Tromsø Tourist Map

There is no best time to visit Tromsø. The ideal time for visit depends very much on what you want to see and do. 

If your main goal is to see the northern lights, then you need to travel between the beginning of September and the end of March. 

If you want to whale watching, you must come to Tromsø between the beginning of November and the end of January. 

And if you want to do dog sledding, reindeer feeding, or snowmobiling, then you need to arrive when there is snow in Tromsø, meaning from the beginning of November to the end of March. 

Tromsø enjoys Midnight Sun for more than two months in the summer, from about the 18th of May to the 25th of July. 

June, July, August, and September are excellent months for hiking trips in the mountains. 

In our experience, we would skip traveling to Tromsø in April and May (unless you are an avid skier). September and October are still great for hiking, and you can see the northern lights. However, it is too early in the season for other activities like dog sledding, reindeer feeding, or whale watching. 

To see the northern lights, you need the sky to be dark enough so the aurora would become visible. In Tromsø, the sun does not set below the horizon from about the 18th of May to the 25th of July. It is not until the beginning of September that the sky gets dark enough again. 

You can see the northern lights from the beginning of September until the beginning of April. However, most travel agencies run their tours from mid-September until the end of March. 

The peak season is February and March when the weather is slightly more stable than in the other winter months. Moreover, the days become bright enough so you can enjoy lots of different activities and hunt the northern lights during the night. 

As much as we love Lofoten, when it comes to the northern lights, Tromsø is a supreme location. 

Tromsø is in the center of the northern lights’ oval, which means you can see the northern lights even when the activity is low. 

Moreover, the region around Tromsø has many microclimates, meaning that the neighboring valleys or fjords can have significantly different weather conditions. 

That means that even on very cloudy nights, it is often possible to drive to a place with clear skies within a 2 – 3 hr drive. 

You do not need to book a tour with a travel agency to see the northern lights. If the sky is clear and the northern lights activity is good, you can see northern lights even from the city center of Tromsø. 

However, if you want to increase your chance of seeing them, booking a tour with an experienced guide is always better.

On cloudy days, the guides are excellent at reading the local weather forecast and choosing the spot with the biggest chance for a hole in the cloud cover.

If the weather forecast looks dim, they might drive you all the way to Finland and back if that is the spot that promises the best chances for the night.

On top of that, you will learn a lot about the physics of the northern lights, as well as local legends. The guides will also take pictures of you and the lights, which requires a bit of practice, and give tips on taking great pictures with your own camera.

There are many companies that offer northern lights trips from Tromsø. Some use 15-seater minibusses, some big coach buses; some offer private tours in electric cars. But all in all, they are all quite similar. It can also happen that you will meet other companies in the same spot, especially on days with not-so-good weather forecasts. 

When choosing a northern lights tour, you should first decide what kind of tour you want – do you want a tour by minibus? Sailing tour? Do you want to combine the northern lights hunting with another activity like dog sledding or reindeer feeding? 

Let me quickly go through some pros and cons. 

Personally, I would choose a tour by minibus over the other options mainly because the minibus tours cover the most extensive distance. Moreover, on the days with a not-so-good weather forecast for Tromsø, they will be driving you to Lyngen, or even Finland, if there is a promise of better weather.

Being a photographer myself, I would go for a trip in a small group with a focus on photography. I can also recommend the companies Northern Horizon and Wondering Owl. 

You will not get that on a sailing trip that will stick to the nearest surroundings of Tromsø. Moreover, taking decent pictures of the northern lights from a constantly moving boat is difficult. It is OK if you want a few snaps on your cell phone, but it is less than ideal for photographers traveling with a tripod. 

There might be differences between tour operators, but here is what you can expect when you sign up for the northern lights chasing trip. 

First, you need to understand that the northern lights are highly unpredictable. Moreover, the chance of seeing them depends not only on their activity but also on the local weather and cloud cover. 

The northern lights generally extend from 80 kilometers (50 miles) to 640 kilometers (400 miles) above the Earth’s surface. Therefore, the tour’s name might be misleading since the activity is not about chasing the northern lights but searching for a clear sky. 

At the pick-up point, you will meet your guide and driver, and they will brief you about the current aurora and weather conditions and tell you about the spots they have chosen for the evening. You will also be offered to wear a warm thermal suit and winter boots unless you have your own. 

Then, you will get into a bus/minibus and drive to the chosen location. When the conditions are great, you might be able to see the northern lights straight away, and the guide will take pictures of you and respond to your questions. 

On other nights, the guide will make a campfire and tell you stories and legends about the northern lights while you wait for them to show up. And sometimes, when the conditions could be better, the guide will need to be checking other options and be in touch with other guides to decide where are the best chances to find a hole in the cloud cover. 

In any case, there will be a campfire, there will be stories, and the guides will do anything they can to find a spot where you can spot the northern lights and make sure that you are staying warm and having a good time while you are waiting for them. 

However, it would be best if you had the right expectations from the start. It might be cold, there might be a lot of waiting, and it can happen that you will not see the northern lights.  

So if seeing the northern lights is your biggest dream, I recommend booking tours on multiple nights.