When to go · Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen in May
Great month. Inside Longyearbyen's best window: Mar–May (snow, auroras, snowmobile season) and Jun–Aug (midnight sun, boat trips).
Key facts
- Verdict
- Great
- Temperature
- −1°C (30°F)30°F (−1°C) / −4°C (25°F)25°F (−4°C)
- average high / low
- Rain days
- 8
- Crowds
- Medium
- Norway overall
- Prices
- Medium
- Norway overall
Verdict
Inside Longyearbyen's best window: Mar–May (snow, auroras, snowmobile season) and Jun–Aug (midnight sun, boat trips).
Is another month better than May?
No other month rates higher than May for Longyearbyen in this guide.
Weather in May
- LongyearbyenHighs around -1 °C (30 °F), lows around -4 °C (25 °F), rain on about 8 daysHighs around 30 °F (-1 °C), lows around 25 °F (-4 °C), rain on about 8 days
- Svalbard, Norway · Longyearbyenfine
High Arctic: polar night late October to mid-February (true darkness mid-Nov to end of Jan); midnight sun about 20 April – 23 August. Snowmobile season March–May.
Festivals and holidays
Dates as our data lists them. Moving holidays (lunar and Islamic calendars, Easter) shift every year: check the date for your year before you build a trip on it.
Constitution Day big impact
17 May · Norway
Children's parades, national costumes, everything closed; Whit Monday also falls on 17 May in 2027.
Crowds and prices
- Crowds · Norway overall
- Medium
- Prices · Norway overall
- Medium
Norway overall: Fruit blossom in Hardanger, 17 May celebrations; mountain roads still closed early in the month.
Compare two months
Weather, crowds and prices for any two months in Longyearbyen, side by side.
Verdict
May: Great
Mar: Great
Daytime high
May: -1 °C (30 °F)30 °F (-1 °C)
Mar: -9 °C (16 °F)16 °F (-9 °C)
Night low
May: -4 °C (25 °F)25 °F (-4 °C)
Mar: -16 °C (3 °F)3 °F (-16 °C)
Rain days
May: 8 (better)
Mar: 16
Crowds
May: Medium
Mar: Medium
Prices
May: Medium
Mar: Medium
Festivals listed
May: 1
Mar: 1
May: Inside Longyearbyen's best window: Mar–May (snow, auroras, snowmobile season) and Jun–Aug (midnight sun, boat trips).
March: Inside Longyearbyen's best window: Mar–May (snow, auroras, snowmobile season) and Jun–Aug (midnight sun, boat trips).
Longyearbyen: figures are long-term averages from this guide, not a forecast.
What to pack
- A warm coat, hat and gloves for mornings and evenings