Guide · Evening Schedule

Tromsø Northern Lights Hunt: How the Evening Unfolds

A northern lights hunt in Tromsø is a long, cold and often unforgettable night. Here you will learn when the lights are most active, how to prepare and what to expect outdoors.

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Editorial tromsonordlichter.deUpdated on October 2, 20266 min read18 sources

The Tour for This Guide Tromsø: Northern Lights safari with guides and photos 4.6 (8,349 reviews) 6 hoursGuide bookable in GermanProfessional photo includedUnlimited option from$61per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hours in advance

In short

01How it works: Check the forecast, dress warmly, wait outside until the sky opens up, and keep searching if clouds roll in.
02Duration: The northern lights safari on this site is scheduled for 6 hours.
03In Case of Clouds: Some tours drive inland or into Finland, where the sky is often clearer.¹
04Outdoors: Hot drinks, chairs, and, if the weather is right, a campfire are part of the safari.
05No lights: No refund, but with the Unlimited option, another trip.

The Tromsø Northern Lights Hunt in One Night

A northern lights hunt is not a fixed-schedule excursion but a search. No one knows in the afternoon exactly when the sky will open up in the evening or when the aurora will become strong enough. That is precisely what makes the Tromsø Northern Lights Hunt so exciting. You get in, drive out of the city lights, and hope that a green band appears somewhere over the mountains.

The northern lights safari recommended on this page is scheduled for 6 hours. That sounds long, but it is typical for a night when the weather sets the pace. During every northern lights hunt, you spend part of the time on the move and part of the time outdoors, looking up. How exactly those hours are distributed depends on clouds, wind, and activity in the sky.

So you are not caught off guard, it is worth knowing how such a night unfolds: the preparation in the afternoon, the best time in the sky, the search for clear weather, the wait in the snow, and the moment the light appears. Each of these phases has its own small rules, and anyone who knows them experiences the night far more relaxed.

The itinerary

A northern lights night step by step

In the afternoon

Check the forecast

View the short-term forecast and forecasts for one and four hours at NOSWE.²
Before departure

Dress warmly

Wool base layer, warm jacket, shoes, gloves, scarf, and hat.³
From about 8 PM

Active period begins

The northern lights are often most active between about 8 PM and 2 AM.⁴
In Case of Clouds

Look for clear skies

Some tours drive inland or into Finland.¹
Outdoors

Waiting and watching

Hot drinks, chairs, and, if the weather is right, a campfire are part of the safari.
Until about 2 AM

Active period ends

But they can appear at any time during the night.⁴

Tromsø Northern Lights Time: When the Sky Is Active

The most important question for your planning is the time. In Tromsø the northern lights are often most active between about 8 PM and 2 AM, but they can appear at any time during the night.⁴ For you, that means: during these hours you should be outside, not in your hotel. A northern lights tour that sets out in the evening places its search right in this window.

How long it is dark at all depends heavily on the time of year. During polar night, roughly from November 27 to January 15, the sun does not rise in Tromsø.⁵ Then the sky is already dark in the afternoon. In autumn and late winter, it stays light longer, the night is shorter, but still long enough for a hunt.

The season itself in the Tromsø region runs from late August to early April.⁶ In summer there is no northern lights hunt, because then the midnight sun shines, roughly from May 20 to July 22.⁷ If you combine the time of day with the time of year, you will quickly see how much darkness is available to you in your travel week.

Darkness of the year

How dark it gets in Tromsø

Hours without sunDays with precipitationSeason

Hours without sun at midmonth and days with at least 2.5 mm of precipitation. NOAA, Tromsø station, 1991 to 2020.¹⁸

Duration compared

How long northern lights hunts from Tromsø last

Tour	Duration	Special feature	Price from
Northern lights safari with experts	6 hrs	Unlimited option	from $61
Small group with photos	6 hrs	Small group	from $131
Hunt with snacks and suits	7 hrs.	Thermal suits	from $127
Hunt until you find them	5 to 8 hrs	Max. 15 persons	from $144
Minibus with campfire	8 hrs.	Campfire	from $159
Hunt across borders	8 hrs.	Unlimited rides	from $309

Duration and prices as per the offers on GetYourGuide.

