Things to do in Tromsø in winter

The tours on this page start in the city centre, from the Prostneset terminal, a hotel entrance or the harbour, and include the transfer. That matters, because Visit Tromsø advises visitors to use public transport or tours with transport included rather than drive themselves on icy roads. The other thing to plan around is light. The polar night lasts from about 27 November to 15 January, so in December a daytime tour takes place in twilight, and many activities run in the dark anyway.

Below, each activity gets a short summary and a link to the site where we compare all the tours for it. Further down are the things you can do in and around the city without a specialist guide.

Husky sledding

On the usual format you drive your own team. On the Kvaløya tour in our list you spend 70–80 minutes on the trail, two people share a sled and swap halfway, and the trip takes about four hours from the Scandic Ishavshotel. The camps close to the city lie near the coast, and in November and April their snow can run thin.

All husky tours from Tromsø, with their camps and ride times side by side, are on husky-tromso.com.

Reindeer and Sámi camps

Reindeer tours combine feeding the herd, a sled ride and Sámi storytelling or a Sámi guide. At one camp a Sámi guide introduces a herd of around 300 reindeer, and the sled ride is a 10 or 20 minute slot that you choose when booking. A shorter visit to a camp about 15 minutes from town takes 2.5 hours and includes about half an hour of Sámi storytelling.

Compare reindeer sledding, feeding visits and evening camps on tromso-reindeer.com.

Whale watching

Since 2017, orcas and humpback whales have gathered to feed on herring in the Kvænangen area, including the fjords around Skjervøy. The season usually runs from the beginning of November until the end of January, and the exact timing varies from year to year. Skjervøy is about 160 kilometres from Tromsø by road, so whale trips are long: the hybrid-electric catamaran in our list is out for 7–9 hours.

Every whale tour from Tromsø, by catamaran or by RIB from Skjervøy, is compared on tromso-whalewatching.com.

Northern lights

Tromsø lies directly below the northern lights oval. Visit Tromsø gives the season as late August to early April, and the lights are often most active between about 20:00 and 02:00. You can sometimes see them from town, but the clouds and the city lights are what usually get in the way, so guided tours drive out to darker areas. The bus tour in our list takes about six hours and stops at a camp with hot drinks. Our guide to the northern lights in Tromsø covers forecasts and what to expect.

For minibus chases, boat trips and tours that cross into Finland, see northern-lights-tromso.com.

Fjord cruises

A daytime cruise is the quiet way to see the fjords around the island, and it works without any snow. The panorama catamaran in our list leaves from Nerstrandkaia in the centre and takes 3.5 hours, with indoor seats and free coffee and tea on board.

More fjord cruises from the harbour are compared on tromsofjordcruises.com.

Snowmobile safaris

Snowmobile trips leave Tromsø for the mountains. The Lyngen Alps day starts at Prostneset at 08:30, includes the bus and a fjord ferry, and gives you around 2.5 hours on the snowmobile. The other main area is the Tamok valley inland: Camp Tamok is about 95 kilometres from Tromsø, roughly 1.5 hours by bus, and there two riders share a snowmobile and swap.

Lyngen and Tamok trips are compared in detail on tromsosnowmobiles.com.

Snowshoe hikes

The snowshoe hike in our list spends about three hours on the mountain with a group of up to 15, a picnic and photos taken by the guide. Fjellheisen also runs its own guided three-hour tour, with about an hour on snowshoes along the trails at the top of the cable car.

Group sizes and walking times for every snowshoe tour are on tromsosnowshoe.com.

Sea kayaking

Kayak tours also run in winter. The one in our list needs no experience, takes up to 10 paddlers and ends with hot drinks by the fire at the basecamp. It lasts five hours including the transfer from the Prostneset terminal.

All kayak tours around Tromsø are listed on tromso-kayaking.com.

In the city and on day trips

You do not need a tour for everything. These topics have their own pages on this site.

Polaria describes itself as the world’s northernmost aquarium and keeps bearded seals, the Polar Museum sits in the old customs buildings on Skansen, and the merchant houses in Sjøgata and Skippergata date from around 1820. Our page on sights and museums lists them with winter opening hours, and the Arctic Cathedral has a page of its own.

For the view, the Fjellheisen cable car takes about four minutes up to Storsteinen at 421 metres and runs until midnight, so you can go up after dark.

Daylight trips out of town cross Kvaløya to Sommarøy, about an hour’s drive away, go to Senja, which takes 2–4 hours by car, or to the Lyngen Alps with a 20-minute ferry from Breivikeidet. Routes and travel times are on our page about day trips from Tromsø.

Sámi Week runs from 31 January to 7 February 2027 and ends with the Norwegian championship in reindeer racing in the city centre. Museums, markets and tours with Sámi guides are covered under Sámi culture in Tromsø.

On the plate, look for fish soup, bidus (the Sámi soup of reindeer meat, carrots and potatoes) and skrei, the seasonal cod that reaches northern Norway between January and April. More in food and drink.

King crab is an introduced species in the Barents Sea: Russian researchers released it in the Murmansk fjord in the 1960s. Fishing trips with a guide leave from the city quay, see fishing and king crab.

Visit Tromsø names Prestvannet and Charlottenlund as good starting points for cross-country skiing on the island, and one of the beginner courses starts at Charlottenlund.

For saunas, Pust floats in the historic harbour and is open every day from 06:00 to 23:00. Tromsøbadet, the public pool, has a sauna and a heated outdoor pool.