Svalbard: Northern Lights Photography Tour with a Local Expert

About This Experience

Svalbard is the only inhabited place on Earth where the aurora can be photographed in the middle of the day. From roughly mid-November to late January the sun never rises at all, so the polar night gives you a dark sky around the clock rather than for a few hours after sunset — which is why aurora photographers come here rather than to mainland Norway.

The tour is a search, not a fixed viewpoint. You are picked up from your hotel and driven out of Longyearbyen to wherever the sky is clearest, away from the town's light. The guides are photographers, and the practical value of the tour is that they set your camera up: focus at infinity in the dark, exposure long enough to catch the display without smearing it, and a tripod that will not creep in the cold.

It works with a phone as well as a body-and-lens setup — recent phones have night modes that handle a bright display well — but you will get the frames you have seen in magazines only with a camera you can control manually, and this is the tour that teaches you to do that.

The honest caveat comes from the operator and is worth repeating: nothing about this is guaranteed. It needs clear sky and it needs solar activity, and neither can be booked. There is no refund for a cloudy night. Book late in your stay if you can, when the forecast is real, and treat a sighting as a good outcome rather than the plan.

Highlights

• Chase clear sky away from Longyearbyen's light pollution with a guide who knows the spots
• Camera set up for you — focus, exposure and tripod handled by photographer guides
• In the polar night, aurora is possible in the middle of the day, not just after dark
• Small group in a heated van between stops
• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Longyearbyen

What's Included

• ✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off
• ✓ Guidance from skilled photographer guides
• ✓ Camera setup and preparation assistance
• ✓ Transport throughout the tour

Not Included

• Camera equipment
• Tripod

What to Bring

• Warm clothing
• Camera
• Tripod
• A fully charged phone

Good to Know & Caveats

• Aurora sightings cannot be guaranteed and there is no refund for cloud or snow
• Longyearbyen weather changes quickly and forecasts are often wrong — booking close to the date gives you a better forecast to work with
• If conditions make driving unsafe the operator cancels or reschedules, with a full refund
• Cold drains batteries fast: bring a spare and keep it in an inside pocket
• The aurora season on Svalbard runs roughly from late September to mid-March

Meeting Point

Hotel pickup and drop-off in Longyearbyen. You choose your pickup point when you book — the town's hotels and guesthouses are all on the list, and nothing in Longyearbyen is more than a few minutes' drive apart.