To me, Tromso is an adventure traveler’s dream, especially if you’re looking for that winter vibe. I visited Tromso for 4 days in February, specifically to see the Northern Lights. But, I also did a lot of other cool stuff. Some things I wish I did a few more times and others I wish I hadn’t wasted my money on to be honest.
Tromso can be a strange place, especially for people here for the first time or who never experienced life in the Arctic, which are most people. As soon as I set foot in Tromso, I quickly realized that it’s greatly influenced by snow, weather, daylight hours, layering clothes and temperature.
After spending a few days in here and doing some of the top attractions, I feel like I have a solid sense of what actually are the best things to do in Tromso. So, in this guide I want to share what I think are the top things to do in Tromso Norway based on my experience. I also think it will help people to mention some activities I don’t really recommend especially if you’re short on time.
A lot of these activities are in the winter. That’s why I made a Tromso winter packing list for you!
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Best things to do in Tromso based on my experience
It might come obvious to you, but most of the best things to do in Tromso are based in and around snow and winter. I didn’t get to do skiing on this trip, but other than that I don’t think I missed much of the attractions.
One thing to note is that I visited Tromso in February and there were probably 5 or 6 hours of sunlight a day. So, most of the things I did besides northern lights, I had to cram into those daylight hours.
It surprised me that most people just stayed indoors when it got dark. I thought there would be more regular life happening like school or people walking dogs and stuff. In the area we stayed in called Tromsdalen and we had to walk for about 30 minutes to get to the city.
Once you’re in the city, everything is pretty easy to find, lively and it’s really walkable. There are restaurants, bars, malls, hotels and grocery stores everywhere.
I thought that everything was pretty expensive in Tromso, especially food. I recommend shopping in Rema or Kiwi as they seem to be the cheapest places to buy stuff to eat. I didn’t bother eating at many nice restaurants or even buying fast food and alcohol. It would have been too expensive, so I ate things like frozen pizza, ramen, deli sandwiches and some snacks from the grocery store.
What I loved the most about Tromso was how quiet and cozy everything looked and felt. The snow dampened the sound of everything and having breakfast and while looking outside was perfect. I loved that every other home had Christmas lights strung up even though it definitely wasn’t Christmas. People here just like the look of it and I could vibe with that.
Something that I hated about Tromso was that even though I had anti slip boots on, I was still slipping on the ice often. I had to try to walk on the soft ice instead of the hard ice, which was difficult in itself.
A helpful thing I did that I want to share is that when you get too cold walking around in the cold dark snow, just look for any pharmacy, store or mall to go inside of. These places are very warm compared to outside because they have heating. I would explore until I can’t feel my fingers anymore and just walk inside a random store for 10 minutes until I got warm.
1. Chase the Northern Lights
I had the most fun and adventurous time chasing the Northern Lights on our tour. This was hands down my favorite activity of the trip. The aurora alone should be why Tromso is worth visiting. We had to drive from Tromso, all the way to Lapland Finland at midnight in the freezing temperature in order to see the lights. Tromso is really famous for being the premier spot in Norway for seeing the Northern Lights. For an Arctic town, Tromso has great tourism infrastructure, lots of utility and amenities for tourists and it simply looks nice.
If you want to know when is the best time to visit Tromso to see the Northern Lights, read my article here.
Unless you are extremely lucky and you get to see the Northern Lights right above your hotel in the middle of light pollution, you’re going to need to book a tour. We booked an 8 person minivan tour that cost $388 USD. I got picked up at the Radisson hotel in the city. The tour guide immediately explained everything to us and gave each person the ultimate winter clothing in case it gets extreme out there.
The thing about seeing the Northern Lights is that you have to physically chase it down. Your tour guide would look at the cloud coverage and take you to the best location possible. Still, there are no guarantees. This tour said that if we were to not see any Northern Lights tonight that we could come back tomorrow for free. But after the second time, that’s it.
