Tromso, Norway: Chasing Northern Lights - One Night Only

Chasing Northern Lights - For one night only

I don't know when will be the next time that I'll be able to visit Nordic region. Thus, even if the schedule is too tight, I decided to risk a weekend visit - for one night only, to chase the northern lights.

There are a lot of factors to consider on doing this kind of trip.  So please do your research.

When to go

I'm coming early November which is within the months that there are possibilities to see the light.  The possible months are within September to April, where the peak happens during equinox (sun crosses the Earth's equator, resulting in nearly equal lengths of day and night) in October (autumn equinox) and March (spring equinox).  Familiarize yourself on polar nights (brings 24+ hours of darkness, no sunrise) giving high chances of seeing the aurora and midnight sun (24+ hours of sunlight,  no sunset) happens in summer where you don't expect or be able to see northern lights.   

Where to go

I've been studying the lights for a while, and here are my options.

(Reykjavík), Iceland - But this is located in lower latitude, causing shorter nights compared to the arctic region. No trains in the city, and with frequent volcano eruptions in 2024, 2025.

Rovaniemi, (Finland) - I'm not sure how accessible it is from the airport, but I see that the place mostly requires a guides. Plus, I don't want a heavy snowy tour.  Also, there is no direct flight to Rovaniemi from Copenhagen. 

Tromso, (Norway) - with still a decent and accessible airport (compared to other more secluded airports).  The closest to the arctic (among the three) with longer night time. Buses run between the airport and the city center. With a very lively central area and many options to do.  Thus, I decided to select Tromso for this adventure. 

Don't get me wrong, there are other areas like Levi (Finland), Kiruna (Sweden), or Svalbard and Alta (Norway) to visit as well, but do your research first in deciding where to go.  

Familiarize yourself with the map.  Study about the Arctic Circle.  Watch a lot of videos to know experiences from previous travellers.  

Source: wikimedia

What to do

Choose what to do, either hunt by yourself or join tours.  There are a lot of local guides which they say are more affordable than booking in Get Your Guide.  There's also an option of joining a big bus which is also affordable than joining a small coaster which can easily pass by narrow roads along the mountain side.  There are also tours offering a cozy "campfire and reindeer sausage" experience (where you stop in an area and wait until the lights appear) rather than focusing on the chasing itself. 

Not sure if it's easy to book one upon arrival. Some reviews suggests to pre-book your guided tour if joining one. I'd rather pre-book one, rather than experience that most groups are already fully-booked.  

I'm doing this for one night only, and after reading reviews online, I finally decided to book on "Tromsø: Unlimited Northern Lights Chase Across Borders", provided by Arctic GM Experiences AS

Preparations

• Always monitor the weather and temperature
• Gear for the cold and wind.  
• Wear bonnet or ear mufflers
• Use open fingers for accessibility, and bring heattech gloves for protection.
• Wear ultra warm base layers.
• Wear a turtleneck top or neck warmer for the nape (for yin, yang balance or preventing getting colds).
• Wear a face mask or nose covers. Prepare easy to access tissues for your runny nose.
• Find a windproof top and/or waterproof pants (you can also find some in Decathlon).
• Wear double socks, find wool socks if possible.
• Wear waterproof or goretex shoes or anything comfortable like snow boots.
• Prepare cleats or crampons to clamp on snow and prevent slipping on icy grounds. Please remove the spikes when getting inside the bus.Understand layering.  
• No need to gear-up while inside the coaster as it is warmer.  Just gear-up when going outside. 
• Be patient and understanding during the chasing.  You may need to wait for longer hours as to when the lights will be visible. 
• Pickup time varies between 5–9 PM, depending on weather conditions, depending on when it gets dark. Free-up your personal schedule starting at 4pm, so you have enough time to move around the city to the meeting point.  The exact time is confirmed on the day of the tour, they will contact you on WhatsApp or GetYourGuide app.
• I like this tip I found online: Dress like you're meeting a polar bear for coffee. The more comfortable, the longer you stay, - the better the light gets. -epicnaess@ig

The Tour

For our trip, we did not cross borders to Sweden or Finland.  As there are chances of seeing it from Ringvassøya Island, less than an hour away drive from Tromso center.  Our pick-up point is Tromsø City Library and Archive at 6:00 pm.

With a small bus, and they need to accommodate a group to be seated together, as a solo traveler, they have moved me behind the driver, jokingly mentioning that I got a premium seat. There's traffic within the city center, but no traffic when we reached the highway.

