Which northern lights tour to pick in Tromsø

For a first night out, a minibus chase with up to 15 guests is the most flexible choice. It can drive towards a gap in the clouds, sometimes into Finland, and thermal suits are included on most of them. A big bus with a camp stop is the easier option with children from age 5. A boat trip from the harbour suits you if you would rather not spend six hours on the road.

The aurora itself does not change with the tour. Visit Tromsø describes the town as lying below the auroral oval, where aurora activity is present around the clock. The question is whether the sky is dark and clear where you stand. This page compares the ways to get there. For season, forecasts and places in town, see our guide to the northern lights in Tromsø.

Big bus with a camp stop

The classic tour leaves the centre in the early evening in a bus or minibus with a toilet on board and stops at a camp with a fire and hot drinks. One operator, Northern Lights Safari Tromso, includes photos of the night, so you can leave the tripod at home. Winter suits are only for rent on that tour, and its product page states plainly that there is no refund if you see no lights. Children from age 5 can join.

A second coach tour, run by Jeshua AS from the Radisson Blu Hotel, works with a repeat rule. If the guide’s professional camera does not capture a recognisable aurora, you can come back on another night free of charge while seats are free. If you leave Tromsø before you can use it, part of the ticket price is refunded. Guiding is in English and Spanish.

Minibus chases with up to 15 guests

Most of the chases in the evening run in minibuses. The guides watch the cloud forecast and drive to where the sky is clearer, which can mean the coast, the inland valleys or the border. Three examples show the range:

• Snow-travels starts at the Scandic Ishavshotel and sells two lengths, a five-hour chase and an open option of six to eight hours. The bonfire and hot dogs only come with the long one. Children from 8 can join.
• Northern Horizon brings a photographer who also helps with your own camera, and the route can cross into Finland or Sweden over about seven hours. Thermal suit and boots, hot drinks and reindeer sausages by the fire are included.
• Arctic GM Experiences sets no limit on time or distance. The night can last from six to ten hours, groups range from 8 to 20 depending on the vehicle, and there is no toilet on board. If the camera captures no aurora at any point, the full price is refunded.

Toilets are the practical catch. Several minibus tours have none on board, and in remote spots there may be none at all, so a bus tour can be more comfortable on a long night.

Six seats and a long night

AdventuresGuide takes no more than six guests in a minivan and stays out for about eight hours, sometimes crossing into Finland. The tour films as well as photographs when the weather allows. Thermal suits are not included, so you need your own warm winter clothing, and the operator asks you to bring your passport and extra food. Guests must be between 18 and 65. The tour meets at the Circle K petrol station on Fredrik Langes gate.

From the water

A boat stays in the fjords around Tromsø. It cannot chase a clear sky across the border, but you sit in a heated cabin between looks at the sky and are back after three or four hours.

• Brim Explorer runs a quiet electric boat from the pier next to Skarven Kro on Kaigata, with heated lounges and vegan soup. The same company also sells a dinner cruise with a three-course seafood menu, and children aged 3 to 11 get a children’s menu.
• Polar Adventures hands out thermal suits and keeps the deck open all evening. If you see no lights, the operator offers a discount on one new tour, subject to seats.
• World Sea Explorers takes up to 12 guests on a sailing yacht and includes a private session in the hot tub on deck, with reindeer soup in the saloon.

Daytime cruises in the fjords are compared on tromsofjordcruises.com.

A camp evening or a night under glass

Some evenings are not chases at all. At the camp of Tromsø Arctic Reindeer you ride a reindeer sled and eat dinner, and the aurora is a bonus if the sky clears above the camp. The evening takes about four and a half hours. For more time under the sky, Aurora wonderland runs an overnight stay in a lavvo with a glass roof at a basecamp in the Lyngen area, for up to 12 guests. The transfer takes almost two hours with a short ferry crossing, so this is a trip to plan ahead. Lunch, dinner and breakfast and a snow suit are included, the bathrooms are shared, and children from 6 can come.

Active evenings

If you want to do something while you wait, a few activities run after dark. An evening snowmobile tour with North Experience spends 1.5 to 2 hours on the trail with stops to look for the lights, with dinner before. Drivers need a licence, and passengers start at 12. Legendary Adventure leads an evening snowshoe hike at Ersfjordbotn for up to 8 people, about three hours on foot with a chance of aurora on a clear night.

When the sky stays closed

No tour can promise the lights, and the rules for a night without them differ a lot. Read them on the product page before you book.

Most tours can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before the start. Visit Tromsø advises not to give up on a cloudy evening, because the weather here changes quickly and a gap can open. Booking your tour for one of the first nights of your stay leaves room to try again, with a repeat rule or with a second booking.

Departure times, group sizes and all the chases side by side: northern-lights-tromso.com.

Whatever you book, you spend hours standing in the cold. Read our page on what to wear in Tromsø before the first night, and see which tours fit into one day if you plan a daytime trip as well.