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Bird Cliffs of Spitsbergen

A boat trip to Fuglefjellet with Hurtigruten Svalbard (formerly Spitsbergen Travel)

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ABOVE: An "Isfjord Safari" boatman and guide explains what we're about to see at the Fuglefjell bird cliffs.

Seeing nature in the raw is a big reason for visiting Spitsbergen and the other islands of the Svalbard archipelago. Using the main town of Longyearbyen as your base, you can enjoy Arctic wilderness excursions via skis, dogsled, snowmobile, and--in summer--by boat or cruise ship.

Hurtigruten Svalbard (formerly Spitsbergen Travel), the area's largest expedition outfitter, offers a whole slew of trips from Longyearbyen--among them, a three-hour "Isfjord Safari" by open boat to Fuglefjellet, the cliffs where thousands of sea birds nest and breed during July and August.

A few years ago, I joined a group that was booked on the Isfjord Safari. The captioned pictures on the following pages show what we did and saw during the boat tour.

Next page: "Isfjord Safari" photo diary


In this article:
Introduction
'Isjiord Safari' photo diary

Longyearbyen tourist information:
Introduction
History, background
Sights, excursions
Cruises and boat trips
Hotels, guesthouses, camping
Restaurants
Shopping
Arrival and departure
Planning tips, Web links
Photos with captions

Related article:
Hurtigruten Arctic adventure cruise

About the author:

Durant Imboden photo.Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials.