We’re big fans of Norway with a fantastic long weekend in Olso leaving us wanting to explore more. After pretty extensive Northern lights research we realised that Tromso gave us the best chance of seeing the lights and had us ticking another Norwegian city off the list! We spent three nights exploring Tromso with the highlights being of course the Northern lights but also the less expected beauty of exploring the little towns and fjords outside the city. We booked a rental car to properly enjoy Tromso and I would highly recommend you do the same! Central Tromso is nice enough – but teeny tiny and won’t give you a proper sense of this amazing wilderness without a car.
Things we did when not eating
– Northern lights tour
The main purpose of our trip was to see the Northern lights. I pulled together a separate post on the summation of all our research and suggestions to maximise your chance of seeing the Northern lights. You can find that over here.
After a lot of googling we went with Chasing Lights mini bus tour and we would highly recommend them. There are a couple of tour flavours we worked through – you can do the driving type tours and then the more activity type tours (think dog sledding, snow mobiles, sailing, boats etc). The challenge with the activity tours is you’re limited with how far you can go. If the conditions are great over Tromso – no problem – you’re golden. If the conditions aren’t good over Tromso, you’re stuck with no alternative. This led to us opting for the driving type of tours. It then comes down to a little more money for a smaller group or a more affordable option for a bigger group. The smaller group / minivan was a no-brainer for our personal preference.
I am thrilled we went with the driving tour as the conditions were far from ideal in Tromso with us arriving in a snow storm. We jumped in our minivan and headed three hours to the Finnish broader to catch the lights. We lucked out with a couple of hours of fantastic sightings!
– Storgata Street
Little Tromso’s main street – good for exploring. You’ll find second hand stores, gift shops with local arts and crafts, pubs and bakeries. Is it incredible? No. But it’s an easy walk about.
– The Arctic Cathedral
Just across the bridge from Tromso lives the Arctic Cathedral. It’s shaped like an iceberg and is unique. We weren’t tempted to pay to go inside but apparently there is a lovely glass mosaic. At this stage we had a rental car and saw many people walking across the big traffic bridge in this weather. Listen nicely now, it is 100% not worth the 30-minute walk in these sorts of conditions. Rather have a nap. I’d only suggest visiting if you go by car or bus or the weather is lovely, and then the 30-minute walk will be a pleasure.
– Ersfjord, Kvaløya
Ersfjord is a beautiful fjord located on Kvaloya, a half an hour drive from Tromso. We started at Bryggejentene café which was great for hot chocolate and carrot cake. The atmosphere is very cosy and the service is warm. It’s also a great stop if you want a beautiful souvenir to take home. You can view Ersfjord from Bryggejentene café. However, I would recommend popping “Ersfjord viewpoint” into Google Maps for a better view from slightly above. The café blocks the main view – unless of course you’re sitting outside, which our time in Tromso didn’t lend itself to!!
– Grøtfjorden viewpoint
My favourite viewpoint and one worth the little extra drive. I would suggest combining Ersfjord and Grøtfjorden in one trip, as they’re around the corner from one another. The view was incredible and we were lucky enough to catch the sunset. Apparently the Northern lights can be spectacular from here!
– Sommarøy
This is the description I had saved for Sommarøy: “small fishing village with colourful houses, beautiful sandy beaches, and a mountainous backdrop tucked away behind the deep blue Arctic waters”. And honestly, it is spot on. Sommarøy is this tiny town at the end of Norway and it feels like the town that time forgot. I really enjoyed exploring the beaches of Sommarøy! I picked up these candy coloured shell treasures which bring me such joy. Hunting for shells on a beach surrounded by snow – didn’t expect this one on my life bingo card!
Restaurants we loved in Tromso
– Fiskekompaniet
Ooof this was delicious! From all our research, this restaurant came up the most and they were not wrong! Fiskekompaniet serves some of the most fantastic seafood we’ve ever had! The location is great as it is right on the harbour. And the service was warm and friendly and flawless. We felt so welcome and the waitstaff were just as excited as us about how great the food was. We started with a selection of seafood on ice – Lygen shrimps, snow crab, king crab and oysters. The Lygen shrimps were incredible – apparently they’re so sweet and delicious as the ice-cold waters leads them to be a little fatter than your standard shrimp. Jono loved the oysters and would recommend. I loved the chance to try both snow crab and king crab and to draw a conclusion! We were surprised to prefer the snow crab (a little sweeter) which was the more affordable of the two.
