Northern lights guide · Northern Norway
The lights are up there. Your job is to get under a clear bit of sky.
Tromsø sits right under the northern lights belt, which is a fancy way of saying the lights are overhead here more often than almost anywhere you can fly to with a carry-on. The catch is the weather. This is the coast, clouds roll in from the sea, and a cloudy night shows you exactly nothing. So this page is mostly about one thing: putting you under clear sky on as many nights as possible, and making the cloudy ones fun anyway.
This page contains affiliate links. How that works.
days in a row without a sunrise
of proper darkness on 15 December
up to the cable car viewpoint above town
the year Ølhallen started pouring beer
Honest answer: probably, if you give it a few nights. The lights show up over Tromsø on a big share of dark nights from September to early April. Even a forecast that looks weak on the apps can light up the sky here, because you're standing right under the action. What stops people is cloud, not a lack of aurora.
So forget the aurora forecast for a moment and look at the cloud forecast. Yr (the Norwegian weather app) shows cloud cover hour by hour. If the coast is grey and inland towards Finland is clear, that's where the chase tours will drive, and that's why they exist.
Best hours are roughly 6 pm to 2 am. The lights come and go in waves, so a quiet sky at 9 pm says nothing about 11 pm. Dress warm, bring a snack, and be patient.
The one rule
Book at least three nights.
One night is a coin toss with the weather. Three nights turns it into pretty good odds, and it lets you pick the clearest evening for a chase tour instead of gambling on the first one.
How long it's properly dark in Tromsø, on the 15th of each month this season. Worked out from the sun's position, so it updates itself every year.
"Dark" means the sun is more than 12 degrees below the horizon. Times are local, for a flat horizon. Mountains make it darker a bit earlier.
The dark season this year runs from 1 September to 10 April. The sun doesn't rise at all from about 28 November to 14 January. That's the polar night, and no, it isn't pitch black all day. You get a few hours of blue twilight around noon that photographers go weak at the knees for.
A bright moon washes out weak lights. Strong ones still show up fine, so don't cancel a trip over it. If you can pick your dates, aim for the week around one of these:
A driver who reads cloud maps for a living, a van with the heater on, and the freedom to drive two hours towards Finland if that's where the clear sky is. On a cloudy coast, this is the thing that actually gets you to see them.
Your free plan B. Ride up in the evening, watch the whole town glitter below, and if the sky opens up you've got the best seat in Tromsø. It's open until midnight.
You can absolutely see the lights from town. On a strong night they dance right over the harbour and the street lights barely matter. On an average night, though, the city glow eats the weaker stuff, and if the clouds sit over Tromsø there's nothing a bus ticket can do about it.
That's the whole case for a chase tour. The guides check cloud maps all afternoon and drive to wherever the gaps are, often inland towards Skibotn or across the border into Finland, where it's drier. A small minibus costs more and can move faster. A big bus is cheaper and goes to fixed spots. Either way, expect a long night: out around 6 or 7 pm, back somewhere between midnight and 3 am.
My advice: spend your first clear-looking night on your own at one of the spots below, for free. If the weather is iffy, that's the night to pay for a chase. Some operators offer a discount or a second try if you see nothing, so read the small print before you book.
All of these are on the island in town or just over the bridge. Take a headlamp, wear shoes with grip (pavements here turn into ice rinks) and wear something reflective. Cars don't expect pedestrians at 11 pm on a dark road.
Zero effort. Walk along the waterfront between the Scandic Ishavshotel and the Kaia restaurant, or follow the path under the bridge and out onto the north jetty. You get the bridge and the Arctic Cathedral in the same frame, which is the photo everyone back home will like.
Local tip
Only worth it on strong nights. If the lights are faint, the city glow wins. Use it as your "quick look before bed" spot.
A small lake on top of the island, with paths down to the water. It's dark enough to see a lot more than from the harbour, and in winter the lake is frozen and white, which looks great under green sky. You'll often find a few Tromsø folk with tripods who know exactly what they're doing.
A beach on the southern tip of the island, facing the mountains on the mainland. Darker than Prestvannet, and you can look south and west away from most of the town. Weak lights to the north will still fade into the city glow, so turn around once in a while.
