For many families and couples in France, Italy and Spain, the long holiday runs from Noël, Natale and Navidad to the Epiphany on 6 January. It is the one stretch of the year when a week away is easy to arrange, and a trip to the Arctic turns a standard winter holiday into something people remember for years. Here we focus on what is actually bookable.

Why Tromsø Works for a Christmas-to-Epiphany Break

Tromsø sits well north of the Arctic Circle on the coast, which gives it a mix of things that are hard to find together: reliable winter infrastructure, an airport close to the city, daytime tours in blue polar-night light and a strong tour industry built around the northern lights. The Christmas period is the heart of the season, with long nights, snow and a festive mood in the town.

The trade-off is that the most popular dates fill first. Holiday weeks are the busiest of the year, and the shared tours that people want most have only a few seats per departure. If your dates are fixed, we recommend booking the tours as soon as your flights are certain.

Daylight, Darkness and Temperature in Christmas Week

From late November to mid-January Tromsø has polar night. The sun does not rise above the horizon, but for a few hours around midday the sky glows blue, pink and orange. That is why daytime tours start at 10:00 and are designed around the light you have.

Do not expect Mediterranean winter. Coastal Tromsø is milder than many people assume for its latitude, but it is still cold, windy and snowy. Dress in layers and bring proper winter boots. Travellers from southern Europe often underestimate the wind, which is what makes the cold feel serious on the coast: a windproof outer layer matters more than an extra sweater. A warm hat that covers your ears, a buff, two pairs of gloves and wool socks will make the difference between enjoying the evening and counting the minutes. For the tours, the operator provides a winter suit on the northern lights chase, and recommends layers and good winter shoes for the snowshoe hikes.

A 6-Night Plan From Christmas to Epiphany

The key idea is two independent chances at the northern lights, one fjord day and one snow day.

Which Tours to Book First

Our priority order for the holiday week:

1. The Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 for two evenings, spaced apart.
2. The Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 for a scenic daytime outing with lunch.
3. The Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 for a physical, snowy morning.

Book the tours that are the reason you came first, and keep the flexible evenings for later. If you are travelling in a larger family group, split the decisions: one adult checks availability on the booking page, everyone agrees the dates, and one person books so that the code is applied once and the confirmation goes to one inbox. It sounds trivial, and it saves a surprising amount of holiday-week arguing. Shared tours refund in full when cancelled more than 48 hours before the start, so early bookings are protected as long as your plans do not change inside that window. See our full guide to Tromsø activities for the rest of the range.

Families and Larger Groups: Private Tours

Christmas trips often mean children, grandparents and several couples travelling together. The shared tours have age recommendations, 7 and up for the chase and fjord tour and 10 and up for snowshoeing. For mixed ages and larger parties, the private tours are priced per group and are listed as all ages for the northern lights and fjord versions.

The Private Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 is NOK 15,000 per group of 2–8, with a winter suit, a warm meal, snacks and hot drinks. The Private Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 is NOK 15,000 per group of 2–8, with a local lunch. In both cases you choose the pickup location at checkout, which is a gift on a cold evening with tired children.

If the budget is a concern, remember that the price is per group, not per person. A family of five that would pay NOK 11,500 on the shared northern lights chase can compare that with NOK 15,000 for a vehicle, a guide and an evening entirely to themselves, with no waiting for other guests and no shared seating. The gap is smaller than most people expect, and the flexibility is worth a lot with children or grandparents.

Christmas Eve, New Year and Epiphany Evenings

The holiday evenings are the hardest dates to book, because everybody wants the same ones. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are special in different ways, and some travellers want to be at the hotel for a family meal. A good solution is to put the northern lights tour on the nights before and after the big dates, when availability is better and the guides are as ready as ever. The tours run on holiday dates according to the operator’s calendar, but check the live booking page for each night.

For Epiphany on 6 January, many travellers are already on their way home. If you are staying through, it is a quiet, easy evening to book a last chase.

What the Week Costs in Tours

We cannot quote flights or hotels, because prices change constantly, but the tour prices are stable. For a couple, before the 5% discount: two Northern Lights Tours cost NOK 9,200, a Sommarøy and Kvaløya fjord tour NOK 4,200 and an Arctic Snowshoe Hike NOK 3,000, which makes NOK 16,400 in total. The 5% reader discount takes about NOK 820 off. The booking page always shows the final price in Norwegian kroner, so check the current exchange rate for your own currency.

Rest, Food and Pacing for a Holiday Week

A holiday week is long enough to enjoy, but only if you do not pack it. The most common mistake we see is booking a tour for every day. By day three people are tired, cold and a little cross, and the family dinner that was supposed to be the highlight turns into a negotiation.

Our rule is simple: no more than one big outing per day, and at least one completely free half-day in the middle of the week. A big outing is a northern lights chase, a fjord day or a snowshoe hike. A free half-day is a long lunch, a walk along the harbour, a visit to a museum or simply sleep.

Eat well. Tromsø has good restaurants, and a warm meal before a long evening outdoors makes a real difference to how you feel. The northern lights tour includes a warm meal, snacks and hot drinks, but a proper lunch on the day helps. Keep a snack in your pocket for the snowshoe hike, since the tour does not list a meal.

Finally, protect your sleep. A chase can end after midnight, and the next daytime tour starts at 10:00. If you have two chase nights, put a free morning after each.

How to Book With the Hungrytravelfamily Discount

We are Legendary Adventure’s partner and may earn a small commission; it never changes your price. For each tour, open the booking page, choose the date, enter the number of guests and go to checkout. In the promo-code field type HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 for 5% off. The code works for online bookings on Legendary Adventure’s own booking page. Book now for the holiday dates, because they fill early.

FAQ

Our Honest Final Word

A holiday week in Tromsø works best when you give the sky two chances and the rest of the week room to breathe. Book the fixed points early, enjoy the polar-night light and treat the northern lights as the best possible bonus.

Start with the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5, add a Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 or an Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5, and use HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 for 5% off.

5% off · code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5

Our Tromsø holiday-week picks

Tap a tour to see live dates and prices. Enter HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 in the promo-code field at checkout for 5% off.

Small group · 5-8 HoursNorthern Lights TourFrom NOK 2 300 per personBook with 5% off →Small group · 5-6 HoursSommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord TourFrom NOK 2 100 per personBook with 5% off →Small group · 4 HoursArctic Snowshoe HikeFrom NOK 1 500 per personBook with 5% off →Private · 5-8 HoursPrivate Northern Lights TourFrom NOK 15 000 per group (private)Book with 5% off →

Code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 works on every Legendary Adventure tour booked online. We are Legendary Adventure’s partner and may earn a small commission — it never changes your price.