Tromso Northern Lights Chase

Tromsø lies about 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, right beneath the band where the Northern Lights appear most often. From autumn to early spring, guided chases leave the city each evening and drive towards whichever valley or fjord has the clearest sky, sometimes travelling a long way to find a gap in the clouds.

Guides provide warm outer suits, hot drinks and often a campfire, and help you set up your phone or camera to photograph the lights. By day, add husky sledding, a visit to a Sámi reindeer camp, the cable car up Mount Storsteinen or the striking Arctic Cathedral.

The aurora is a natural phenomenon and never guaranteed, so we plan three or four nights for the best chance. From late November to mid-January the sun barely rises, but the soft blue twilight has its own beauty.