Tromso
Tromsø is the one place in Norway people plan for winter, and Europe's most accessible aurora base. Guided chases drive to the gap in the cloud, and whales and huskies fill the short days.
Tromso in a nutshell
Tromso: what to expect
We counted 88,000+ planned stops across Norway on Stippl before writing this guide to Tromsø.
Tromsø is an Arctic city built for two seasons, and most travellers give it 3 nights on Stippl. Winter is the aurora, dog sledding and whale safaris; summer is the midnight sun and hiking. The centre is under a kilometre across on the southern end of Tromsøya island, with the wooden cathedral, the museums and the pubs inside it, and the Fjellheisen cable car and the Arctic Cathedral wait across the bridge.
Tromsø runs on a different calendar from the rest of Norway. December is the month most travellers plan Tromsø for on Stippl, while the rest of the country peaks in summer, and 31.7% of Tromsø trips start in December, January or February. Tromsø is also booked further ahead than Oslo or Bergen, about 104 days out, because the dates depend on the dark.
Give the lights three nights, sleep in the centre and book the beds before the tours. One clouded night ruins a two-night trip, and every chase, sled and whale boat leaves from the centre; Tromsdalen across the bridge is cheaper and a walk further out. Tromsø more often ends a northern route than starts one, after Lofoten, Narvik or Bodø. Skip it if you want a warm summer or a cheap trip: the midnight sun is a different holiday, and the tours are the budget.
Plan Tromso in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the appWho Tromsø is for
Aurora chasers
Tromsø is the most accessible aurora base in Europe, and guided chases drive out to whatever gap in the cloud exists that night.
Winter travellers
31.7% of Tromsø trips on Stippl start between December and February, and no other Norwegian city peaks outside summer.
Whale watchers
Orca and humpback follow the herring through late autumn and winter, and the safaris leave from the centre for the few hours of daylight.
Midnight-sun hikers
From 20 May to 25 July the sun does not set, so a summer visit means hiking in light that never ends rather than a warm holiday.
Anyone going on to Lofoten
Lofoten, Narvik and Bodø turn up on Tromsø trips far more often than elsewhere in Norway, so the city and the islands make one northern route.
Maybe not for you: anyone on a tight budget, since Arctic logistics sit on top of Norwegian prices and the tours are the real cost; and anyone after a warm summer holiday, because the midnight sun is a different trip, not a hot one.
The best time to visit Tromsø
Aurora season
Mid-September to early April
The lights are visible across the whole window, with November to February the darkest and strongest stretch. Guided chases, whale safaris and dog sledding all run through these months.
Polar night
Late November to mid-January
The sun does not clear the horizon, and the middle of the day runs blue rather than black. It is the peak of the winter trade and the dearest weeks of the year for a room.
Midnight sun
20 May to 25 July
The sun does not set at all, and the season is for hiking and long light rather than warmth. It is the quieter of Tromsø's two seasons, the reverse of the rest of Norway.
Shoulder
April and September
Neither the aurora nor the midnight sun is reliable in these weeks, and April is the quietest month travellers plan Tromsø for on Stippl.
- Tromsø is booked further ahead than Oslo or Bergen, about 104 days out on Stippl. In aurora season the central beds, not the tours, are what run out, so fix the room first and add the chases afterwards.
- The Northern Lights Festival and the Tromsø International Film Festival both fall in January. Both land in the middle of aurora season, so book the room at the same time as the tickets rather than after them.
- March is the aurora month for anyone who also wants daylight. The nights are still dark enough, the days are long enough for whales or huskies, and fewer travellers plan Tromsø for it than for December or January.
- Weather closes things here, so build slack into a short trip. Fjellheisen shuts in bad conditions and tours cancel, and a single clouded night is enough to ruin a two-night aurora trip.
Add your Tromso dates and we'll flag the weather
Stippl shows the season, crowds and prices for every stop on your route.
Describe your trip, get a Tromso itinerary in seconds
Everything in this guide is already in Stippl. Tell the planner how long you have and what you like: it builds the route, the days and the travel times, and you edit whatever you want.
