Svalbard Global Seed Vault

5 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is carved into a hillside above Svalbard Airport, 130 metres above sea level. It opened on 26 February 2008. It stores seed samples deposited by gene banks from many countries, deep in the rock and at a constant low temperature.

One point first, because it shapes every visit: the vault is closed to the public. The operator states that only authorised personnel have access, and that staff are needed only on the pre-arranged dates when the vault opens to receive deposits. The Crop Trust and Store norske leksikon say the same. What you can see is the entrance from outside, and the operator's virtual tour online.

How the vault works

The storage halls lie more than 100 metres inside the mountain, with 40 to 60 metres of rock above them, and are kept at minus 18 °C. Three halls give a total capacity of 4.5 million seed samples. According to the operator, the collection covers more than 5,000 plant species, and gene banks in the USA, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands are the largest national depositors. Other sources give lower figures; the numbers here are the operator's.

The Norwegian government built and fully funded the vault. Responsibility lies with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, daily operations are overseen by the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre (NordGen), and the Crop Trust helps to fund the running costs.

The entrance is decorated with an illuminated fibre-optic art installation by the Norwegian artist Dyveke Sanne, and it is this entrance that the tours show.

Visiting the entrance

The vault lies outside the settlement, and Visit Svalbard advises visitors not to go beyond the town limits without a guide because of the risk of polar bears. Drones are banned within 5 km of the airport, so the vault is off limits for aerial photos. The guided tours below combine the entrance with other stops in Adventdalen and town.

Reviews of these tours repeat two complaints. Some guests expected a look inside because of the tour title, and several found the price high for two hours. If the vault is the only reason to book, read the itinerary first; the tours differ mainly in what they add around the stop.

Choosing a tour

The two-hour car tour drives through town and Adventdalen with stories about the mining years, includes a stop at the entrance of the Seed Vault and several photo stops, and serves a warm drink. Groups are small; reviewers mention three to five guests. Its reviews date from June to October.

A second two-hour option runs all year. It drives into Adventdalen and up to the vault for an exterior view, then on to places in town such as the polar bear warning sign. The operator writes that only a little walking is needed and that it suits all ages. A minimum of two participants is required.

If you prefer to walk, the guided walk follows Adventdalen to the entrance and covers permafrost and why the vault was built here. It is listed at 3.5 hours, but one reviewer reports about two hours and 2.5 km on foot, and in bad weather the group went by car instead.

The exterior tour by taxi visits Svalbard Church, the old coal cableway central station and the polar bear sign, and views the vault from about 150 metres with a stop of around half an hour. Reviewers dispute the word in-depth in its title, and one reports a stop of only 15 minutes. The three-hour small-group sightseeing tour, for up to eight guests in English or German, adds the Arctic World Archive, photo stops at viewpoints in Adventdalen and a drive through Longyeardalen past the university, the church and the old mining installations. In the polar night, the northern lights trip by car stops at the Seed Vault on its way towards Gruve 3.

Combining it with Gruve 3

Gruve 3, the coal mine that produced from 1971 to 1996, lies just outside town, and the mine tour passes the Seed Vault on the drive out. It lasts three hours, includes pickup, overalls, helmet and headlamp, and is not suitable for people with claustrophobia. If you want to go underground as well, the mine and Seed Vault page compares both. For a wider look at the town, see Longyearbyen town.