Destination · 74°–81°N
Sailing Svalbard
Glaciers, polar bears, and the high Arctic — under sail, May through September.
There is a moment that almost every Svalbard guest describes in the same way. The boat has been sailing for hours through open water. Then the entrance to the fjord appears, and the scale of what is ahead becomes apparent — not from photographs, not from a map, but from the actual experience of being inside it. Mountains that rise a thousand metres directly from the water. A glacier face the colour of compressed turquoise, groaning and shifting and occasionally releasing a block of ice the size of a house into the fjord below. Silence, except for the water and the wind and the distant crack of calving ice.
This is Svalbard. It announces itself.
The Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard sits halfway between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole — 74 to 81 degrees north, an area larger than Ireland, with a permanent population of fewer than 3,000 people. With more polar bears than people, this epic terrain is not for the faint-hearted — but it is perfect for the adventure traveller. Over 65 percent of the land is protected as national park or nature reserve. What exists here — the glaciers, the wildlife, the silence — exists at a density and a scale that has been eliminated from almost everywhere else in the Northern Hemisphere.
Boreal Yachting has been running sailing expeditions to Svalbard for many years. We are AECO members and Eco-Lighthouse certified. Our view is straightforward: discovering Svalbard under sail is by far the best and most sustainable way to see the very best of this Arctic archipelago.
Approach
Why a sailing yacht?
The most common question we receive from people considering Svalbard for the first time is why a sailing yacht, rather than one of the larger expedition vessels or cruise ships that also operate here.
The answer is access and scale.
A small sailing yacht with six guests can enter fjords, shallow bays, and coastal areas that a vessel carrying two hundred passengers cannot reach. With only a small group of six passengers onboard, a yacht offers unparalleled access to remote fjords and ice edges. When a polar bear is spotted walking a shoreline two kilometres ahead, the boat can slow down, cut the engine, and drift. The group watches from the cockpit. The bear continues, unaware or uninterested. No tannoy announcement. No crowd at the rail.
The itinerary on a sailing expedition is genuinely fluid. Our itinerary will be entirely dependent on the wind and weather, to ensure guest safety, a good experience, and to keep travel as sustainable as possible. If ice blocks a planned fjord, the boat finds an alternative. If walrus are hauled out on a beach that wasn't on the route, the skipper adjusts. If the light is extraordinary at 1am and the anchorage is calm, there is no reason not to sail.
This is what separates a sailing expedition from a scheduled cruise. The schedule serves the experience, not the other way around.
The Landscape
Fjords
Svalbard offers the visitor countless spectacular fjords. The west coast of Spitsbergen — the largest island of the archipelago — holds the most accessible and the most dramatic. Isfjorden, where Longyearbyen sits, is broad and navigable in most conditions. To the north, the character changes. Magdalenefjorden is surrounded by sharp mountain peaks and multiple glacier outlets that end directly in the water. Kongsfjorden holds the scientific settlement of Ny-Ålesund — the world's northernmost permanent community — with three pyramidal peaks behind it. Liefdefjorden, 'The fjord of love,' is lined with snow-capped peaks and the spectacular Monaco Glacier. Raudfjorden on the north coast is wilder still — dominated by glaciers, rich in seals, and one of the better areas for polar bear encounters.
Glaciers
Svalbard's glaciers — Kongsbreen, Lilliehöökbreen, Monacobreen and countless others — cascade directly into the sea. Sailing toward a tidewater glacier at slow speed, watching the ice face fill the horizon, listening to the low groan of the ice — it is an experience that does not diminish on repetition, but is categorically different on first encounter. The ice is retreating. Svalbard is warming at six to seven times the global average rate. The glaciers visible today are smaller than the glaciers our first guests sailed to. This is part of what makes access now — and responsible access specifically — matter.
The Ice Edge
In May and early June, the polar pack ice is retreating from Svalbard's northern coasts. The boundary between open water and sea ice — marked by a line of brash ice, floes, and the wildlife that congregates at the edge — is one of the most dramatic environments accessible to a small sailing yacht. Polar bears hunt here. Ivory gulls work the edge. The transition from dark water to white ice is abrupt and strange. Reaching the ice edge requires weather, timing, and a skipper with experience of ice navigation. When it comes together, it is among the most memorable days of any Svalbard expedition.
