Tromsø, Norway - Northern Lights Adventure

(Guest blog by Leigh Brody)

DAY 1
We started our Northern Lights trip with an early connection through Oslo and finally onto our final destination of Tromsø. On the first day we walked through the small town and got used to the climate of the Arctic Circle, which is colder than I anticipated. Luckily, there was plenty of appropriate shops open for me to stock up with hand warmers and other cold weather provisions. 

Our first night was spent at a camp called the Tromsø Villmarkssenter, where we slept in these teepee-like structures and waited for the Northern Lights to come out. Sadly, there was nothing to see that evening, so instead we curled around the fire and had a local meal of reindeer soup. 

DAY 2
We were disappointed not to have witnessed the Northern Lights the night before, so we cheered ourselves up with a husky dog sledding adventure (also organized by the Tromsø Villmarkssenter where we stayed)! The dogs were so adorable, I wanted to adopt all of them. Luckily, our camp also happened to be the largest husky dog breeder in Norway, so I got to play with all of them.  

After our sledding adventure, we checked ourselves into the Rica Ishavshotel hotel for a proper shower and warmth for a few hours until the next adventure began- a snowmobiling excursion to see the Northern Lights through Lyngsfjord Adventure. The tours are all very organized there; we got picked up from our hotel and driven the 90-kilometres to the start of our 3.5 hour tour.

This was by far the coldest night, reaching -15C at the moment we got off the bus. The tour company supplied us with suits to keep us warm, so the temperatures were bearable. What made them so bearable was the amazing show of the Northern Lights we actually witnessed that night. It's such a strange sight to see the sky suddenly turn bright green, it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!

DAY 3

Our final day was spent shopping at the local stores and included a visit to the local museum. The town is small, so we decided to revolve our last day around a big meal of seafood. 

We had a three hour meal at Fiskekompaniet on the harbor, which tasted as good as it looked. We didn't necessarily need all that food, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves. 

The last night we went on a Northern Light chase, however it was too cloudy to see anything. The guides all agreed that the show we saw the night before was the best they had seen all year, so we were happy to have experienced that sighting. All-in-all, it was an amazing holiday and I highly suggest it to anyone looking to experience the Northern Lights. 

I'm on twitter (twitter.com/l3ighbrody) and Instagram (Leigh.Brody) for questions, suggestions or photographs.

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