Short answer
- Lowest price: a big bus chase, roughly €90–120.
- Most popular: a small-group minibus chase with a thermal suit, a fire and photos, usually €155–230.
- Best photos: a tour led by a photographer, around €225.
- Only one or two nights: pick the operator that drives furthest, and book your first night.
Tromsø sits on the coast at 69° north, under the band where the aurora is most often overhead. The catch is the weather: the coast is mild for the Arctic but often cloudy. That is why almost every aurora tour from Tromsø is a chase. The guide reads the cloud forecast in the afternoon and drives to wherever the sky looks clearest, sometimes out to the islands, sometimes inland towards the Finnish border.
We count 97 northern lights tours from Tromsø in our catalogue. Shared tours cost about €170 at the middle of the range, half of them between €125 and €214. Most leave around 6–7 pm and are back after midnight: plan on six to nine hours.
The big bus chase
A full-size coach, a guide with a microphone, and the lowest price, usually €90–120. There are only a handful of these, but they carry a lot of people. A coach is warm and steady on icy roads, and it can cover long distances in one night when the cloud is stubborn. You get less time with the guide and less flexibility at each stop, and you share the view with the rest of the bus.
Good for: a first trip on a budget, families with older children, anyone who would rather sit in a heated seat than stand by a fire.
The small-group minibus chase
This is what most people book, and the largest group in our list: about a third of Tromsø’s aurora tours are minibus or small-group trips, often capped at 8 to 15 people. Expect €155–230. The usual package is a thermal suit and boots, a campfire and a hot meal or sausages when conditions allow, and photos of you under the lights, sent after the tour.
The smaller vehicle changes direction faster when the forecast shifts, and the guide has time for each person. Several operators publish success rates in the mid-nineties for last season. Those are their own numbers, so read them as a sign of effort rather than a promise.
Tours led by a photographer
Some tours are built around the picture: fewer guests, longer stops, a tripod each, and a guide who sets up your camera for the aurora. In Tromsø these run at about €225 at the middle of the range. If the photos matter more than the campfire, this is the one. If you only want to see the lights, the standard minibus tour includes portrait photos too.
What about guarantees?
Only a few Tromsø tours advertise a guarantee. Where they do, it normally means a refund if no aurora is captured on camera during the tour. A camera picks up a faint aurora that can look grey to the eye, so “captured on camera” is a lower bar than “a green sky”. Guarantees are far more common in Finnish Lapland; our Rovaniemi guide explains how they work.
Side by side
| Kind | Typical price | Group | Usually included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big bus chase | €90–120 | Large coach | Photos, hot drink |
| Small-group minibus | €155–230 | 8–15 people | Thermal suit, boots, fire, meal, photos |
| Photographer-led | around €225 | Small | Tripods, camera help, photos |
How to choose
- Count your nights. With one or two clear chances, range matters more than comfort. Pick the tour that says it drives as far as it takes.
- Book the aurora early in your stay. If the first night is cloudy you still have time for another go.
- Check what is included. Most small-group tours lend thermal suits and boots; most coaches do not.
- Read the cancellation terms. Most Tromsø aurora tours (89 of the 97 we list) offer free cancellation, typically up to 24 hours before.
The lights are free. What you pay a tour for is the guide’s forecast, the miles, and staying warm while you wait.
Still deciding between Norway and Finland? Read Tromsø or Rovaniemi for the northern lights, and see all tours in Tromsø. Before you go: what to wear.
Prices, counts and tour details were checked in our catalogue on 8 November 2026. They change often; the price on Viator when you book is the one that counts.
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