Types of hunt

Short, flexible, or across the border

Classic

Northern lights safari

Fixed duration, large group

Duration: 6 hrs
Rating: 4,55
Price: from $61

View tour

Tromsø: Northern Lights Chase - We Drive Until We Find Them

Flexible

Hunt until you find them

Duration varies by night

Duration: 5 to 8 hrs
Group: max. 15
Price: from $144

View tour

Tromsø: Unlimited Northern Lights Chase Across Borders

Go far out

Hunt across borders

Unlimited rides

Duration: 8 hrs.
Rating: 4,51
Price: from $309

View tour

Tour finder

Which northern lights tour suits you?

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They can appear at any time during the night, but are often most active between about 8:00 PM and 2:00 AM.

Visit Tromsø Region ASTranslated from English · Source 4

Before Departure: Forecast, Clothing, Food

The evening starts in the afternoon. A look at the forecast helps you gauge the night. The Norwegian Space Weather Center NOSWE shows a short-term forecast for Tromsø as well as forecasts for one and four hours.² An all-sky camera at the Tromsø Geophysical Observatory also shows you what the sky over the city looks like right now.⁹

Then it is time to get dressed. In winter, the average temperature in Tromsø is about -4 °C,¹⁰ and outside at night it feels colder. For a northern lights tour, a base layer of wool under warm, dry sweaters and jackets is recommended, along with warm shoes, gloves, scarf, and a hat.³ On the safari you can rent a winter suit.

And finally: eat a proper meal beforehand. A northern lights night is long, and with an empty stomach you get cold faster. Charge your camera and phone fully and pack a power bank, because cold drains batteries. Children under 5 are not allowed on the safari, so plan accordingly for a family trip. And bring a small drink or snack for the ride in case you get hungry along the way.

Map

Where you see the northern lights

In the city there are darker spots; when it is cloudy, the search goes out into the countryside.

Map of Tromsø with three northern lights spots — In Tromsø

Map of the Tromsø region to the Finnish border — Around Tromsø

1
Telegrafbukta
Bay on the southern part of the island Tromsøya; on a clear winter evening, a place for northern lights.¹¹
2
Prestvannet
Lake in the middle of the island and one of the darker spots in the city from which northern lights can be visible.⁸
3
Fjellheisen, Storsteinen
The cable car takes you up in four minutes to 421 m above sea level; the operator advertises the view of the city and the northern lights.¹²
4
Grøtfjord on Kvaløya
When the evenings get dark from late summer onward, a good place to look out for northern lights.¹³
5
Kilpisjärvi, Finland
When clouds are overhead, some tours drive inland or into Finland, where the sky is often clearer.¹ By bus it is about 3.5 hours.¹⁴

For the night

What you need for the long night outdoors

Clothing

Wool base layer
Warm, dry sweaters and jacket
Warm shoes, gloves, scarf, and hat
Winter suit for rent, if needed

Gear

Camera with manual settings
Tripod or stable ground
Power bank, keep batteries warm

Planning

Check the forecast in the afternoon
Book the safari early in your stay
Unlimited option for multiple nights

Video

Tromsø: the search for northern lights

The video only loads when you tap Play.

On the Move: Why Tours Change Location

The biggest obstacle when hunting for the northern lights is clouds. Even with strong activity, you see nothing if a closed layer of cloud hangs above you. That is why a good hunt is mobile. Some tours drive inland from Tromsø or even across the border into Finland when clouds are overhead, because the drier continental climate there often offers a clearer sky.¹

Such trips can go far. For comparison: by regular bus, the journey from Tromsø to Kilpisjärvi on the Finnish side takes about 3.5 hours.¹⁴ A hunt across the border is therefore not a quick spin but a real night excursion. On the map you can see the direction these trips take.

