Have you dreamed of a winter wonderland holiday in the Arctic circle, complete with husky sledding and the Northern Lights? If so, Tromso is the place to go! Tromso is a beautiful city located in the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway. It’s so far North that during the months of June & July, you’ll be in the land of the midnight sun with 24 hours of light and from December – January, it’s polar night, where the sun never actually rises and is pitch black from about 2pm. Tromso is the perfect base for Arctic activities given it’s easy access and location. I visited Tromso in December 2019 to try and catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. Keep reading to find out how to have the best 4 days in Tromso.
Here’s how to spend 4 days in Tromso
Day 1 – Walk around & Northern Lights Chase Tour
After checking into your hotel, walk around and explore the town. Depending on how much time you have you could visit the Polar Museum or take the Fjellheisen cable car. It’s a good idea to combine the cable car with a visit to the Arctic Cathedral because they’re both across the bridge. It was absolutely freezing when we crossed the bridge so definitely make sure you wear your thermals! We didn’t have time to go up the cable car but it’s definitely something I’d like to do next time.
Make sure you get some dinner as tonight will be your first Northern Lights Chase. There are several tours you could book, from small group tours to big bus tours. We booked a big bus tour with NorthernShots. We found that a lot of the buses (big & small) end up in the same place so there isn’t much difference between tours. The tour was absolutely fantastic and we were so lucky, the lights graced us with their presence 10 minutes before we were about head back to Tromso! They definitely make waiting for 3 hours in -4 degrees C worth it. Find out more details about Chasing the Northern Lights here. Bear in mind that you may need to book your Northern Lights Tour a couple of days in advance to avoid it selling it out.
Day 2 – Husky Sledding & potential Northern Lights Chase Tour
You’ll be quite tired after your Northern Lights tour the night before as you may not get back till about 1am. Of course the darkness throughout the days makes you feel more tired than you normally would aswell. I’d recommend booking a slightly later husky tour around 10:30/11:30am to give you enough time to have a lie in and grab some breakfast. We booked this husky tour 1 month before we wanted to go and found that it was the only tour & time that hadn’t sold out already! Luckily it started at 11:30am so it worked perfectly for us but if you do want more choice of tours book earlier! Our tour was absolutely amazing, I would definitely recommend it!
You’ll head out on a 10km trip with the huskies along a course with some steep downhill sections as well as a few uphill sections too. This was a self drive tour, so you and your partner take it in turns to drive the sled. Before you head out, you’re taught how to drive the sled and know when you may need to give the huskies a helping hand. Don’t worry though there is a guide for every 3 or 4 sleds. The guides check your sled and the huskies twice along the trip to make sure everything is all good.
This was such a cool experience I’d definitely recommend doing a self drive tour it was so much fun! I was a bit nervous about this at first but I wouldn’t had it any other way. To find out more about husky sledding have a read of my post here. We kept this evening free to potentially book another Northern Lights Chase incase we didn’t seem them on the first night. To be honest though, we were all so tired and were in need of an early night.
Day 3 – Tromso Ice Domes & potential Northern Lights Chase Tour
This morning, you should visit the Tromso Ice Domes, Tromso’s Ice Hotel. The best way to do this is by booking a tour, which includes transport to and from the ice domes and a guided tour. You’ll also get some time to look around by yourself. It’s kept at a consistent -5 degrees so make sure you wrap up warm, you fingers start to feel it after about 40 minutes! We loved this ice hotel, I’ve always wanted to go to one! It was amazing to walk round the rooms and marvel at the beautiful sculptures that had been carved. Each room is different and there’s even an ice cinema!
If you want to, you could book another Northern Lights Chase tour this evening as it’s your last night to do so. We decided to book another big bus tour with ChasingLights. Unfortunately despite driving 2 hours from Tromso we couldn’t find clear skies so we were unable to see the lights. However the guides were amazing! They set up a campfire while we drank hot chocolate and ate cookies while we waited! Even though we didn’t see the lights it was a great experience and I’d definitely book another tour with Chasing Lights.
Other activities in Tromso:
There are many other activities you could do in Tromso depending on what you like to do, inlcuding:
- Fjords roadtrip
- Whale watching
- Snowmobiling
- Snowshoe hiking
Where to Stay?
There are many different hotels you can stay in and some are quite expensive. We stayed at the Comfort Hotel Xpress Tromso, it’s a relatively inexpensive hotel and was very simple and modern. The hotel has lots of digital features enabling a seamless check in and it’s also really environmentally friendly. The rooms were a modest size and just what you need. You can get free hot water from Reception and you can buy breakfast items such as porridge, sandwiches etc and of course tea & coffee. We had breakfast here one morning when we fancied a change from croissants. It’s also very conveniently located, it’s a 10 minute walk from the hotel to centre of Tromso where most of tours leave.
Helpful tips:
- Norway is very expensive. The flights themselves can be quite cheap but the attractions and hotel can be very expensive. You can save money by bringing your own snacks. We only ended up eating one proper meal out a day, and that was usually later in the day around 3-5pm. We bought a coffee and croissant from a convenience shop for breakfast, and ate snacks throughout the day whilst on the tours.
- It’s unlikely you’ll need to rent a car in Tromso. You can walk around the centre by foot really easily. I’d recommend booking tours for any activities you’d like to do and these will usually include transport
- Tap water in Norway is drinkable, unless something else is written advising otherwise. If you’re unsure you can always ask your hotel.
- Book your activities in advance to ensure that they don’t get booked up! You can usually book Northern Lights tours a few days before, but Husky Sledding you should book well in advance.
- Bear in mind, that each activity you want to do will require 1 day each. Since you often have to drive about 1-1.5 hours out of Tromso to the location of the activity. All day tours are usually back in time for you to jump on a Northern Lights Chase afterwards if you wanted to.
- THERMALS, these are an absolute must in Norway in the winter. They are a life saver and make sure you wear several layers on top as it does get very cold
- Make sure you take an insulated bottle (e.g Chillys bottle) as you can pour hot water in it. This will stay warm for the whole day! So when you’re standing out in the cold on the Northern Lights tour or walking round Tromso you can stay warm. I’m so glad I took mine it really was a life saver!
- Crampons can be quite helpful when walking around the town as it is often quite slippery and icy. We came prepared with them however didn’t end up using them, so returned them when we got back!
- Don’t be surprised if you feel very tired when visiting during Polar Night. This is normal as it’s dark pretty much all day!
- The easiest way to get to the town from the airport is using Flybussen. However if you are a group of 2 or more then a taxi is probably cheaper!
