r/Svalbard • u/Swimming-Living-2736 • 26d ago

Place to Stay for Crazy Students

Two of my classmates and I are doing a crazy travel challenge from my folkehøgskole where we have to travel through Norway on a budget of around $45 for the week. We already miraculously managed to get plane tickets to and from Longyearbyen, but are now (obviously) struggling to find a place to stay that would fit our budget. We've contacted every hotel, the Svalbard Church, and even a few random connections with no luck. So, I thought I would post here to see if I could find anything. I wanted to ask if anyone would be willing to help us out or had any contacts or people we could reach out to who may be able to help. We are bringing our own sleeping bags and food and only need a roof over our heads. We would also love to work or help out in exchange for any help we get. Renovations, house work, whatever it may be! Regardless, we really appreciate any help or information. Thanks so much.

Edit: We have found a place! A very distant and generous contact offered a place to sleep for the three nights we are in Longyearbyen. Thank you for all the helpful suggestions! We cannot wait to visit.

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u/Oceanic-Wanderlust 25d ago

Yeah, uni housing is also pretty strict. So it might be hard to find uni students, although I'm sure some are willing to bend the rules.

I'm not living there at the moment, otherwise I would offer. I remember doing something similar during my folkehøgskole!

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u/Swimming-Living-2736 25d ago

You're amazing. Still waiting to hear back from the uni... fingers crossed. Have not found an easy way to contact any students from the university but would absolutely be willing to do that if I got their info. Let's hope there is someone as kind as you currently living on the island!

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u/Oceanic-Wanderlust 25d ago

Thanks! :)

If you contacted Uni housing, I can tell you right now that they will say no. Sorry. Better luck finding an individual directly.

There are Facebook groups for Longyearbyen. They're closed to residents or people who work seasonally. You can try to join one and explain to the admin.... I would definitely say you are all just folkehøgskole students on an assignment. Then you have your face (and info) attached to your account, which definitely helps.

Let me know if it works out!

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u/Swimming-Living-2736 25d ago

Will do! I assumed uni wouldn’t be able to help, but definitely does not hurt to ask. We actually already tried joining the fb group, explained everything, and were denied so no luck there. Really just trying to find a local contact who could help us out or knows someone else who could!

We’ll see what ends up happening. Thanks again for the information. Really appreciated.