Northern Lights

  • Northern Lights, Tromsø

    How to See the Northern Lights in Tromsø

    How to see the Northern Lights in Tromsø

    Tromsø is one of the best places in the world to witness the northern lights. But how do you see the northern lights in Tromsø?

    I’ve been working as a northern lights trip leader for four seasons now. I take groups on two week trips up to Northern Norway and Finland to see the northern lights. On top of that, I follow all the Facebook groups for Tromsø that debate how to see the northern lights. Often I see the same questions over and over again, as well as the same mistakes, so I thought I’d put it all together into a guide so you can make sure you’re making the most of your visit.

    Here’s my guide to how you can optimise your chances for a successful experience. 

    In this article...

    TROMSØ Travel Guide
    Norway Travel Guide

    Choose the Right Time of Year & Day

    The best time to see the northern lights in Tromsø is from September through to early April. The best time for the lights in Tromsø is between 6pm and 2am, though they can be seen any time it is dark enough. The optimal time is due to the earths rotation, with the aurora belt being strongest on one side and weaker on one side.

    If you just want to see the lights and avoid cold weather and snow, then I recommend going in September. If you want to combine northern lights with all the wintery activities, I recommend going in February and March. October – January can have excellent northern lights, but it’s often stormy and rainy and the darkest time of year, meaning you never get to see how beautiful the area is.

    Give Yourself Enough Time

    You need to spend at least four nights above the arctic circle to give yourself the best chance of seeing the lights. It’s often cloudy in Tromsø, so many nights are not optimal. I actually recommend spending a week up there if you are very eager to see the lights.

    Check Weather & Solar Activity

    It’s important for the northern lights that you have clear skies and avoid cloudy conditions. Tromsø’s weather can be unpredictable, so keep an eye on forecasts. Even if the weather forecast is cloudy, still check outside. The forecasts can often be wrong!

    In Tromsø, the weather forecast is more important than the solar forecast. Tromsø is exposed to the sea and frequently gets bad weather and clouds, so it’s important to be aware of this before going.

    It’s also important to check solar activity. While Tromsø is so far north even weak and inactive northern lights can be visible, it’s best to keep an eye on the activity so you know when there’ll be strong nights or weak nights.

    It’s worth noting that the northern lights may suddenly appear as explosions in the sky, and then disappear quickly again. Or they may appear as a fog for hours before exploding in the sky. It’s important to be actively looking throughout the evening, and not give up too early.

    I took this photo approximately 20 minutes out of Tromsø and we were parked by the highway (was on a guided tour). 

    Go to a Dark Location

    While the northern lights can be seen from Tromsø city centre, they’ll never look as good as they can without light pollution. Therefore, you need to get out of the lights of the city.

    If in Tromsø centre, the best places to go are:
    Fjellheisen cable car
    Prestvannet Lake is a nature reserve with no artifical illumination.
    Kongsbakken park has no streetlights.
    Telegrafbukta is a popular beach on the southern tip of the island and is a top choice for spotting the northern lights.

    Alternatively, you can book accommodation out of the city centre so you’ll be guaranteed dark nights. On this occasion, you may want to hire a car to take yourself into the city every day.

    I’m not going to recommend places out of the city centre as I do not encourage you renting a car and driving around.

    Go on a Guided Tour

    My best advice is to go on an organised tour with a local guide who is able to share their knowledge and offer some advice. The guides monitor the weather, cloud cover and northern lights activity carefully.

    There are two different times of northern lights tours:

    A northern lights hunt involves going by car, minibus, or full-size bus and the focus of this activity is seeing the northern lights.

    A northern lights experiences combines hunting for the northern lights with an activity, such as dog sledding, snowmobiling, or a reindeer safari. In this case, the focus of the activity is the experience, and the northern lights is the bonus.

    Which one is better? This is completely up to you! Some prefer the idea of doing an experience so the entire night isn’t a waste in case you don’t see the lights, but experiences make it harder to photograph the northern lights.

    Northern lights may only appear for a minute, so it’s important to have someone constantly watching the sky.

    I recommend browsing the VisitTromsø website for ideas on what kind of tours you can do: https://www.visittromso.no/northern-lights

    Go on a Cruise

    Northern lights cruises are another good way to see the lights. These cruises take you far out of the city lights and will provide stunning backdrops with mountains and fjords as you take photographs of northern lights.

