The Campingsite for all Seasons
- Service building in April ....
- .... and "real local" between tents in summer.
Following the opening of the airport in 1975, camping tourism developed quickly, in the beginning just wild right in the settlement, with all related problems (no sanitary facilities, combined with the slow decay of faeces and toilet paper under arctic conditions, drying of smelly socks in the miners canteen, and so on). To solve these problems for the settlement and at the same time provide the campers with better conditions, the Norwegian state installed and funded Longyearbyen Camping - at the same time, a ban on other camping in and in a large area around Longyearbyen was declared.
Longyearbyen Camping, situated conveniently for arriving and departing visitors right next to the airport, is the only place, where camping is allowed in and in a large area around Longyearbyen. Camping is not restricted, if you move eastwards beyond Endalen, northwards to the other side of Adventelven (the main river in Advent Valley), or westwards beyond the entrance of Bjørndalen. Southwards, you are free to camp on top of the main mountain plateau above Longyearbyen, or further.
During the season, the service building with its facilities is open for the guests of the campsite. In these periods, use of the campsite has to be paid.
(
services and prices).
During the last years, interest in Longyearbyen Camping has increased, even during the years of the economic crisis. While still far below the guest numbers of most mainland campsites, we see this as a positive response to our nice, informal and international atmosphere and our unique location with its panorama and close contact to nature. Seemingly, an increasing number of travellers has seen enough hotel rooms and seeks the direct contact with the land when coming to Spitsbergen.
Opening seasons 2012:
Spring season 2012: closed - see informations for campers outside the season under question 20 in FAQ - Frequently asked Questions. More about Spring Season
Summer season 2012: ca. 02nd June - ca. 08th September. More about Summer Season
If interested in a stay just before or after: get in touch with us !
Important: After about September 10th, we may close, if there are not sufficient registrations for the time after September 10th by August 1st. So if you want to come later in September: please register before August 1st.
Off-season Camping
Also if you want to camp in the Longyearbyen area outside the opening season of the service building, you are requested according to local regulation to do this on the ground of Longyearbyen Camping, only, which can be used free of charge outside the season. Please be aware for off-season stays, that the service building then will be closed. Thereby, no facilities at all are available then on the campsite (no running water, no toilets, no showers or kitchen). For toilet purposes, please head for the beach, then, to avoid unpleasant remains on the ground of the campsite. See also the passage "Can we use the campsite also off-season ?" under FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) .
Extra Opening off-season
Are you interested in the polar night ? Do you want to study the nuances of the returning light in February or the vanishing light in autumn in the grand setting of the Isfjord panorama, together with a group of photo or art enthusiasts ? Do you want to celebrate a jubilee in an unusual place or do you need a basis for a research project in the off-season ?
Longyearbyen Camping has an amazing setting with its fjord panorama - as if made for special occasions. For a special arrangement, we can open the service building also at other times of the year, exclusively for a project. Easiest and most economic is this right before or after our regular seasons.
Periods longer before or after need more complex preparations, because we switch off the heating completely and drain all water pipes at the end of the season to avoid frost damages. For a special project in between, not near enough our regular seasons, these precautions have to be reverted and reestablished afterwards, including always necessary minor repairs by the plumber. This creates addional costs. In winter, also the coastal road as our access route for bigger transport, may not be possible to use for some periods due to snowdrift. But all this does not have to be killer arguments against using the service building for a special idea. Get in touch with us earliest possible !
- Mitternacht early April at the campsite
- Late June - the last meltwater puddles in the lowest parts will soon dry up, but on the old beach wall in the middle, the campground is dry already for quite a while.
- Midnightsun bathing fun at the campsite beach - temperature of sea surface: 3 to 7 centigrades, but our "Longyearbyen Camping naked bathing Certificate" is the popular trophy to gain.
- Even in peak season, the number of tents is usually easy to overview.
- Mid-August: the sun starts disappearing again at night behind the mountains.
- September: fresh snow has fallen during night.
