Tromso is an idyllic quaint city above the Arctic Circle making it a perfect winter wonderland to try to see the Northern Lights between November and March!
Itinerary
Night 1: Northern Lights Chase Tour
On day 1 we are flying into Tromso!! Pick up your car if you plan on driving, settle into your Airbnb or hotel, and pick up groceries if you plan on cooking.
The goal of our trip was to see the Northern Lights so we hit the ground running and booked a Northern Lights Minibus Chase Tour for the first night! In short summary, this tour can be 6 – 10 hours long depending on weather conditions, included transportation, high quality photos, and dinner by a campfire! We thought this tour was 10/10.
Day 2: Lyngen Alps Snowmobile Safari
Driving Snowmobiles in the Lygen Alps was my FAVORITE excursion we did, it was so fun to drive and the views were absolutely stunning. There are 2 riders for each snowmobile, and each rider drives for around 45 minutes, stopping at scenic viewpoints and for hot drinks along the way.
Day 3: Dog Sledding
For the third day, we booked a Dog Sledding Tour where we got to drive our own dog sleds and it was such a fun and cute experience. We had a few hiccups with one of our guides that we can talk more about later, but overall we all agreed we would love to do the experience again but maybe with a different company. The excursion below is different than the one we did, and is the one we wish we could’ve booked but it was fully booked on the day we were looking for.
Day 4: Reindeer Feeding/Sledding & Sami Cultural Experience
We did our Reindeer Feeding/Sledding & Sami Cultural Experience with Tromso Reindeer Arctic Experience and it was AWESOME. The owners of the farm let the reindeer roam free in the summer and spring, but in the winter the reindeer have difficulty finding food in the harsh weather so they keep them on the farm! Booking a tour helps the owners afford the tons of food pellets they need to feed their hundreds of reindeer. We chose the short reindeer sled option and thought it was the perfect amount of time, any longer and we would’ve been too cold from sitting still.
Day 5: Sommaroy, Pust Sauna, & Explore Downtown Tromso
This gorgeous sauna has glass windows so you can see the mountains and ocean while you steam, then can cold plunge into the freezing Arctic Ocean to cool down! This was such a unique experience for a very affordable price, we opted for two hours so we didn’t feel rushed.
Itinerary for the Day
9 AM – 12 PM: Explore Sommaroy (Optionally can also do Ornfloya hike, we did not have time)
12 PM – 1 PM: Drive to Tromso
1 PM – 2 PM: Eat Lunch in Tromso
2 – 4 PM: Pust Sauna
4 PM – 6 PM: Souvenir Shopping in Downtown Tromso
6 PM – Rest of the Night: Drive Back Home, Eat Dinner, & Chase Northern Lights!
Day 6: Fjord Road Trip
If you looked up excursions in Tromso, a popular one is Fjord Road Trips, however if you rent a car you can do this yourself for essentially free + gas. When we were driving around on our Fjord Road Trips, we saw multiple tour buses following the same routes!
Itinerary for the Day
9 AM – 11 AM: Ersfjordbotn Viewpoint
11 AM – 12:30 PM: Eat Lunch and Shop at Bryggejentene AS
12:30 PM – 1 PM: Drive
1 PM – 2 PM: Grotfjord Beach
2 PM – 2:30 PM: Drive
2:30 PM – 4 PM: Explore Tromvik
4 PM – Rest of the Night: Drive Back Home, Eat Dinner, & Chase Northern Lights!
Day 7: Farm Getaway (The Best Airbnb EVER)
For our vacation, we stayed at an Airbnb 15 minutes from Tromso for the first 5 days to be close to excursion meeting points, then decided to go to a more remote Airbnb in Laksvatn for the last two nights. We were hoping to see the Northern Lights from our balcony and hang out with some farm animals, and it was a GREAT decision.
Things we LOVED about the Airbnb
*No affiliation at all, we just LOVED IT and have to share all the details*
1. The host Bard was so nice and very communicative if we had any questions
2. We saw the Northern Lights from our balcony, feeling absolutely spoiled after driving for hours and waiting in the cold all of the previous days
3. The stay is on a farm so they have super friendly animals (dogs, cats, horses, & sheep)
4. They have a farm to table restaurant and two members in our group said it was their favorite meal of the entire trip
5. They have a free sauna to use on the property
5. They offer rides around the farm on the horses (we did not do this but saw guests staying at their other Airbnb doing it and it looked so cute)
Every Night: Tips to Chase the Northern Lights
- You need 3 things to see the Northern Lights: darkness, minimal clouds, and Mother Nature to want to shine light across the sky.
- Patience is key when searching for the Northern Lights. There were multiple times that we waited for hours and saw nothing, then had 10 minutes of extremely vivid lights out of nowhere.
- We used the app Yr.no (after recommendation from our Airbnb hosts) to watch livestream camera footage of areas nearby to let us know if we should go out that night to chase the lights!
Our Favorite Locations to See the Northern Lights
- Ersfjordbotn View Point
- Grotfjord Beach
- Kattfjordeidet
Tips on Taking Portrait Photos of the Northern Lights
- Tripod is essential!
- Use a flashlight to manually focus on the person in the portrait photo
- If you are using a professional camera, play around with the settings: (3-10 second long shutter speed, f 1.4 – f 4.0 aperture, 800-3200 ISO)
If you are using an iPhone, set night mode to the longest time possible - Take the photo, and halfway through the photo, quickly wave the flash at the person in your photo, allowing for both the person and the northern lights to be visible in your photo 🙂
General Tips
Driving a Car in Tromso
- As an US citizen, no International Drivers Permit (IDP) was required to rent or drive a car
- GetAround: We used the car sharing app GetAround to book our car for a super affordable price compared to car rental agencies in the area
- Parking: The easiest place to park in Tromso is in the underground parking tunnel for around $4 an hour or a flat fee of around $40 for the day
- Tolls: There are tolls to drive in and out of Tromso, for our week of driving we only paid $15
Restaurants
We opted to buy groceries and make around half of our meals to save money, but we also went to a few restaurants and cafes! The following are a few of our favorites.
- Walter & Leonard ($$$) – Dinner
- Reindeer Steak (10/10!!!!)
- Fish Soup (9/10)
- Porcini Risotto (9/10)
- Norwegian Stock Fish (6/10)
- Bryggejentene ($$) – Cafe
- I can’t remember the names of what we got but the fish soup was my favorite and they had a selection of pastries!
- Svermeri Kafé og Redesign ($$) – Cafe
- Curry Fish Soup (8/10)
- Raketten Bar & Pølse ($) – Lunch
- Known to be the smallest “bar” and serve reindeer hot dogs!