    My photo above was taken from Hurtigruten near the port of Skjervøy. Being on a ship can give a more dynamic photo, but you have to adjust to the fact that the ship is moving. 

    Book Everything in Advance

    It’s important to keep in mind that Tromsø is extremely popular for northern lights tourism, and everything books out months in advance. This includes the good hotels and northern lights guides. So be organised and have everything ready well before you come to Tromsø.

    Go Somewhere Else in Norway

    Tromsø is not the only city in Norway that gets northern lights. If you want to avoid overly crowded areas and mass tourism, here are some other places that offer northern lights experiences and tours and won’t be as busy:
    – Alta
    – Kirkenes
    – Narvik
    – Svolvær
    – Kautokeino

    Do not Hire a Car!

    I know it can be tempting to hire a car to go out northern lights searching yourself, but I do not recommend it. The roads can be icy and dark, and if you aren’t used to driving on ice in the dark, you risk crashing and injuring yourself of others. Many may also not focus clearly on the road if they are eager to get to a northern lights spot. Please book a tour – it’s for the safety of yourself and the locals.

    TROMSØ Travel Guide
    Norway Travel Guide

    Emma's Northern Lights Diary

    You can see all my northern lights sightings using the link below. 

    Emma's Northern lights diary

    How to Observe the Northern Lights

    Here’s my general guide to observing the northern lights. 

    How to observe the northern lights
  • Northern Lights

    How to Observe the Northern Lights: A Tour Leaders Perspective

    How to Observe the Northern Lights: A Tour Leaders Experience

    Ever since I moved to Norway seven years ago, I’ve been obsessed with observing the northern lights. Luckily, when I started working as a tour leader I could live out my obsession and take people to see the northern lights all season long.

    When researching the lights online, there are so many travel companies writing ‘how to see the northern lights’ guides, and I felt as though the information wasn’t written by someone who had actually spent time observing the lights.

    So, here is my guide to observing the northern lights based on my own reading and experience standing outside during those long, cold nights.

    In this article...

    What are the northern lights?

    The northern lights, explained

    I don’t want to get into this too much; there are much smarter people out there who can explain it better than I can.

    In summary, the northern lights are created from a collision between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the atmosphere of the earth.

    When these particles hit the earth’s magnetic shield, they are pushed around the oval that circles the North Pole (because magnets). They then interact with the upper parts of the earths atmosphere, such as oxygen, and the energy that is released from this collision makes the northern lights.

    Here’s a YouTube video from VisitNorway that explains it:

    And here is a video from TED:

    The colours of the northern lights

    The colour of the northern lights depends on the type of atom involved in the collision. Red northern lights occur at altitudes of 150 miles and above. Green occurs at altitudes of 100 miles and above and is the most common colour you’ll see. Purple and blue occur at altitudes of up to 60 miles. Purple is the second-most common colour you’ll see.

    Where should I observe the northern lights?

    I’ve seen the northern lights all over Norway and Finland, so here are my recommendations. I’ve had the best luck in Finland – Ivalo and Inari, to be exact. Finland is colder than Norway in winter, which means you have more chances of having a clear night sky. Finland is also inland, meaning there’s less risk of bad weather. The coast of Norway is exposed to bad weather, and this means it will be cloudier. Finland is also nice and flat, making it easy to see the horizon.

    Many take Hurtigruten to see the northern lights, and I have seen them on Hurtigruten several times. However, I find it harder to photograph the lights on Hurtigruten because the ship is always moving, and this doesn’t work well for a long exposure.

    I feel the Lofoten Islands is overrated for observing the northern lights. It’s very mountainous, very prone to bad weather, and located pretty far south. Of course, many have observed wonderful northern lights there. If you want to better your chances, I recommend going further north.

    When should I visit for the northern lights?

    The northern lights are visible as long as it is dark, however the weather is not kind to us every month.

    September & October are great if you want to observe the northern lights and not be standing in the snow. There can be some bad storms at the end of September, but for the most part the weather is okay. It’s also not so cold, so you won’t freeze waiting outside! Don’t come in early September; the window for observing the northern lights is small due to it not being dark enough yet.

