Travelling and watching the Northern Lights is in almost everyone’s bucket list. Here I’ll tell to you everything you need to know before adventuring to one of the coolest things mother nature gifts.
Destination Tromso
There are many places where you can see the Northern Lights. In the end, we choose Tromso, located in the northern part of Norway. This town is right in the middle and under the polar belt. This means that chances to watch the Northern Lights where amongst the highest. It’s a small town, however you can do some other activities such as museums, cruise, fjords, restaurants or visit the artic cathedral.
When is the best time to go?
The season starts from late September-October till March-April during the winter time in the Artic. Polar Nights in Tromso starts around the end of November and lasts till the middle of January. This means that the sun doesn’t rise at all—barely a twilight— and it is the peak of the season. We went in February and the sunset at 4 pm max. We managed to catch some sunny days and snowstorm days with lots of wind. Weather is a bit unpredictable. The town is covered in a layer of ice, yo need to be careful and wear proper shoes to avoid falling.
How to get to Tromso?
We first spent 3 days in Oslo and then took a 2 hours plane to Tromso. We flew with Norwegian. Once we landed in Tromso, we already had transport arranged to take us to the the hotel—Chasing Lights (@chasinglights) was the company that arranged transport as we did the tours with them.
Where to stay in Tromso?
There were many hotels in Tromso but none five star hotels. Airbnb’s are also available, so you just have to choose whatever accomodation suites you and your budget.
We stayed at The Edge by Clarion (@nordicchoice), this was the best hotel in the town and had a good location.
Do I watch the Northern Lights by myself or with a tour company?
Options
You can rent a car and go by yourself or book a company and go chasing. Although I wouldn’t recommend renting a car as you don’t know where the best skies are. Driving in ice is tricky if you don’t have experience and you’ll be tired at the end of the night to drive all the way back. There are many companies in Tromso for booking a Northern Lights tour, we ended up doing it with Chasing Lights and closed all the activities from home.
Going to the Norther Lights with a company
When going to the Auroras with a company, you can do it in a big bus with 50+ people, you can do it in a minibus with 12 people or you can do a private tour. We wanted to experience a bit of freedom at so we booked a private tour for one night and then two nights in a mini bus.
We don’t like overcrowded tours, the experience is not the same and you just have to accomodate to a lot of people. Going privately means that the guide is there for you at all times, tailoring the night to your needs. Totally worth it.
How many days are needed to watch the Northern Lights?
Per recommendation of Chasing Lights and in order to avoid disappointment, they told us ideal time is at least 1 week and go chasing for 3 nights. The reason is that mother nature is unpredictable and they are trained and give their best they can’t control the weather, the intensity of the Northern Lights or any other random thing that may happen.
There are some people that only travel for one night with high expectations of watching the lights, some get lucky and see it and other don’t. If you travel this far, I wouldn’t risk it all to one day and at least stay minimum 4 nights.
Keep in mind that during the day you’ll be doing other activities and Northern Lights nights are long and quite tiring. It’s up to you how you want to experience. We prefer a relaxed pace and don’t rush.
What to wear and carry to the Northern Lights tour?
The first and most important thing to consider is what you wear. As I said, Northern Lights chases are long nights from 6pm till it is enough or the Northern Lights makes an appearence and it can be till 1 am, 3 am or 7 am.
You’ll be outdoors at all times, with weather changes and inclemeancies like wind. Yes, they’ll make a fire to warm you up but still it’s very important you’re well equipped to bear the extremely cold weather. Tours may provide you with neccessary equipment, Chasing Lights did but we preferred having our own.
Layers
Layers are a must and the better this layers are, the less cold you’ll feel. I’d recommend investing in merino wool thermal clothing, they keep you warmer and you won’t feel bulky. Be sure it’s suitable for extreme conditions weather as there are many different thickness for different types of outdoor activities. Merino socks would be also a good investment, your feet will get cold.
Outwear
Good outwear that bears extreme weather conditions. Make sure it is waterproof, windproof and have a hoodie too. Waterproof trousers are a must. It may sound silly, but I really saw people with jeans. A good cashemere beanie and a merino wool scarf, one that isn’t too bulky but protects you from the cold—I recommend the loop ones, they are more comfortable during the Aurora as it doesn’t fall down.