For you, that mainly means patience. The drive is part of the hunt, and sometimes the route to a clear patch of sky takes longer than expected. Use the time on the bus to rest and stay warm. When it finally happens, every minute outdoors counts, and you do not want to be exhausted before the light appears.

Outside Waiting: Fire, Cocoa, and Starry Sky

Once a spot with clear skies is found, it is time to wait. It may sound boring, but it is one of the most beautiful parts of the night. The safari includes hot drinks such as cocoa, coffee, and tea, there are chairs, and if the weather allows, a campfire is lit. This makes even a longer wait easy to bear.

Consciously look up at the sky during this time. A faint aurora often looks gray or pale to the naked eye, yet appears vivid green on the camera screen. If you stay outside long enough, your eyes will adjust to the darkness, and you will see more stars and delicate veils of light. Therefore, avoid bright light from your phone when you do not need it. Set the screen to dark or use a red-light headlamp so that you and others can continue to enjoy the sky.

A good guide uses these pauses to explain what is happening above you. The Kp index measures geomagnetic activity on a scale from 0 to 9,¹⁵ and Tromsø sits directly under the aurora oval.¹⁶ With this knowledge, you will look at the sky differently and recognize when something is building up.

And then it happens

And then it happens: a band sweeps across the sky, grows brighter, and starts to flicker and dance. Sometimes such outburst lasts only a few minutes, sometimes the light flares up again and again. Take your time to simply watch before you reach for your camera. These first moments are often the most impressive of the entire night.

If you want to photograph yourself, set up your camera beforehand. A starting point for sensitivity is an ISO of about 1600 to 3200; if the aurora is bright or moonlight or snowlight lies over the landscape, you can go lower.¹⁷ A tripod or a stable surface helps avoid blurry images.

The safari includes a professional photo of your evening as part of the offer. You do not have to capture every moment yourself and can simply enjoy the show. Many moments of an aurora night cannot be photographed anyway: the silence, the cold on your face, and the wonder of the people around you.

After the night: if the lights do not appear

Not every hunt ends with a sky spectacle. Clouds, low activity, or simply bad luck can bring a night without aurora. The safari offers no refund in that case. That is exactly why there is the Unlimited option, with which you can join another tour during your stay until you have seen the lights.

Therefore, plan your nights wisely. Schedule the first hunt early in your stay so that evenings remain. Keep an eye on forecasts and cloud cover and decide flexibly. With the safari you can book now and pay later and cancel free of charge up to 24 hours in advance.

If you do not want to book another tour, you can head out on clear evenings on your own. Darker spots in the city such as Prestvannet lake⁸ or Telegrafbukta bay¹¹ work well. On Kvaløya, Grøtfjord can be a good spot once the evenings get dark from late summer onward.¹³ The map shows you where these places are.

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You ask,we answer.

How long does an aurora hunt in Tromsø last?

6 hours with the safari. The aurora safari on this page is scheduled for that long. Other tours last 7 or 8 hours.

Is there a best time for the northern lights?

Mostly between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. In Tromsø they are often most active during these hours, but they can appear all night long.⁴

Why do tours go to Finland?

Because of clearer skies. Some tours drive inland or into Finland when clouds are overhead, where the drier continental climate often offers a clearer sky.¹

How cold does it get at night?

In winter, an average of -4 °C. That is the average winter temperature in Tromsø;¹⁰ outside at night it feels even colder.

What is there to do while we wait?

Hot drinks and a campfire. On the safari, cocoa, coffee and tea, chairs and, weather permitting, a campfire are included.

What happens if the northern lights don't appear?

No refund. With the Unlimited option, you can join again during your stay until you see the lights.

Can I check the forecast myself?

Yes, on NOSWE. The Space Weather Center shows a short-term forecast and forecasts for one and four hours for Tromsø.²

Sources