    November, December, and January can be very overcast. Yes, they are the darkest months of the year, but they are also the month’s most prone to bad weather. Also, it’s dark during the day so it limits your day activities.  

    February and March are wonderful. The snow is at its deepest and you get normal daylight cycles. This means you can spend the day doing an activity like a husky or reindeer sled or snowshoeing, and then at night you can go out and see the lights. The only downside is that it’s the coldest time of year, so you’ll be quite cold at night.

    How long should I spend up north?

    I recommend spending 5-7 days up north minimum. 1-3 nights is simply not enough to try and see the northern lights.

    Glass igloos - are they worth it?

    At the moment, there are these glass igloos popping up all over northern Europe. They are basically cabins with glass rooves so you can lie in bed and observe the northern lights.

    They are typically so expensive, so are they worth it?

    To an extent, yes. There’s something romantic about cuddling up in bed and watching the northern lights. But if I’m thinking realistically, if the northern lights are good enough to be observed from my cabin, I want to be outside photographing them! So don’t feel like you must book a glass cabin to see the lights. I instead recommend a hotel or place of accommodation that will alert you if the lights are out.

    Understanding the apps

    It’s important to pay attention to the northern lights forecasts. The northern lights aren’t guaranteed every night. Their strength fluctuates and you can have a clear night sky and still not see anything.

    Key factors:

    • KP index. This indicates how strong the lights are. It doesn’t always matter; I’ve seen the northern lights at North Cape at KP0. However, the rule of thumb is that the higher the KP index, the more chance you have of seeing the northern lights. It also signifies how far south you can be to see them; to see them in Bergen, we need at least KP4. To see them in Tromsø, you only need KP1.
    • Speed. This indicates how fast the particles are moving. The faster the speed, the more chance you have of seeing the dancing effect.
    • BZ & BT. These numbers should ideally be in the negatives, but it doesn’t always matter
    • Density. This is important for knowing how the lights will appear. The denser the particles, the higher chance of seeing visible strands of lights. If they aren’t dense, the lights may just look like fog.

    This is the app I recommend (click here). 

    What time of night do I see the northern lights?

    The northern lights are visible throughout the night. However, there is a ‘thicker’ part to the ring around the pole, and the thicker part is over Scandinavia between 8pm and midnight. Of course, if the lights are very strong the thicker part is even thicker and you can see the northern lights better throughout the night.

    Should I book a guided tour?

    Yes.

    My number one bit of northern lights advice is to book a guided tour. Northern lights guides are professionals and have connections all over the region. They will drive you out to wherever the northern lights have been sighted by their contacts, so this increases your chances even more.

    Tromsø is the best place in Norway to book a guided tour. Yes, Tromsø is coastal, but they will most likely drive you inland to observe the lights; often as far as Finland or Sweden.

    Lapland is full of northern lights tours, so you are spoiled for choice there.

    Sure, you may want to rent a car instead. But do you really want to be driving icy roads in the middle of the night in a place you don’t know while trying to figure out where to see the lights? No, of course not.

    Guided tours are expensive, I know. But it’s worth it. You’re paying for peace of mind, experience, and safety.

    There are advantages and disadvantages to booking a northern lights tour that has an additional activity, for example snowmobiling. The advantages are that even if you don’t see the northern lights, at least you’ve had a fun night out. Northern lights bus tours can be boring if there are no northern lights. The disadvantages are that the additional activities follow a set route and timetable, so they may miss the lights. By contrast, the bus tours are more flexible to go out looking for the lights.

    How to observe the northern lights

    To observe the northern lights, you need to have a dark night sky. It needs to be dark enough so you can see the stars in the sky. Ideally, you want to be as far away from light as possible. This means getting out of the city and finding somewhere pitch black. Generally, it’s dark enough to observe the northern lights between September and March.

    For this reason, it’s recommended to go with a northern lights guide who will drive you out to somewhere suitable to view them.

    Additionally, you need to have a clear night sky. The northern lights can be observed if it’s partly cloudy, but ideally you want 100% visibility in the sky as the northern lights can appear anywhere. The northern lights occur about 100km (60 mi) above the earth, so you need to be able to see stars.