You may also check the Aurora Forecast app to learn more about the lights, which cities the lights are visible from and known factors (dark, clear skies, solar activity (KP-index), high altitude regions) affecting the visibility of the lights.

For our first stop, it is along Fv66 road (nearby Reinholmen or Indre Kårvik, Norway).  Here's what it looks like in the morning (taken from Google Street View).

When we reached the place, it was totally dark, you don't know where you are stepping.  During our visit the ground is wet, cold and has bouncy grass.  It was a night with a bright sky. The moon was shining (which could be a pro or con as to how it will affect the skies to be clear) and the stars were visible. I actually don't know at first what the light looks like.  It's very faint and weak and unrecognizable to my naked eye.

With photos included in the package, they needed full darkness and used flash to capture the light and good subject.

After taking a few shots for everyone, we moved out since the background includes electric wires and posts.      

In less than 20 minutes, while we were still inside the coach looking for a spot, I saw something moving, then I understood now.  I sat with the guide and asked Luigi if that's the aurora borealis.  To the naked eye, it's like a gray dust moving in the sky (if I describe, it's like a hurricane or tornado excluding the destruction and strong wind).  The stronger it gets, the darker it is in the naked eye, but in camera that's how deep the green (or other color) it will be. 

We stopped at the next spot: along Fv66 road near Austerbotn (Hansnes, Norway). Here's what it looks like in the morning (taken from Google Street View).

From this area, the aurora borealis is strong in the sky.  We stayed almost for an hour watching the dancing lights, fainting and getting stronger, crossing the sky above our heads.  With beautiful reflection on the Austerbotn straight / fjord we were facing and across the mountain behind us.

Naked eye vs Camera

I've been following several accounts about aurora borealis and here's a good comparison (of epicnaess@ig) about why aurora looks better in camera (and why its actually a good thing)

• Your eyes switch to night mode. In the dark,your eyes trade color vision for survival vision. That's why weak auroras look grayish, while your camera sees neon.
• Cameras collect color, while eyes don't. Camera can gather light for many seconds (its exposure). Eyes, in a tiny instant. That's why cameras show more magic than the brain does.
• Sensors boost colors, amplifying the greens purples and blues. Humans boost caution.

They also offered pastries and hot drinks, while killing the time.

After some time of waiting, with the agreement of everyone, we decided to end the tour and go back to the city since we already saw the dancing lights.

To understand the aurora colors, refer to this article.

About Arctic GM

Thanks to Matthias and Luigi for a very wonderful trip they have offered to enjoy the northern lights from Tromso.  They provided excellent information about the northern lights and the place.  Plus mystical stories and shamanistic folklore of The Sami (indigenous people of the north). They are friendly and very accommodating to the group's questions.   

The tour is on a pricey side, but I have chosen this provider since they are in chasing activity.  Depending on the length of darkness (on when the sun sets), when the tour starts or ends.  Please read the reviews as some tours may chase for 2-3 areas.  Some tours end at 10pm, sometimes 2am, crossing the borders of Finland and Sweden.  Thus you need to keep your passport safe while on tour.  Since it is a small group and small coaster, it can go on narrow roads. As the forecast is time bound, there are cases when we are driving fast on icy road condition, but still felt safe with them while chasing the lights.  Also during the tour discussion, they mentioned that they follow the tyre regulation. Special thanks to our driver.

In Tromsø, you must use winter tires (studded or non-studded) from October 16 to April 30. While winter conditions can begin earlier, the legal requirement for winter tires in Northern Norway (including Troms county) is strictly mandated from this date. Tires must have a minimum tread depth of 3 millimeters. [Reference]

The provider Arctic GM provides an honest report.  On 03-November-2025 (2 nights after my tour), they posted "Tonight's Aurora visibility is nearly impossible due to heavy clouds across Lapland.  Tours in Rovaniemi and Levi are cancelled - we chase clear skies, not profits.  Better nights are coming soon. Stay cozy and keep watching the sky."  Follow their social media account for awareness. The communication from the provider is superb.

The package also provides DSLR photos, but doesn't depend on it much.  Still use your iphone or camera.  I'm an Android user and I can say that the photo quality is too low compared to an iphone or DSLR.  The 100 photos they will share after 2-4 days is too limited and few.  During our trip what they shared only came from one camera, and not on the other camera which I have more photos with.

 

Choosing a chasing tour is absolutely a right decision. 

Summary:

In the end, I would not suggest going there for one night experience as there are many other options on how to chase northern lights, and many more activities available in Tromso, Norway.   

Overall, it was a fantastic experience provided by the tour. Risking one night to chase northern lights was a success.  I'm thankful for this opportunity and experience.