My Northern Lights tour took us 3 hours across Norway and into the Finnish forest. During this tour there were blizzards, meters of snow piled up high and forest on either side. It was probably the most extreme place I’ve ever been in. But, when we finally caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights and got out the van, it was all worth it. Stepping outside the van was the coldest I’ve ever felt in my life but it was still great.
The best months to see the Northern Lights in Tromso are February and March. I went in February so I was confident we would get to see it. What I wore in the tour was basically what I wore anytime I went outside while in Tromso. A thermal base layer or long johns, thick track pants or jeans, wool socks, hiking boots, gloves, a merino wool sweater and a windbreaker puffer jacket. I also had a beanie and a neck gaiter for the wind. I wore all these things and still felt really cold.
This was the main reason why I visited Tromso and I was really glad it lived up to whatever expectation I had in my head.
2. Visit Polaria the Arctic museum
Polaria was something I decided to do on a whim. While searching for things to do in Tromso, we saw Polaria the Arctic museum and thought it was an interesting thing to pass some time. When I entered the museum, it wasn’t displaying ancient artifacts from the area or anything like that. Instead Polaria displays educational pieces from nature in the Arctic. things like polar bears, whales, birds, fish, jellyfish and many other animals that make up the ecosystem in the Arctic.
Honestly, before I came here I didn’t expect much. I had no idea there would be live animal exhibits and aquariums with fish in them. There were also really cool audio systems where I listened to the sounds of different underwater creatures like whales.
The first room you enter is a store basically. Where you can buy winter clothing, trinkets and other cool stuff. The first thing we did here was look at a short film. They put on a film about polar bears that lasted for about 10 minutes. After that, everyone had an opportunity to walk around and look at everything at their own pace.
For me, the highlight of this activity was the seals. When it was time to feed the seals, they called everybody and made an announcement. I got to see the trainers interact, play with and hand feed the seals. There’s also a really cool jellyfish aquarium and a larger pool area with huge fish, like Halibut and nurse sharks.
This isn’t a full day activity or one that requires a lot of planning. You just show up, buy a ticket and spend 2 hours max. For short things like this I like to add a stop along the way. Something like lunch or dinner on the way back.
3. Fjellheisen cable car
The Fjellheisen cable car isn’t really about the cable car at all. That’s just the ride to get to the summit of the mountain. The cable car ride is actually less than 2 minutes up. It takes you to a little base at the top of the mountain, where you can then decide what to do once you’re up there. I really loved warming up with hot chocolate in the restaurant after freezing on the lookout.
The lookout was so windy and cold, it was almost uncomfortable just to stand there for 5 seconds. From here I got to see all of Tromso lit up in the dark. Now, it wasn’t actually evening time here. It was about 4 pm, but Tromso only gets about 6 hours of sun in February.
If you’re visiting here soon and want to know where to stay in Tromso, my article here is a good place to start.
I don’t know why they call this activity the Tromso cable car when in reality it’s the most unappealing part of the whole thing. The Fjellheisen cable car carries you from Solliveien in Tromsdalen where we stayed, up to Storsteinen.
Taking the cable car is just a gateway to give you access to other more fun activities. Some of the things you can do are snowshoe hiking, seeing the Northern Lights, paragliding, just hanging out and eating in the cafe and restaurant. If you like night pictures, there’s a great panoramic view on the lookout.
We bought tickets for a day pass round trip for $51 on their website book.fjellheisen.no/en/todo. My Airbnb was about 20-minute walk from the cable car, so I just walked. You can also take a bus to the base station. I really recommend doing this when in Tromso, it’s cheap, it has open possibilities to do further things and you even have a chance of seeing some Northern Lights.
4. Visit the Arctic Cathedral
The Arctic Cathedral was the first thing I noticed when I arrived in Tromso. At that time I didn’t even know it was something of significance. I just thought it looked really cool and decided to take pictures in front of it. I really don’t think it’s that impressive as a thing to do, probably just one of the best things to see in Tromso.
