Author
Wesley Pechler is a Dutch adventurer who has perfected the art of travelling on a budget. After many years in which travelling took up a fair amount of his life, he adopted a rescue dog last year. Currently, he spends more time exploring the beauty found closer to home instead, preferring train and bus travel within Europe to flying. In his day-to-day life, Wesley is a translator and city councilor in Groningen.
This post about Svalbard is the 1st of a two-part series which documents Wesley’s journey to the far North. You can read the 2nd part here.
Ever since city tripping to Reykjavik with my mum in 2009, I have wanted to go further north. While doing the Golden Circle day trip I could actually see glaciers lying between the mountain tops in the distance, and I wanted to be closer to them. But I was on strict schedule so I vowed to myself that someday I would go deeper into Nordic nature and walk on glaciers in the middle of nowhere.
Upon our return I immediately looked up what a return flight to Greenland would cost. I was so shocked at the price that I abandoned the search for affordable ventures into the Arctic: ONE return flight Amsterdam – Nuuk would cost about €900, the same as three separate four-day city trips on the mainland of Europe. Oh well.
Flash forward about 4 years later, I had decided to take a year out from my Bachelor degree to go travelling again and my sights were firmly set on somewhere in the Arctic. Still enjoying the benefits of living at home at 21 I was able to spend all my hard-earned money on crossing items off my bucket list and seeing new places.
In the midst of exhausting Skyscanner, ‘Longyearbyen’ suddenly pops up on my screen, some place in Norway that vaguely rings a bell. Opening up Google Maps and seeing it’s on Svalbard, further up north than Reykjavik and even most of Greenland, I switch back to Skyscanner. How much was that return again? Only €170 from Oslo? Hmm. How much would going to Oslo be in that period? Wait, if I’m going north I might just visit Copenhagen as well. Oh my god, Kate Bush is performing in London for the first time in forever! Perhaps I could fly to London from Oslo? Woops, did I just accidentally book 4 plane tickets?
“Mum… I’m kind of going to the North Pole!”
Okay, so it didn’t actually go that fast, however, after some thorough research I did book the flights to Svalbard very quickly, figuring that it was the perfect end-of-summer, end-of-travelling-gap-year destination. Icingly exotic, and a bargain opportunity that I would not have again for a long time.
Flash forward again to August 2014, and I’m touching down in Longyearbyen, having just seen the most incredible views of the ice wilderness of Svalbard from the plane. As I walk out the cabin doors and down the stairs to the tarmac, I feel the brisk wind on my face and can’t help but smile from ear to ear, and continue to do so for the rest of my stay. I’ve definitely made the right decision coming here. And oh my god Shing was right, there’s an actual polar bear on the luggage conveyor belt! Holy shit I’m on Svalbard!
Camping in Longyearbyen
As for my accommodation, I chose the only wallet-friendly option in Longyearbyen: the campsite! Only a 7 minute walk from the airport, and gorgeously located at the end of the Adventfjorden, looking out over the glaciers and mountains across the Isfjorden. Imagine cooking with a view like that!
The campsite kitchen is awesome, having recently been renovated, and large enough to fit the entire campsite in it at once. The best place for making new friends on Svalbard is right there! And the warm central heating and piping hot showers in the campsite building are some well-needed luxuries after a long day of hiking or sailing.
If you’re not a regular camper and don’t own any equipment like me, no problem, the campsite luckily offers tents, sleeping bags and even insular mats for rent.
This tipi, my home for 5 glorious days, was so large you could easily fit 4 people in there. I could even stand up straight in the middle! Renting everything, my stay averaged out to about €45/£35 a night, compared to at least €70/£55 for the cheapest single room in a hotel in downtown Longyearbyen.
Since it was nearing the end of the August, autumn in Svalbard had already started. The grass turned deeper shades of gorgeous orange and red every day making the campsite looking picture perfect.
But this meant it was starting to get really cold at night too, with the midnight sun barely remaining above the horizon! After one night of proverbially freezing my balls off, I asked (and received) an extra sleeping bag and two extra insular mats. Free of charge! Now that’s service.
The remaining nights I truly felt like the princess on the pea on my 4 insular mats and in my 2 sleeping bags, but since I was finally warm at night I did not mind being a regular diva at all.