Gloves
A good pair of gloves will save your hands from freezing. As you’ll want to take pictures during the night, I’d suggest layering two gloves. A thin glove, so you can manage your camera without being bare hands and a thicker one on top to keep them warm.
Warmers
In case you don’t want to buy merino wool socks, wear two gloves or simply want to compliment and feel even warmer, hand and feet warmers are a life saviour. They come in little packages, you shake them up and then put it in your pocket or attached to your feets. You can buy them in Norway at XXL Stores (web) as they were hard to find. I didn’t wear two gloves so when my hand was freezing I put it on my pocket and they would warm up quickly.
Boots
Tall snow boots are obligatory. You’ll walk through high snow, so the taller the better. Chasing Lights provided us with snow boots, they didn’t fit that good but made the job. Maybe it’s better if you wear your own.
Waterproof backpack
Very handy to protect the things you carry so they don’t get wet.
Snacks
They will feed you in the tour, nothing fancy, mountain survival food. But it is always useful to pack some high calories food as protein bars or beef jerky just in case you need a lift me up. Also water as the cold dehydrates you too.
Tripods
Thankfully, Chasing Lights provided us with a tripod for our camera and helped us with our camera setting to take the best photos. If you want to carry your own, make sure it’s sturdy and big tripod.
Spare batteries and phone charger
The cold makes your batteries drain faster. Don’t be like me and put some spare batteries for your camera too. Mine died and when I thought I was going home happened the most spectacular thing and could capture it with a proper camera.
Did I saw the Northern Lights?
Seeing the Northern Lights isn’t guaranteed, but if skies are clear and weather is good chances are really high. The intensity of the auroras may vary, some days will be stronger than other and that’s another reason why people do several chasings.
We got really lucky on our first and only night, we saw them only an hour drive from Tromso. The skies were very clear and weather was good, cold a bit windy at times but no snowstorm or rain. We were by a fjiord, a beautiful landscape with a marvellous starry sky night. We could se the stars and different constellations so bright and so clear that it felt unreal.
After being there for an hour, setting our tripods and cameras the majestic Northern Lights appeared shyly in the sky, but as time passed out it intesified its green colour and some violet too. Seeing it as bright as in the photo with the naked eyes is impossible, unless the Northern Light is strong enough. But you definitely see the light green colour sky moving and changing.
After a couple of hours, at 12 am we decided that it was enough. The Northern Lights weren’t as intense we were cold, tired but super happy. Again, that’s the best thing on private excursions, you get to choose when to leave.
Just when we were packing and sitting in the car the most wonderful thing happened. The sky started dancing with such intensity and doing forms that we were simply amazed. A crown form—as they call it—took place in the sky with violets and green colours dancing and creating movements. The next thing we now, an hour has gone by. Pictures below taken by Meda from Chasing Lights.
After a magical night, when we arrived at the hotel around 3-4 am, we watch the sunrise from our bed. We were tired but so grateful of what we’ve witnessed that day. Definitely, I’ll always cherish this memories.
Travelling with chilren to watch the Northern Lights
Sorry to disappoint you but as wonderful Northern Lights are, I don’t think children are suitable for this experience. You’ll spend hours outdoors in cold and the child can get bored of waiting. Hours in -15ºC, -20ºC, -30ºC cold is tough for any adult. I can’t imagine children under such conditions. And if you have to drive 3 or 4 hours to a place, things get even more complicated. Althoug, I wouldn’t recommend it, it’s your decision.
Chasing Lights: Do I recommend them?
Yes, I‘m glad we did the tours with them. To be honest, we didn’t know what to expect until we met them, but it all went smoothly and well.
They organized every activity we wanted to do such as dog sledding, the auroras and the fjiords tours. Also, they arrange a pick up from the airport to the hotel and viceversa. And they managed our hotel booking as well.
Comunication was great and very easy. We loved our Northern Lights tour guide Meda. She was awesome, super passionate, friendly and took amazing pictures and videos from that night.
They were a perfect fit for us and I recommend them.
