Polar bears, walruses, Svalbard reindeer, Arctic foxes, belugas, seals, whales and very large seabird colonies. For a broad High Arctic wildlife trip in one compact archipelago, Svalbard is one of the strongest expedition destinations there is.
On the birds: little auk, Brünnich's guillemot, Atlantic puffin, eider, geese, Arctic tern, ivory gull and Svalbard rock ptarmigan are all in play depending on where and when you go.
Polar bears are never guaranteed. Where they are depends on sea ice, prey, your route and the season, and none of those hold still.
In Svalbard the distances are set by Norwegian law. You must stay at least 300 metres from a polar bear, rising to 500 metres between 1 March and 30 June, and disturbing, luring or pursuing a bear is illegal. Those figures are correct as at July 2026 and Svalbard has tightened them before, so check them again before you travel. So a bear on a Svalbard voyage is usually a long way off and watched through a lens. That still counts as a sighting. It is not the frame-filling portrait on the brochure cover.
Walruses and belugas are realistic goals rather than certainties. Belugas often work the coastal water and glacier fronts. Walruses haul out at traditional sites and are also seen swimming.
The reindeer are the easy one. Svalbard reindeer are commonly seen around Longyearbyen and the nearby valleys, and they are an endemic subspecies: short legs, thick bodies, built for the place. They graze near roads and paths and look tame. They are not. No feeding, no following, no walking up for a phone photograph.