Tromsø: Northern Lights Chase by Minibus with Campfire, Thermal Suit & Photos

Tromsø lies at almost 70 degrees north, right beneath the auroral oval, which makes it one of the best bases in Europe for seeing the northern lights. The difficulty is the weather rather than the aurora itself: the coast around the city is often cloudy, while valleys a couple of hours inland can be clear on the very same night. This evening tour deals with that by using a small minibus and a guide who picks the direction on the day, after studying cloud-cover maps and aurora activity forecasts.

You meet in the city centre in the early evening and drive away from the street lights. On a settled night the destination may be a fjord beach on Kvaløya, the large island west of Tromsø, less than an hour from town. When the coast is overcast, the group often heads east past the Lyngen Alps to the Skibotn valley, known for drier weather than the coast, or follows the E8 road up to the Kilpisjärvi area on the Finnish border, some 200 to 240 km from Tromsø. Long drives are part of the plan on cloudy nights, so expect six to eight hours in total.

Once you reach a dark spot, the guide lights a campfire when conditions allow and serves hot drinks and snacks while everyone watches the sky. Insulated thermal suits are lent out for the evening, which makes standing in snow at minus 15 °C far more comfortable. The guide photographs the group with the aurora on a tripod-mounted camera and helps you set up your own camera or phone for night shots. The photos are shared online after the tour, usually within a day or two.

The 2026–27 departures run from September 2026 to early April 2027. Visit Tromsø gives the northern lights season as late August to early April, and the polar night, when the sun stays below the horizon, lasts from about 27 November to 15 January. Mid-winter brings the longest darkness, while September, October and March offer milder temperatures and the chance of auroras reflected in unfrozen fjords and lakes. Departures are usually at 18:30 from October to mid-March and later, around 20:00, in September and from mid-March, when evenings stay light longer.

No tour can promise the northern lights. A display needs both solar activity and a gap in the clouds, which is why the guide's readiness to drive matters more than any single viewpoint. Bring a passport or national ID card in case the route crosses into Finland, eat a proper meal before departure, and expect to be dropped back in central Tromsø well after midnight.

Dress in layers: a thermal base layer, a wool or fleece mid-layer and warm socks. The thermal suit goes over your clothes, but you need your own insulated winter boots, a hat, a scarf and mittens. Hand warmers and a thin pair of liner gloves make it easier to work a camera in the cold.

Most of the evening is spent riding in the minibus or standing still in snow, sometimes at minus 15 °C or colder inland. Paths at the viewing spots can be icy, so slip-on ice grips are worth packing. Children from 6 years can join with an adult; the late finish makes the tour tiring for young children.

The tour runs on cloudy nights too, because the guide's job is to drive towards gaps in the cloud. It can be cancelled if storms or road closures make driving unsafe; you are then offered another date or a full refund.

Bring a passport or national ID card in case the group crosses into Finland. Eat dinner before departure, carry a fully charged phone and a power bank, as cold drains batteries quickly, and plan for a return to the city well after midnight.

Aurora sightings can never be guaranteed. They are most likely on clear nights with moderate or strong geomagnetic activity, and your guide will explain what the forecasts show before you set off.