For mains we shared the catch of the day with hollandaise, kale and chicken jus and the creamy shellfish soup. I was so surprised to see fish served with hollandaise and chicken jus but the fish was super meaty and it was fantastic. A brilliant combination. However, the star of the show was the shellfish soup which was phenomenal. Please go and order the shellfish soup!!
– Raketten Bar & Pøls
Dining out in Oslo (and Norway in general) is very expensive. This little hut came highly recommended for a cheap and cheery hot dog! We tried both the reindeer and the pork hotdogs and opted for the “traditional” toppings. These are different for each of the hot dogs and we were happy to be guided by the experts. I have heard people queue up to an hour, and whilst they’re tasty and cheap, I would not recommend an hour wait. We waited about ten minutes (with four groups ahead of us) and that seemed fair to us.
– Emma’s Drommekjokken
Emma’s is known for their fine dining experience and high quality Norwegian food. We had a fantastic dinner at Emma’s. The Arctic char just about blew my mind. I am really picky about fish and am now Arctic char’s number one fan (also that all fish should be cooked in a lot of cream). We had a really lovely dinner and it was great for trying Norwegian dishes and ingredients. If you only have time and budget for one – I would suggest Fiskekompaniet. However, if you’re celebrating something specially like an engagement, birthday, or anniversary – then Emma’s may tick more of those boxes.
– Vervet Bakeri
Super buzzy bakery along the water. We popped in for coffee and pastries. Would recommend the custard and coconut bun!
Places we visited but weren’t our favourites
– Tromso Cable Car – to be fair to the cable car, we didn’t actually go up. We drove to the base to find out we couldn’t park there and needed to park and walk up about 10-15minutes. The weather was pretty grim and I wasn’t confident how great the views would be up there. AND it was pretty expensive. We decided to skip and I am very comfortable with our decision. So wanting to flag as more of an option spot in my opinion.
– Ølhallen – Tromso’s Oldest Pub
We went. I see no reason to visit. We had a very very expensive beer and cider and left. If you’re a huge beer person maybe this makes sense but we didn’t get the appeal.
Where we stayed in Tromso
On the first night we stayed at the Scandic Ishavshotel in central Tromso which was convenient for the Northern lights tour. It is super central, has all the basic bits and worked for our budget. We’d recommend it as an easy central option.
We then drove out to Yggdrasil Farmhotel on Kvaløya for two nights. I splurged on the nicest room which was honestly such a mistake. The “Deluxe Suite with Sea View” was essentially a trailer with a bathroom, mini kitchen and a bedroom loft squished in. I don’t mind a loft but we couldn’t even sit up in bed. And the stairs to get upstairs were steep and honestly dangerous. I was so sad that we’d decided to spend more money on something worse. I would suggest their “Suite with Sea View” which looks like a normal room and not a tailer built for mountain goats.
The reviews for Yggdrasil Farmhotel were glowing particularly around how wonderful the service was. I don’t know – it felt to us like they’d recently been bought by private equity. I know that’s a niche reference but if you know, you know.
So where I get to is – would I recommend Yggdrasil Farmhotel? And ultimately I would, because the location is incredible. There aren’t many remote locations to stay at close to Tromso and we wouldn’t have had that unbelievable second sighting of the Northern lights if we hadn’t been staying outside the city. But please goodness, don’t splurge on the trailer!!
Other great links for reading about Tromso
The Nerds Nomad post on Tromso was brilliant and a must-read. They also have a complete guide to Tromso which was great and suggestions on where to stay (both in Tromso and a little further afield).
This blog post by Megan Starr was super helpful in working out which type of Northern lights tour was right for us.
Have the best time in Tromso!
with all my love, Tahlia
