Northern Norway & Lapland
Northern Norway
Tromsø, Lofoten and the northern lights: tours above the Arctic Circle
Northern Norway is where the mainland runs out of road: fjords, steep island peaks and fishing villages, all of it well above the Arctic Circle. In winter it sits under the auroral oval, which is why the northern lights are the main reason most people come between September and March. In summer the sun doesn’t set for weeks.
We cover two bases here. Tromsø is the easy one: a small city with an airport close to the centre and the largest choice of tours in the region. Lofoten is an island chain further south, better known for its scenery than for organised tours, and many visitors explore it on their own.
Below are tours from both, sorted by rating and number of reviews. Booking happens on Viator.
Tromsø or Lofoten?
- Pick Tromsø if it’s your first trip north, you have a few days, and you want the aurora, dog sledding, reindeer and whales without hiring a car. Most tours pick you up in the city centre.
- Pick Lofoten if you want the landscape itself: red fishing cabins, peaks rising straight out of the sea, beaches and hiking. It suits a road trip, and the tour choice is much smaller.
- Doing both is possible, but they are far apart. Plan on flying between them or spending most of a day on the road.
When to go
- September to March: aurora season. The nights are dark enough to see the northern lights, and the winter activities (sledding, snowshoeing, snowmobiles) run from roughly December, once there is snow.
- Late November to mid-January: the polar night in Tromsø. The sun stays below the horizon, but you still get a few hours of blue twilight around midday.
- Late May to late July: the midnight sun. No aurora, but long days for hiking, kayaking and boat trips.
The coast is milder than Lapland but cloudier. That’s why most aurora tours from Tromsø don’t stay in one place: guides check the forecast and drive to wherever the sky is clear, sometimes a long way inland.
Tromsø
Tromsø has by far the most tours in Northern Norway: aurora chases, dog sledding, reindeer visits with Sámi hosts, fjord cruises, and whale watching in early winter when orcas and humpbacks follow the herring into the fjords. Read the Tromsø guide for how to choose between them.
Lofoten
Lofoten is mostly a place to explore at your own pace. Svolvær and Henningsvær are the usual bases for tours, and Reine in the south is the postcard view. You can get there by flying to Svolvær or Leknes, by ferry from Bodø, or by road from Harstad/Narvik airport at Evenes.
The tour choice is small, and a good share of it is shore excursions sold to cruise passengers, so check the meeting point and the date before you book. Aurora tours exist here too, but there are far fewer than in Tromsø. If you have a car and the sky is clear, you can often see the lights from the roadside.
Before you book
- Weather decides. Tours can be cancelled or moved for storms, and aurora tours can’t promise a sighting. Some offer a free second try or a partial refund: read the conditions on Viator before you pay.
- Book early in peak weeks. Christmas, New Year and the February school holidays fill the best-rated tours first.
- Warm clothing is often included. Many winter tours lend thermal suits and boots. The tour page says so if they do.
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