Europe
Polar bears, glaciers and Arctic light at the edge of the map.
Svalbard is a Norwegian Arctic archipelago roughly halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Almost all visitors stay in Longyearbyen, a small former mining town reached by flights from Oslo or Tromsø, and head out to glaciers, ice caves, bird cliffs and the abandoned Soviet settlement of Pyramiden. Jan Mayen, the other half of the name, is a remote volcanic island with a staffed station and no tourism.
This is expedition travel: outside Longyearbyen, polar bears make going with a licensed guide the norm. Winter has weeks of polar night; March to May brings returning light for snowmobiles and dog sledding, and June to August the midnight sun, boat trips and wildlife cruises.
March, April, June, July, August.