, you can buy the digital photo package from your guide at the end and receive the photos the same night; ask the guide before you leave. Bring a camera and tripod if you want your own pictures, and spare batteries.
Pick by what you want
Svalbard: Northern Lights Photography Tour with local expert
See & Explore: 4 hours from 7:00 PM, help setting up phone or camera, pickup from 10 hotels and guesthouses. No refund if you see no lights or it is cloudy or snowing.
See dates →Longyearbyen: Northern Lights Photo Safari (Max 8 guests)
Svalbard Photography AS: 3 hours from 9:00 PM, settings, exposure, focus and foregrounds, up to 8 guests, English and German. No option for one adult on 26 November 2026.
See the safari →Longyearbyen: Northern Lights Adventure by Car
Arctic Footsteps: about 3 hours by car; a photographer's digital files are an optional purchase, sent the same night.
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.
What to bring
Bring warm clothing on every tour here; the photo tours add their own lists. See & Explore: a camera, a charged smartphone and a tripod. Svalbard Photography AS's safari: gloves and thermal clothing, several layers including wool, and warm winter footwear, because you spend time outdoors. Arctic Footsteps: a camera and tripod if you want photos, and extra batteries for your electronics.
Visit Svalbard’s advice for winter is your warmest clothes, several layers of wool or fleece and a balaclava that covers head and neck. Standing still behind a tripod is colder than walking.
The moon and the cloud
A full moon lightens the sky and can hide fainter displays, but it lights the landscape too: one See & Explore guest in December 2025 wrote that clouds limited the view and the full moon made for good landscape photos. The best time lists the new and full moons to March 2027, and the forecast shows where to read the cloud for Longyearbyen.
More 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.
A Long Evening with Your Camera
See & Explore's 4-hour photography tour from Longyearbyen: pickup from 10 hotels and guesthouses, help setting up your camera, up to 8 guests. No refund if you see no lights or it is cloudy or snowing.
See dates