    Northern lights captured in Ivalo – February 2020

    How to photograph the northern lights

    These days mobile phones are getting better and better and you can often capture the northern lights on your phone if it is two years old or less. However, the phones will never match a professional camera when it comes to quality.

    If you plan on using a DSLR, make sure you have a tripod. The northern lights need long exposures (5-30 seconds) and you can’t hold a camera for that long without it going blurry. Keep the camera still.

    Use manual settings if you have them.

    The manual settings you want to use are:

    • Focus. Use a manual focus and focus on the stars in the sky
    • Shutter speed. Try and have an exposure of at least 5 seconds. Exposure time depends on how strong the lights are, how dense they are, and how quickly they are moving
    • ISO
    • Aperture. You want a f-stop as low as possible

    I normally set it all up on my camera and connect it to the tripod before I head out for the night. It’s harder to get it already in the pitch black or if the lights are already out.

    Wide angle lenses are recommended for using northern lights.

    Try to find a nice view if possible. If your picture just has the northern lights in it, it can be a little dull. Take a nicely framed photo!

    Bring extra batteries, the cold drains your camera quickly.

    Also, when you bring your camera inside before to slowly acclimatise it to your hotel room. If the camera goes from too cold to too hot too quickly, the glass may crack.  

    Emma's northern lights diary

    You can see all my northern lights sightings using the link below. 

    Emma's Northern lights diary
  • Northern Lights, Northern Norway

    Mistakes People Make When Observing the Northern Lights

    Mistakes People Make When Observing the Northern Lights

    At the moment I’m sitting in a hotel room in Rovaniemi hoping the clouds clear and my group can see some northern lights. It got me thinking about all the mistakes people make when observing the northern the lights, so I thought I should make a blog about it! Okay, I’m also trying to keep myself awake long enough to see them.

    I’ve been travelling to the Arctic to see the northern lights for eight seasons, and I feel like I have to give the same ‘reality check’ to every group I pick up. Many have the wrong expectations when coming to Northern Europe to seeing the northern lights, and one of the most important factors as a trip leader is to set realistic expectations. As an operator and agent, I feel it is even more important!

    Here are the common problems I find when people are booking northern lights trips, based on my experience. 

    In this article...

    Staying too far south

    People very often plan a trip to Norway to see the northern lights and stay too far south. People ask if it’s possible to see the northern lights in places like Oslo and Bergen. Tourism boards don’t help, either. They often use photos of the big cities under the northern lights in their marketing material. I live in Bergen and can tell you that we see the northern lights maybe once a month, but maybe in the city centre once or twice a season! The same goes for Oslo. Even Trondheim is too far south.

    I find cities on the Arctic Circle, such as Rovaniemi, can also be difficult because you are still technically quite far south. When you are further north, the strength of the lights doesn’t matter so much as they are guaranteed to reach there almost every night. When you are further south (but still within the Arctic Circle), you have to rely on the lights being a certain strength to reach you. It’s a fine art to planning where the right spot is, which is why it’s important to give yourself a lot of time in the north!

    Northern lights from my apartment in Bergen - this doesn't happen often!

    Going too far north doesn’t help, either

    The next problem is that people may go too far south. Svalbard is a fantastic place to see the lights, but often they are so strong that they actually go past Svalbard and can’t be seen there. Here’s a picture of the aurora belt as I write this article, and you’ll see the lights goes over Svalbard. 

    Many people may just look on a map and pick the northernmost spot they can get to – for example, Honningsvåg – but fail to recognise that many northern towns are prone to bad weather. Coastal Norway may be further north than somewhere like Saariselka or Abisko, but it’s prone to more clouds.

    That said, when the far north is clear, it’s practically guaranteed that you’ll see the northern lights. The best lights I’ve seen were just out of Båtsfjord, which is at 70 degrees north. However, Båtsfjord is on the Barents Sea and has many cloudy days. I just got lucky. In fact, this whole article can be summarised as “you have to just get lucky”, but that would be a boring read!

    My incredible northern lights night in Båtsfjord

    Picking the wrong place (or wrong time of year...)

    When looking for northern lights, there are two things that are important: Latitude and cloudy days. Look for somewhere that has few cloudy days.

    It’s also important to choose a place where you can do northern lights tours. It’s harder to see the lights in cities, so it’s important to get out with a guided tour to give yourself a good chance to see them.