The Wildlife
Polar Bears
Svalbard holds an estimated 3,000 polar bears in the wider Barents Sea region. They are present throughout the archipelago, most reliably near the sea ice edge in the north and east where they hunt ringed seals. Sightings are not guaranteed — polar bears cover enormous distances across an enormous landscape — but our mobile approach, positioning the yacht in the areas with the best conditions for each week of the season, consistently produces encounters. Since January 2025, Norwegian regulations require minimum observation distances of 500 metres from March through June, and 300 metres from July through February. All Boreal Yachting expeditions operate in strict compliance.
Walrus
Walrus haul-outs in the Forlandsundet Strait offer a unique chance to witness these massive marine mammals in their natural habitat — an opportunity to approach the haul-out site at a safe distance and spend time watching them in the wild. A beach covered in walrus, the sound carrying across the water before the animals come into view, is a genuinely prehistoric encounter.
Seabirds
Whalers and trappers have had ample access to game in the past, and there are still today good chances of seeing whales, seals and a bustling birdlife. Little auks nest in the millions on certain cliff faces. Kittiwakes, guillemots, Arctic terns, puffins, barnacle geese, and the occasional ivory gull are regular companions. The bird cliffs burst with activity through the summer months.
Arctic Foxes and Reindeer
The Svalbard reindeer — a subspecies evolved specifically for the Arctic, stockier and shorter than mainland reindeer — grazes the tundra in complete indifference to the boat passing offshore. Arctic foxes appear near seabird colonies, curious rather than shy. In the right location and season, a patient observer can count adults and cubs near the bird cliffs in early summer.
The History
Svalbard was first recorded in 1596 by the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz. What followed was three centuries of systematic exploitation — whaling from the 1600s through the 1800s, fur trapping through the early 20th century, and coal mining that continues in a small way today. The traces of this history are everywhere and are protected as cultural monuments.
At Gravneset in Magdalenefjorden, the remains of English whaling operations from the 1600s are still visible. Smeerenburgfjorden takes its name from the Dutch blubber-rendering settlement that once processed hundreds of whales per summer. Ny-Ålesund in Kongsfjorden was the departure point for Amundsen and Nobile's heroic expeditions to the North Pole. On Danskøya, the rusting remnants of Andrée's 1897 attempt to reach the Pole by hydrogen balloon still sit where the expedition ended.
Sailing through these waters with this history in mind — and with the knowledge of what has been lost and what remains — gives the landscape a dimension that goes beyond the visual.
The Season
May – early June
Most dramatic, most demanding
The pack ice is still retreating. Polar bears are active along the ice edge. The midnight sun has returned. Snow covers the tundra. This is the expedition for those who want Svalbard at its most elemental.
Late June – July
Most accessible
On Svalbard there is midnight sun until August 11, so there will be daylight 24 hours a day. Ice has retreated, conditions are relatively settled, wildlife is abundant and active. The tundra is flowering. Puffins nest on the cliff tops. This is the right season for most first-time guests.
August – early September
Quieter, more solitary
Quieter anchorages, more dramatic light as the sun begins to drop lower, and the first hints of autumn. The pace slows. The landscape feels more solitary. Some of our guests return specifically for late-season expeditions.
Getting to Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen Airport (LYR) is served by regular flights from Oslo (approximately 3 hours) and Tromsø (approximately 1 hour 20 minutes). Norwegian and SAS operate these routes. Connections from most European cities run through Oslo.
We recommend arriving in Longyearbyen the evening before departure — both as insurance against flight delays, and to begin orienting yourself to the extraordinary environment you are about to sail into. The Svalbard Museum in Longyearbyen is worth a few hours.
Plan Your Svalbard Expedition
- → Read the full expedition guide — practical details, typical itinerary, what to expect on board, and how to book
- → Contact us — to discuss dates, availability, and whether Svalbard is right for you
- → Our yachts — the vessels we use for Svalbard expeditions
Svalbard expeditions run May through September only. Maximum 6 guests. Book 12–18 months ahead where possible.