Winter adventure in Northern Norway
A complete guide for a trip to chase the Northern lights, sledge with huskies, feel the arctic winter and enjoy Nordic Christmas atmosphere. Great tips and tricks on how to experience the biggest winter adventure for affordable price are undoubtedly included.
We have been always dreaming to see the green lady performing on the night sky – the Northern light. This natural phenomenon is created when particles from the sun’s wind enter the earth’s atmosphere. Subsequently, they are coloured and create this stunning show. In Europe, it is mainly visible in Nordic countries, usually from September to mid-April, when the sky is dark and clear. Therefore, we decided to travel right before Christmas to Norwegian city Tromsø offering positive conditions to chase the Northern light.
Right after arrival, we picked up our car, inevitable buddy for our trip. It was a pretty late night, so we went to check into our accommodation and prepare for the next day. We were aware that the daylight would last just a few hours (cca from 10:00 till 14:00). Of course, we wanted to use our time efficiently. That is why we planned all our activities in advance.
The first day, we aimed to explore Tromsø. The city centre is quite small, everything important is in walking distance. While you walk along shopping street Storgata, you cannot miss a wooden cathedral Tromsø Domkirke. At the end of the road, you will find an interesting architectonic building resembling falling books – Aquarium Polaria. Then we walked by the fjord, heading to a huge bridge, which connects Tromsø and Tromsdalen.
In Tromsdalen, there are two biggest tourist attractions. We recommend visiting them during daylight. The first one is a modern arctic cathedral – Ishavskatedralen. The second attraction is the cable car Fjellheisen. It will bring you to the top of the hill with the best view not only on Tromsø but also on surrounding fjords and mountains. Even though the sun does not rise during the winter time, its layers created yellow-orange aurora on the sky. It was one of the most beautiful views of our lives. When you travel to Tromsø, you should not miss this experience. We suggest you booking the tickets in advance, so you do not wait in long queues. The capacity of the cable car is around 20 people.
If you want to see the Northern light, you should travel out of the city. You have to avoid light polluted places. We decided to go to Skibotn, close to the Finnish border. We heard that there is a really high chance to capture the Northern light because of the good stability of the weather. After a few minutes of waiting, we saw unusual light stipe on the sky. Only after taking a picture we could be sure it was the wishful Aurora. It was quite weak, but we were astonished how fast it changed.
For the next day, we booked an authentic arctic experience – dog sledging. They picked us up in the city centre and took us to a dog farm near Kvaløya. After dressing up, we went to the snow-covered highlands and met our dogs. After a short instruction, we obtained a sledge where Lenka was a passenger and David a driver. Our team leader was sledging the first and formed a path for all the dogs. There were 5 sledges in a row, each with four dogs. We admit that the icy conditions were quite difficult, but we challenge ourselves. When you get used to the sledge system, you will enjoy beautiful Arctic nature. After two hours of sledging, we visited the dog farm and chatted with the team leader about the dogs and life above the Arctic circle. It was a great memorable experience.
The sky was clear in the evening, so we didn’t have to travel far from Tromsø to chase the Northern light. We went back to Kvaløya and found a nice spot. Few minutes after the Northern light came up from the mountains and grew so the whole sky was green. The breath-taking peak of the whole show was fast-moving formations of Aurora. It was really fascinating.
The last day, we went for a trip to see one of the most beautiful fjords in the Tromsø region – Eresfjord. The road was surrounded by snow-covered mountains above azure fjords and offered views on the Nordic countryside. Then we continued to a small village Sommarøy, where are the most famous beaches among the locals. You can also find tiny Norwegian fisherman houses here. In the evening on our way back to Tromsø, we stopped on a random car park and astonished enjoyed unbelievable green natural drama for the last time.
Practical info
There are more places which are suitable for watching the Northern light. The most popular are: Skibotn, Sommarøy, Kvaløya and Rinsvassøya. It is up to you if you want to chase the light by yourselves or you want to book a trip with an agency. We decided on the first option because the trips are quite expensive, the weather seemed to be good and there was a high probability that we would see the light. But if you are not sure which direction you should go to chase the light, you can follow the tourist buses. You just need to find out where and when they meet up. The apps we used to chase the Northern light: NorwayLights and Aurora Fcst. They were reliable. When you settle at a location and find the light, it will be almost impossible to capture it by phone. Therefore, we recommend that you bring a camera with manual settings. You should be able to set shutter speed (we used 8 to 20 sec), aperture (the lowest value of F) and ISO (we used values from 650 to 1250). The settings, however, depend on lenses, weather and other factors. Remember your tripod/stative.
One thing regarding clothing. Even though it does not seem to be extremely cold (like -5C), it feels like being much colder. Therefore, you should be ready for real Arctic winter and have warm tea aside all the time.
Budget
This kind of trip to Norway is not cheap but if it is your dream to see the Northern light, it is worthy to invest into, probably, one of the most beautiful experiences of your life. Here are prices you can expect:
Flight tickets– 260€/pp.
Accommodation – from 35€/nighty/pp.
Car – from 40€/day
Fuel – 1,5€/liter (we spent 40€ for 3 days)
Cable car in Tromsø – 20€/pp.
Arctic cathedral – 5€/pp.
Dog sledging – from 160€/pp.
Northern light (with an agency) – from 100€/pp.
Meal in a restaurant – from 15€/pp.
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