    This may seem obvious to 99% of you, but you should also be aware that you can’t see the northern lights between mid-April and early August because it’s not dark enough. To see the lights you have to see stars, and that is not possible in those months because of the midnight sun. I’ve had people in July ask me if they can see the lights.

    The weather in December and January can be full of storms (it’s actually the rainiest time of year for some parts of Northern Norway), so the cloud coverage is often pretty consistent. When researching locations, also check how many rainy days on average they have. Abisko in Sweden actually has the most clear nights of anywhere in the aurora belt.

    You want to be in a place that is high with a wide sky – which is why Norway can be a problem with all the mountains. Lofoten is not a good place to see the lights (though they do appear there and the mountains make for spectacular photos!).

    I prefer high, wide and flat areas with little cloudy days. Wide skies and good visibility make a huge difference. 

    I came across this stock image and have so many questions. It's already cold enough out there - no need to get n the water!

    Not dressing appropriately (or being too impatient)

    I find it so frustrating when people spend years saving and then planning a northern lights tour, only to give up within the first 15 minutes of being outside because it’s too cold. Come on, you’re in the Arctic in winter! Dress appropriately.

    It is freezing cold in the winter (it’s -20C now in Rovaniemi) and standing still makes it feel even colder.

    Also – be patient! You may be standing outside for over an hour waiting for northern lights. They don’t come on with the flick of a light switch. Don’t give up after the first five minutes.

    Not staying long enough

    When I do my walking tours in Bergen, I meet many people who tell me they are flying to Tromsø for one or two nights before heading to Oslo or somewhere else. That’s crazy. I’ve been above the Arctic Circle for a week now, and we have had lights twice in that week. What I’m saying is that you need to give yourself time. You need at least five days in the Arctic to give yourself a strong chance of seeing the lights.

    My attempted selfie under the northern lights - November 2023

    Not booking a northern lights tour

    If you are serious about seeing the northern lights, you will book a tour. Many people fly to Tromsø and hope to see the lights from the city centre. It does happen, but not frequently. And the lights are never as bright in the cities because of light pollution. You need to get out to the countryside, and the way to do that is with a tour. They will drive you to where they are sure the lights will be seen. Nothing is better than that. Some tours will even teach you how to photograph the lights. Some companies even provide the appropriate clothing.

    Relying on apps or alarms

    Some people download all the northern lights apps and expect the apps to tell them when the lights are out. Some of the best lights I had were when the apps told me I had a 7% chance of seeing them! I got amazing northern lights in Ålesund and Hurtigruten never set off its northern lights alarm. If you want to see the lights, get out and look with your eyes.

    The best chance of seeing the northern lights is to go out and look for extended periods of time.

    Not having the right camera gear

    Not every camera takes the professional quality photos. Many point and shoot cameras will not pick up the northern lights, and many smart phones also can’t capture them. You need to have a DSLR camera (with a tripod!) that has a low F-stop (I use 1.4 but anything under 2.5 works) to be able to capture the lights. I use a wide angle lens especially for the lights. High-end iPhones and other smart phones can capture the lights pretty well.

    Also, make sure flash is turned off. It ruins not just your photos but everyone elses. 

    This guide perfectly summarises mistakes people make when photographing the lights. 

    Managing expectations

    The northern lights never look like the pictures when you’re looking at them in person. The lights are often a grey-ish colour and become a muted green if they are very strong. Very rarely will you see the purple or bright green with your eyes. 10% of people will never seen the green. Phones and cameras pick up the colours a lot better than our eyes can. The camera will often pick up the lights before you can see them with your eyes.

    Also, the intensity and the frequency of the lights varies a lot depending on atmospheric conditions and solar activity. The science is a lot more complicated, and factors like speed, density and solar storms weigh in a lot to what the lights will look like.

    Also, just because you are far north and have a clear night sky doesn’t mean you’ll see the northern lights.

    Mistakes people make when observing the northern lights

    That’s all I can think of. Sadly as I wrote this Rovaniemi got cloudy. So now we won’t see some lights. But that’s part of the adventure!

    I hope this was beneficial to you. Remember that you can reach out to me if you want help planning a northern lights trip, or you can read our northern lights travel guide. 

    Northern lights travel guide
    My trip planning services