>>1045164Some more hints. I spent a semester at the university there.
>Flew from Norway, Denmark? As the other anon said, you can fly from Oslo. If I remember correctly (and kayak says the same) its only operated by SAS with a stop in Tromso, so you probably also could go to Tromso by other means. You could probably also go there in summer with Norwegian, I think they also occasionally service LYR. Essentially, LYR is a full-blown (yet very small) international airport, that happens to be connected to Tromso only.
>Best time to go there? Depends. Every time has its magic.
"Summer" is great, because its day 24-7, and the lack of vegetation is also fascinating (especially if you are a geologist, so your results may vary).
Winter (real winter, not its-cold-and-there-is-some-snow winter, the latter might be all year) is a fascinating experience too, because its night 24-7. going skiing at midnight, because due to the full moon, its the brightest outside it has ever been since 2 months is great, as are northern lights (albeit Svalbard supposedly is too far north for the best ones).
My personal favorite was around March (pic related). The light and the mood it transports is just insane around that time.
>Place to stay? Tour operators? Cant really help you there, since I lived in the dorms, and got a gun from the university.
But if you go there as a non-local, or dont have local connections, you definitely need a tour operator! There's lots to choose from, but I cant reccomend one from personal experience. If you can splurge, and go in summer, see if you can go on a cruise (not big cruise ship, get a small 20 person boat). I was doing a geology field trip on that boat:
http://www.polar-quest.com/ships/ms-stockholm/>USD 11 490 per person Twin cabin (bunk bed, shower/WC)>Not included: Flight to/from LongyearbyenHoly shit! didnt realize that the uni spent that much on that field trip.
Also check out >
>>1044559 which covers svalbard too