Local tip
Check the bus back before you go. Late evening services are thin, and it's a long cold walk if you miss the last one.
A few minutes up to 421 metres, and the whole town lies at your feet. There's a café at the top, so you can wait for the lights with hot chocolate instead of frozen toes. It's open until midnight, which covers the best hours.
Fun factThe stone steps next to the cable car, Sherpatrappa, were built by Sherpas from Nepal. Walking up takes a fit person 25 to 35 minutes. In winter you need crampons and an avalanche check, so take the cable car.
A small group, a guide who decides the route on the night, warm clothes and a hot drink. Many include free photos of you under the lights, which beats your phone's attempt.
Same idea, more people, fixed stops and a lower price. Fine if your budget is tight and the forecast looks decent. On a borderline night, the small minibus is worth the extra money.
Return ticket up the mountain. Go at dusk, stay for the evening, and keep one eye on the sky.
Many camps are on Kvaløya, the big island west of town, with pickup from the centre. Choose between sitting in the sled or driving your own team.
Feed the reindeer, take a slow sled ride and sit in a lavvo (a Sami tent) by the fire while a Sami host tells you how reindeer herding actually works. Calm, cosy, and a good one for kids.
From early November to the end of January, orcas and humpbacks follow the herring into the fjords north of Tromsø, mostly around Skjervøy and Kvænangen. It's a full day out, and sightings aren't guaranteed. Pick an operator that keeps its distance from the whales, and skip anything that puts you in the water with them.
Stay in the centre. Chase tours pick up there, the buses to the free spots leave from there, and you'll want food at 1 am after a long night out.
Lovely if you have a car and are used to winter driving. Lights from your own doorstep, no city glow. Without a car, you'll be stuck the day the weather turns.
Tromsø is milder than people expect. It's the coast, and it rarely gets colder than minus 15. But you'll be standing still for hours, and that's when the cold gets you. Wool closest to your skin, a warm layer, a windproof shell, a hat, mittens on top of thin gloves, and two pairs of socks.
Many chase tours lend you a thermal suit and boots. Check before you pack half your wardrobe. Buy a pair of cheap ice grips for your shoes at any sports shop or supermarket in town. Best money you'll spend.
Doable, but only if you're used to driving on snow and ice in the dark. Roads are narrow, reindeer wander onto them, and the weather can close a mountain pass in an hour.
The big one: never stop on the road or the shoulder to look at the lights. Every winter people do it, and every winter there are near misses. Drive on to a proper parking spot, switch off your headlights, then look up.
Use night mode, put the phone on something steady (a glove on a fence post works), and let it expose for 3 to 10 seconds. Turn off the flash. Your phone will see more colour than your eyes, especially on weak nights, so take a test shot even if the sky only looks a bit grey-green.
The Arctic Cathedral, the white triangle just over the bridge, holds evening concerts in the dark season. Check the programme on ishavskatedralen.no. Fun fact: it isn't actually a cathedral. It's a parish church with a very confident nickname. The real cathedral is in the centre, and it's made of wood.
Pust is a sauna floating in the harbour. Sixty minutes of heat, a ladder straight into the Arctic Ocean, repeat. Book a drop-in slot on their website. Polaria, a short walk away, has bearded seals and a small exhibition about climate in the Arctic, with seal training sessions a few times a day.
Storgata 4, open since 1928, Tromsø's oldest pub and the Mack brewery's own taproom. More than 70 Norwegian beers on tap. Mack calls itself the world's northernmost brewery, which the brewery up on Svalbard would like a word about.
The airport is on the island, about 15 minutes from the centre. The Airport Express bus stops right outside departures and drops off at the big hotels. Its tickets aren't sold in the Svipper app. City buses 40 and 42 are cheaper but have little room for suitcases. A taxi takes about 10 minutes.
For the city buses, download the Svipper app and buy your ticket before you board. You can also tap a Visa or Mastercard on board. Cash isn't accepted.
Shops close on Norwegian public holidays. Most tours still run, and so does the sky. These fall in this year's dark season:
Last checked November 2026. Sources: Fjellheisen, Arctic Norway, northern lights in walking distance, Visit Tromsø, getting around, Visit Tromsø, whale watching, Svipper, airport buses, Mack, Ølhallen.