Things to do in Tromsø
Photo by Dana Andreea Gheorghe via UnsplashA guided northern-lights chase
Guided chases drive out of the city to whatever gap in the cloud exists that night, which is the whole reason to pay for one. Book two or three rather than one, from about €110 each.
Fjellheisen to Storsteinen
Ride the cable car 421 m up in four minutes for the view over the city and the fjords, and on a clear night the aurora. It closes in bad weather, so check on the day.
The Arctic Cathedral
The 1965 church across the bridge in Tromsdalen is a triangular concrete structure shaped like an ice floe, with an enormous glass mosaic behind the altar. Entry is free during services.
Dog sledding
Half-day and full-day husky runs are the second big winter ticket after the aurora, from about €140 for a half day. The tours leave from the centre, so no car is needed.
A winter whale safari
In late autumn and winter orca and humpback follow the herring, and the boats sail out in the few hours of daylight. Take seasickness tablets before boarding, not after.
The blue hours of the polar night
From late November to mid-January the sun stays below the horizon and midday turns blue rather than black, a light of its own, separate from the aurora. Plan the walks for the hours around noon.
The neighbourhoods of Tromsø
City Centre
Compact, lively, the tour hub
A kilometre of Arctic city on the south end of Tromsøya island, with the museums, the harbour and the pubs. For first-timers and anyone booking tours, since every chase and safari leaves from here.
Every tour at the door, and the highest prices in Tromsø.
Storgata
Pedestrian street, cafés and shops
The pedestrianised main street through the centre, with the cafés, the shops, the tourist office and the wooden cathedral a short walk east. For first visits and anyone who wants to walk everywhere.
Central and on foot to everything, and a step below the harbour on price.
Tromsdalen
Across the bridge, quieter
The mainland side of the bridge, a short walk from the Arctic Cathedral and the Fjellheisen cable car. For families and travellers watching the budget who do not mind the walk into town.
Cheaper beds and the cable car close by, but twenty minutes on foot to the centre.
Outside the city
Glass cabins, dark skies
Glass cabins about 25 km out, where the aurora is visible from the bed on a clear night. For a splurge night built around the lights, with a car or a transfer arranged.
The lights from the bed, and 25 km from every restaurant.
See every Tromso neighbourhood on one map
Save the areas you like and Stippl plots your days so you're not crossing the city twice.
Where to stay in Tromsø
Stay in the city centre: every tour leaves from there and the walkable core is small. Most travellers give Tromsø 3 nights on Stippl, and December and January are the dearest weeks of the year, the reverse of the rest of Norway, so book the aurora season early. Tromsdalen across the bridge is the cheaper alternative, a walk further out.
City Centre
€€€€
Four-star and harbourfront hotels, from about €80 in winter for a central four-star to €150 on the harbour.
Storgata
€€€
Mid-range hotels and guesthouses on and off the main street, about €150 to €240 a night.
Tromsdalen
€€
Campsite cabins and simpler rooms across the bridge, from about €80 a night in winter.
Outside the city
Glass cabins with the sky overhead, about €255 a night in winter.
What to eat in Tromsø
Migratory winter cod, in season roughly January to April
Barents Sea crab, usually sold as an experience as much as a meal
Sámi-farmed, served as steak or in a stew
Minke, eaten locally and worth knowing you may be offered it
An Arctic berry, usually with cream as dessert
Heart-shaped, with brown cheese
Discover food spots in Stippl
Find restaurants and markets on the map, save them to your itinerary, works offline too.
Tromsø customs and what not to do
This is Sámi country
The Sámi are the Indigenous people of the region, reindeer herding is a working livelihood, and the camp visits are businesses the Sámi run themselves.
The dark is organised
The polar night is a season people organise around rather than endure, and the pub density in the city is part of how they do it.
The sun's return is a holiday
On 21 January, when the sun clears the horizon after the polar night, people gather round fires at Telegrafbukta and bakeries bake solboller through the night.
Buy wine before the weekend
Supermarkets sell only weak beer and everything stronger is Vinmonopolet, which shuts on Sunday and closes early on Saturday.
