Tromsø

Yes, Tromsø is part of Lapland. The northernmost regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia belong to Lapland, also known as Samenland.

Traditionally, these areas were inhabited by the Samen. The Samen – or Sami – are a nomadic people who still own large tracts of land.

👉 If you are in Lapland for the first time, we definitely recommend going to a reindeer camp where you will learn more about Sami culture.

Tromsø is located in Norway, north of the Arctic Circle, at 69°40′ N. It is one of the few large cities (more than 50,000 inhabitants) located far north. Only the Russian city of Norilsk is just a little further north.

Want to go on an arctic adventure outside the big city? Then Svalbard might be for you.
But if you’re heading north to see the Northern Lights, Tromsø is just right for you. Tromsø is located on KP1, which means the Lights can be seen even with weak solar activity. Thanks to its location, climate, connectivity and plenty of activities, Tromsø is the most accessible part of Lapland.

Tromsø is a cool destination all year round. However, some periods are better for whale watching, seeing the Northern Lights, or dog sledding. With so many possibilities, we’ve listed the months for you!

The Northern Lights: September – March

Tromsø is a place where the Northern Lights are highly visible. You can spot the Aurora between September and March. So if you want to see the Northern Lights, but don’t want to go to the cold, you can go in September. It still averages 10 °C in Tromsø then.

Whale watching: mid-November – late January

Tromsø is the ideal location to spot orcas and humpback whales in the wild. For that, you need to be here between mid-November and the end of January. If you can’t spot them off the coast of Tromsø itself, the boat will take you to the even more northern town of Skjervøy. 👉 A good tour can be found here.

Polar night: late November – mid-January

The Polar Night is a period when the sun does not rise above the horizon for the entire day. From late November to mid-January, you can experience the polar night. It is not always pitch dark, but you certainly won’t see the sun. The great thing about this is that you can spot the Northern Lights as early as the afternoon!

Snow activities: December – March

Want to experience Tromsø’s winter wonderland with a thick layer of snow? That’s highly recommended, as you can enjoy unique excursions like snowmobiling and dog sledding here. For snow, you should go between December and March. 👉 Check out our blog on the best winter activities here.

Midnight sun: late May – late July

In summer, you have the opposite of the Polar Night. From 20 May to 22 July, the sun does not set at all, the famous ‘Midnight Sun’. At night, the sky has a special colour and of course it’s just cool to experience such a natural phenomenon! This summer period is ideal for long walks in the beautiful mountains of the High North.

The best time to travel to Tromsø?

As you can see, it is not so easy to name the ideal travel time from Tromsø. It all depends on what you want to do (and what’s on your bucket list).

December seems like an ideal travel month for your holiday to Tromsø because of the Northern Lights, whales, and a thick layer of snow with fun activities …. plus you get the cosy Christmas lights for free! But in December it’s also dark almost all day and of course you have to want that.

We went in March. This allowed us to do several snow activities, as well as see the Northern Lights. We also mainly wanted to see a lot of the beautiful surroundings, so being in the dark all day didn’t appeal to us. As far as we were concerned, March was ideal, but it was still a pity we couldn’t spot orcas 😉

Tromsø has a small, but cozy city centre. All excursions start from the centre, and this is also where the coziest cafés and restaurants are. It is ideal to book a hotel or flat in the centre.

However, it can be a lot cheaper to book a hotel or flat outside the centre. Just make sure your travel time to the city centre is not too long, otherwise, you will lose a lot of valuable time.

We recommend you spend about five days in the city and then do a little road trip to surrounding islands like Kvaløya and Sommarøy. Of course, if you don’t want to do any excursions, you can stay in the city for a short time.

👉 You can find a full 7-day itinerary over here.

Tromsø itself has an excellent public transport network. If you stay in town, you won’t need anything but the bus.

By bus, you can go all over the island and the buses also run very frequently. You can buy single tickets, as well as daily and weekly tickets to save some money.

All excursions have meeting points in the city. So if you want to go on an excursion, all you have to do is going downtown. A hotel in or near the city centre is therefore ideal.

If you want to go outside the city to one of the islands, a car is quite handy. There are buses, but not as frequent. A rental car for outside the city is recommended, and fortunately, the roads are very good!

Yes, Tromsø is quite expensive. Not only is accommodation and living a lot more expensive than most European countries, the excursions take a big bite out of the budget. But it’s also all more than worth it!

We did the maths for our trip to Tromsø and listed everything for you: accommodation, food & drinks, transport, excursions and tips on how to save! 👉 You can read it here!

Actually, the cold is not too bad in Tromsø. Yes, you’re in the Arctic and there’s often snow, so I’m not going to say it’s hot. But compared to other parts of Lapland where you have similar winter activities (dog sledding, Northern Lights …), it’s not too bad in Tromsø.

That’s because Tromsø is on the west coast of Norway and therefore enjoys the warmer Gulf Stream. Be sure to bring your thermal clothing and gloves, but expect higher temperatures than in northern Finland or Sweden.

Yes, Tromsø is on KP1 which gives you a very good chance of seeing the Northern Lights.
The best period to see the Aurora is between September and March. If there is a lot of solar activity, you can see the Aurora Borealis dancing above the illuminated city.

If there is little activity, or you’re only staying for a short time, we recommend booking an Aurora Chasing Tour which greatly increases your chances.

👉 Make sure to check our Northern Lights tips

You can see the Northern Lights dancing above the entire city when there is a lot of solar activity.

But if there is minimal solar activity, you need to go to places without light pollution. You can then book a tour, or go to the darkest places on the island.

Some places with no or little light pollution in Tromsø:

• Prestvannet
• Telegrafbukta
• Grønnåsen
• Langvannet / Rundvannet
• Varden
• Fjellheisen
• Tromsdalen Valley

You also might see them near the port and the bridge. But of there’s a lot of strong activity (and a clear sky), all you have to do is look upwards, wherever you are in the city 😉