My Airbnb in Tromsdalen was only a 5 minute walk from the cathedral. You can take pictures from outside like I did or pay about $6 USD to explore the inside.
Sometimes there are midnight concerts here that are amazing and will definitely leave a permanent memory in your brain. It’s best to visit anytime it’s dark. As you can see from my pictures above, there are no real crowds or lines to see it. Just walk by and check it out. It will only take about 30 minutes to 1 hour max of your time. I spent even less time here and I didn’t pay a cent. It’s a fun little stop to add to your day.
5. Go whale watching
I love the outdoors, fishing and I loved whale watching. This is definitely one of the top things to do in Tromso Norway that I would recommend. Obviously, you need to do this with a tour. You need proper safety gear, a boat, knowledge of where the whales are and how to navigate the water.
It costs about $200 to $300 USD per person. The tours last about 6 to 9 hours long and you’ll be on a boat with a lot of other people. You can either go on a large two-story story boat or a small RIB boat. I really loved the way the tour guides know so much about the whales and take every opportunity to educate people on them. They also go all out for chances of you seeing the whales. They drive the boats up and down to increase the chances.
If you want a more luxurious experience, take the larger 2 story boat rather than the RIB boat. You can take in the nature and whales from inside the boat where it’s warm and cozy. Or, if you want to be up close and feel nature in its raw form, you can watch from outside on the deck. I prefer to watch from the deck.
6. Dog Sledding
Now we’re talking about a more physically demanding and exhilarating experience. Dog sledding was probably my favorite thing I did in Tromso that I wish I did more of. I wish I had an entire day doing this alone. I went out to a forested area and these guys set you up with a sled and some well-trained huskies and off I went!
Obviously, most of the time, they’ll probably give you some training before or you can sit in a carriage while someone else steers the sled. But, I find that’s boring. I will recommend you steer the sled yourself. There are various dog sledding tours in Tromso. Our tour guide met us at a hotel before heading to the main area. The prices I’ve seen are usually around $175 to $250 USD.
When I did this, I truly felt like I was in a National Geographic documentary. It truly solidified the fact that I’m in the Arctic right now. This is definitely one of the best things to do in Tromso and I can’t recommend it more.
7. Walk around Tromso city center
When I arrived in Tromso, I immediately put on my warmest clothes and decided that we needed to explore on foot. We had to walk from Tromsdalen all the way across the bridge to the city center. It was about 10 pm at night, windy as hell and freezing. But, these are the kind of exploration and experiences I enjoy.
I always recommend everyone, when you arrive at a new city or town. Start by walking the streets if it’s walkable and just explore. I learnt so much about Tromso, discovered really cozy restaurants and cafes and even got to buy things I needed like a European phone charger and gloves for my girlfriend. We even ate at the northern-most McDonald’s restaurant in the world.
My favorite restaurant I ate at in Tromso was called Skarven Grill. I had reindeer steak, potatoes and vegetables. My girlfriend had a rack of ribs, corn and rice. The cost for both of us came up to $53 USD. They had lots of seafood as well and other things like burgers.
I really liked looking at people’s houses and understanding how this part of the world does things. It’s so different compared to where I’m from in the Caribbean. I didn’t expect to enjoy wandering around the city so much. On the first night we tried to walk to Lake Prestvannet to see the Northern Lights. We walked all through the city and passed through tiny neighborhoods.
Things I thought were not worth it
If you’re not doing anything further after you go up the Tromso cable car, like hiking, Northern Lights or something, it doesn’t make much sense unless you’re absolutely bored. I’ve been at the summit base. Other than the restaurant and the lookout, it’s underwhelming. Especially considering the cable car ride is only 2 minutes long.
My final thoughts on the best things to do in Tromso
In general I had an amazing time in Tromso, I wish I got to do even more activities, but there was limited daylight and we were only here for 4 days. Doing the Northern Lights are a must. Make that your priority over everything else. Seeing the Northern Lights is something that goes on millions of people’s bucket lists.
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