Do
- Visit a reindeer camp run by Sámi herders, where the business is theirs
- Go down to Telegrafbukta on 21 January, when the city marks the sun's return
- Stock up at Vinmonopolet on Friday before a weekend of aurora nights
Don't
- Plan the aurora around a single night; cloud decides it
- Book a two-night winter trip with no slack; tours and the cable car cancel in weather
- Expect the midnight sun to mean warm weather; it is a different holiday
What a Tromsø trip costs
Budget
€93–139
A hostel bed and self-catering, with the aurora watched free from the bridge or Telegrafbukta on a strong night.
Mid-range
€185–278
A mid-range hotel in the centre, one restaurant meal a day and a guided chase or two.
High-end
€352+
A harbourfront hotel or a glass cabin, restaurant dinners and a guided tour most days.
Track what you actually spend
Set a daily budget per country and log expenses in any currency while you travel.
Fun facts about Tromsø
Tromsø's winters average about minus 4 °C, not minus 30. The North Atlantic Current keeps the coast ice-free, so the city is far milder than Arctic Canada or Siberia at the same latitude.
Tromsø has more pubs per head than any other Norwegian city. The pub density is part of how the city handles the polar night, a season people organise around rather than endure.
Tromsø holds the world's northernmost aquarium and northernmost McDonald's. It also has the Domkirke, the only Norwegian cathedral built entirely of wood, and a 1911 kiosk claimed as the world's smallest café.
Amundsen's Arctic expeditions left from Tromsø, which is why the Polar Museum is here. The museum covers the expeditions that sailed north from the city.
The whale boats out of Tromsø now sail two to three hours each way. The herring the whales follow moves further north every year, so a short hop has become a full day at sea.
Local tips for Tromsø
The airport is ten minutes out
Langnes airport sits on the same island as the centre, and the airport bus gets you into town in about ten minutes for around €4.
Three nights for the lights
Most travellers give Tromsø 3 nights on Stippl, and that is the right number: one clouded night ruins a two-night trip, and three gives the chase room to work.
Studded overshoes, day one
Ice underfoot is constant through the winter, and studded overshoes are sold all over the centre for exactly that reason. They are worth the money.
Take the tour's suit
A chase means hours standing still in the dark, and proper insulation is the difference between a good night and a cut-short one, which is why most tours lend suits.
Skip the hire car in winter
Studded tyres, dark afternoons and icy open road make winter driving a skill, and huskies, whales and aurora chases all leave from the centre anyway.
Watch free from Telegrafbukta
On a strong night the aurora is visible from the city itself, and the bridge or the shore at Telegrafbukta gives a dark enough sky without paying for a guide.
Tromsø questions, answered
A long weekend at the least: Tromsø gets 3 nights from most travellers who plan it on Stippl, longer than Oslo or Bergen. One clouded night ruins a two-night aurora trip, so the third night is the insurance, and it leaves a day free for a whale safari or the dogs.
In winter, which makes Tromsø unusual in Norway. 31.7% of the Tromsø trips planned on Stippl start in December, January or February, while the rest of the country peaks in summer. The aurora runs from mid-September to early April, so the dark months are the busy ones and the central beds go first.
Usually at the end. 39.0% of everyone who plans Tromsø on Stippl finishes the Norwegian leg there, after Lofoten, Narvik or Bodø. Lay the northern stops out in Stippl and check the drives, since Tromsø to Lofoten is just over six hours, then show the route to people who have been, in subreddits like r/Norway.
No, but it helps. On a strong night the aurora is visible from the city itself, from the bridge or the shore at Telegrafbukta. A guided chase buys mobility: it drives inland to whatever gap in the cloud exists that night, and cloud, not solar activity, is what usually stops you seeing it.
Not quite. From late November to mid-January the sun does not clear the horizon, but the middle of the day runs blue and violet rather than black, a light people come for on its own. By late January the sun is back, and the days lengthen fast through February and March.
Yes, as a different holiday. From 20 May to 25 July the sun does not set in Tromsø, and the season is for hiking and long light rather than warm weather. Book it as a walking trip in daylight that never ends, not as a beach break, because the midnight sun brings light rather than heat.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Plan Tromso in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the app