The campsite, owned by the amazing (and Dutch!) Michelle van Dijk also offers bicycles to rent for 100 NOK (or about €12/£10) per day.
Exploring Longyearbyen by bike
Cycling is a great way to explore the town! I spent the remainder of my first day cycling all through Longyearbyen. I got to know my way around the ‘city’ centre and then went all the way up to the Guesthouse, which is a pretty steep ascent, but the way down is so much fun! Easily reaching 30 kilometres/20 miles per hour without having to touch the pedals.
And I couldn’t believe my eyes: right here in the heart of town I saw my first reindeer, ever! Calmly grazing 5 metres from the road and possibly looking like the fluffiest and cutest animals ever put on earth. It took ALL my self-restrain not to run after them looking for cuddles.
I still hadn’t had my share of cycling, so I ventured out of town on the other side of Longyearbyen, until I reached the famous ‘Watch out for polar bears’ traffic sign.
I took a picture and continued to cycle for another half an hour, at which point it hit me that the sign was an actual warning from that point onwards and not just a tourist hot spot. Woops. Blame it on the lack of sleep, but the fact is that I was all alone out there and without a gun.
Polar bears can easily sprint 60 kilometres per hour, and even as a Dutchie I really can’t go above 30kmph on my bike, so I did a complete 180 and headed back to the campsite. I got some gorgeous shots from the bike ride though, and I survived!
On the way back I stopped at the Svalbardbutiken supermarket to get some well-needed (and extremely overpriced) food supplies in order to make Nutella pancakes for half the campsite that night. To my surprise they did not only sell traditional Dutch stroopwafels (syrup waffles), there was also an actual half-pipe right in the heart of town!
I had only been on Svalbard for 6 hours, but it had already proved itself to be one of my favourite destinations ever.
After the campsite pancake disaster (everybody had already eaten when I came back and a little girl and I had to finish all 12), and witnessing the midnight sun, I went to bed early.
It was going to take me some time to fall asleep, not just because of the permanent daylight, but also because I was hyped with excitement for the two hiking trips and boat trip I had lined up for the following days.
If you liked Wesley’s story or have any questions for him, then let him know in the comment box, and you can also follow him on Instagram @WesleyPechler. And don’t forget to stay tuned for Part 2.
6 Responses
Wow, not a place I’ve ever considered going, but now I’m intrigued! Looking forward to part two.
Hi Kirstie, I’m happy to read Wesley’s time in Svalbard has piqued your curiosity! I’m looking forward to part 2 as well! Once you’ve been to this place it’s difficult to get it out of your head!
Holy smokes, what an awesome trip, Wesley! I’m glad you mentioned Skyscanner because a friend just very recently recommended the site to me and I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. You got some terrific photos and I’m glad you chose to turn around on your bike in polar bear country. Best of luck in all your future travels and thank you for sharing him with us, Shing! 🙂
Isn’t renting a bike an awesome thing to do Mike? I wish I had done the same thing, and yes, I’m glad he turned back when he did!!
Enjoy looking for potential places on Skyscanner, I get addicted to doing that!
I was among a fair number of people who went to the mid-March 2015 total solar eclipse on Svalbard. Absolutely every indoor accommodation had been booked years in advance by the despicable tour companies so the only options were sleep outdoors in a tent at the campground, or don’t go. Sleeping outdoors in the high Arctic in winter at just shy of 70 years old did not sound like a smart move but I did it anyway.
It was a peak experience in my life. Now I am pondering how to go camping there in summer. Because of the polar bear issue, one must have at least one person awake and on watch with a rifle at all times. Which makes it a difficult sell to lady friends who might otherwise be interested. Polar bear induced celibacy…. :o)
I was among a fair number of people who went to the mid-March 2015 total solar eclipse on Svalbard. Absolutely every indoor accommodation had been booked years in advance by the despicable tour companies so the only options were sleep outdoors in a tent at the campground, or don’t go. Sleeping outdoors in the high Arctic in winter at just shy of 70 years old did not sound like a smart move but I did it anyway.
It was a peak experience in my life. Now I am pondering how to go camping there in summer. Because of the polar bear issue, one must have at least one person awake and on watch with a rifle at all times. Which makes it a difficult sell to couples who might otherwise be interested. Polar bear induced celibacy…. :o)