Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands

Svalbard and Jan Mayen are remote Arctic territories of Norway that sit far north of the European mainland. Svalbard is an archipelago of glaciers, fjords and tundra, while Jan Mayen is a small volcanic island in the North Atlantic; together they offer travellers an extreme, high-latitude destination centred on nature, research and expedition tourism.

Longyearbyen is Svalbard's main settlement and administrative centre, with an airport, museum, hotels and restaurants. Other notable places include the Russian mining settlement of Barentsburg, the abandoned Soviet town of Pyramiden and the international research community at Ny-Ålesund. Jan Mayen has no permanent civilian population and is home only to a Norwegian weather and military station.

Svalbard's largest island, Spitsbergen, is covered by mountains, glaciers and deep fjords, while the surrounding waters support polar bears, walruses, seals, reindeer, Arctic foxes and seabirds. Jan Mayen is dominated by Beerenberg, one of the northernmost active volcanoes on land, rising above black volcanic beaches.

The islands have a history of whaling, hunting and coal mining, and Svalbard is now an important base for Arctic research, including the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Most visitors come for wildlife viewing, glacier and fjord cruises, snowmobile trips, dog sledding and the midnight sun or northern lights.

Transport on Svalbard is concentrated around Longyearbyen, which is reached by flights to Svalbard Airport from mainland Norway; there are no roads between settlements, so travel beyond town is usually by snowmobile, boat or organised excursion. Jan Mayen has only a military airstrip and restricted access, making it largely a destination for researchers and special expeditions.