Isfjord Radio

Isfjord Radio stands at Kapp Linné on the exposed outer coast at the mouth of Isfjorden, built in 1933 as the coastal radio station that handled all Svalbard's traffic with the mainland, burned during the Second World War and rebuilt, and automated in the 1990s when the work no longer needed people. The buildings now run as a small hotel, reached by boat in summer or snowmobile in spring across ninety kilometres of nothing.

What you actually see

• The station buildings - the 1933 radio complex, rebuilt after the war.
• The exposed coast - the outer shore at the mouth of Isfjorden.
• The remoteness - ninety kilometres from Longyearbyen with no road.
• The conversion - a working station turned into a small remote hotel.

When to go

March to May for snowmobile access, June to September for boats. There is no road at any season. The site is exposed to weather from the open sea.

Honest expectations

There is no road and access depends entirely on weather; guests can be delayed in both directions. The hotel is expensive and small. The coast here is exposed and often fogbound.

Nearby

Alkhornet is northeast, and Longyearbyen is east.