Join me as I recount my recent expedition hunting for the mesmerizing Northern Lights in the Troms? located over 350 kilometers (around 217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. In this blog post, I’ll share practical insights, strategies, and firsthand tips based on my own experience. Learn about the essentials for a successful Northern Lights hunt, from ideal locations and weather considerations to equipment and best practices. Whether you’re a seasoned explorer or a first-time seeker, this guide aims to equip you with the necessary knowledge for your own nocturnal adventure in pursuit of the spectacular auroras.
The expedition to Tromso to hunt for the northern lights is the second attack on the north. A year ago I also hunted for the northern lights on Spisbergen.
When to hunt for the aurora borealis?
The best months are the end of September, October, the beginning of November, and then the end of January, February, March. Because, as we all know, it depends on the sun, there are various websites and applications, but they are not very accurate, an example is the Aurora app, whose task is to show when the aurora may occur. However, it often happens that the app shows the aura above your head but there is nothing there. The NASA website is something better (https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast).
How to get out of the airport?
There are 4 options:
1. City bus, here it is worth installing the Troms Billett (Apple Store | Google Play) application where you can buy a ticket. 44 NOK (26/10/2023)
2. Airport Express bus, a large red bus parks in front of the terminal exit, tickets cost NOK 125.00 (October 29, 2023)
3. Taxi – I don’t know the price, but I haven’t even seen them
4. Car rental
If you want to take the city bus, finding the bus stop is a bit of a challenge. It is not visible from the airport exit. So we leave the airport and see a large letter “P”, this is our general direction, to get there we have to go slightly left, then down and then right and around the corner you will see a small, inconspicuous shelter – this is your destination. The screen shows buses and departure times. Remember to keep your phone charged because this is your ticket.
Why Tromso?
As a resident of Europe, you can choose several places to see the Northern Lights, but Tromso is the best, which is why every year tourists come 350 km beyond the Arctic Circle to see the Northern Lights. Is it that simple? Everything depends on the weather. We have no influence on this, so it is good that our local guide is well prepared and knows the area well. Here I recommend Green Adventure, a professional company, a very nice and polite guide who knows the area well and even takes you to Finland.
How to get?
Tromso is far to the north, the further north you go, the faster the weather changes. How it affects our journey, although it may seem insignificant at the beginning, in practice it has a significant impact. If we decide to travel with a cheap airline, it may turn out to be a very expensive trip, because if the flight is delayed due to bad weather and we have other connections further home, everything falls apart. However, if we choose a regular airline, they will rebook us on another flight. Sounds weird? From my personal experience, out of 12 flights there were only two times without problems. Last year, the return from Spisbergen was delayed by 4h30min due to a snow storm.
How should you prepare?
The first and most important thing is what to wear – at the end of October it is already cold, what does that mean during the day, the perceived temperature is about -5C to -3C, at night it is colder on the fjord. In the mountains it can be really cold, around -10C. How to dress? Wool! That is, a woolen sweatshirt/shirt, leggings, insulated ski pants, a sweater and woolen socks. Down jacket. Woolen hat.
Photographic equipment
We take what we have, you can actually take photos even with an iPhone. What is most important is a tripod. Photos taken at night have a longer shutter speed, so they must be taken from a tripod. How to set up an apartment, it’s worth relying on an expert (Green Adventure Robert is such an expert, he helped perfectly with setting up the apartments)
I used three Lumix GX85 devices with a standard lens, GoPro Black 11 and iPhone 13 Pro.
Where to sleep?
I recommend the Scandic hotel, the rooms include breakfast and the hotel itself is in a good place at the port, which makes it an ideal place for walks. The rooms are basic, i.e. bathroom, comfortable bed, internet, heating, etc.
Experience
Meeting of participants at 7:00 p.m. in front of the Scandic Ishavsh hotel, there were 8 of us. Everyone is curious about what awaits us. We got into the bus and went on the trip. Our destination is the island of Kval?ya, which translates from Norwegian as “Whale Island”. We drive through tunnels that were built in the 1990s. We leave the inhabited areas and after about 50 minutes we reach the first place and immediately see the beautiful aurora over the bay.
Robert from Green Adventure helps us go down the slope, we get tripods, and thanks to the help of our guide, our cameras are properly positioned. After about 30 minutes, we gather up and move on. Another 40 minutes later we are at the bay where we stay longer. Here we have a photo session, but we also get hot cocoa, then Robert lights a fire and serves spicy, very good vegetable soup.
Finally, something sweet – marshmallows. We constantly observe the majestic dance of the northern lights and take lots of photos. Time flies and around midnight we gather and go to the mountains. It’s already very cold here, around -10C.
Unfortunately, the aurora has already disappeared, but the view of the stars is amazing and it’s full moon. It’s cold, so we pack up and go to the fjord, where we meet other teams, but we won’t see the aurora borealis that night.
Our journey ends, we return to Tromso, the hunting ends around 02:00 at night. To sum up, we were lucky, the cloud cover was 10%, and the aurora appeared almost immediately. The day before, as Robert said, we had to drive about 150 km to Finland, so we made it.
Is it worth it?
Yes! Without a doubt, I highly recommend it!