This guide is built from our own winters in the Arctic and from the live Legendary Adventure tour pages in Tromsø — prices, pickup times and what is included come straight from the operator, never invented.

Why December Needs Planning Earlier Than Any Other Month

December is the month when Tromsø is at its most Christmassy, its darkest and its busiest. Flights from Oslo and Helsinki fill, hotels in the centre are the first to sell out, and the tours that guests actually want — a small-group northern lights chase in a Mercedes with a local guide — have a limited number of seats each night. Groups are capped at 2–8 guests, so one departure holds only a few parties.

That is the good news and the bad news. Small groups are why the evening feels personal; they are also why you cannot assume a seat the week you arrive. Our rule of thumb from planning Arctic trips for friends: book the aurora tour first, then build the hotel and the daytime activities around it, not the other way round.

Which Nights to Book First: Dates That Fill Early

Without quoting numbers we do not have, the pattern is easy to predict because it follows the school calendar and the flight schedule. Dates around the Christmas weekend, the days between Christmas and New Year, and the first weekend of the Christmas holidays are the ones to lock in first. Weekends fill before weekdays in any month; Monday to Wednesday departures are usually the easiest to secure at short notice.

If your trip includes Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, treat the tour as a fixed point in the itinerary and book it as soon as your flights are confirmed. If your dates sit in the first half of December, you have more room, but we would still not wait for a perfect forecast: forecasts are only reliable a few days out, and the chase is designed to work around weather, not wait for it.

One Night or Two? The Spare-Night Logic

The aurora is weather-dependent in two ways: you need solar activity and you need clear sky somewhere reachable. The guides pick the route from the latest forecasts and local knowledge, heading inland or along the coast, so a cloudy city does not automatically mean a cloudy night. Even so, no operator can promise the lights, and an honest plan allows for a second attempt.

If you are staying four nights or more, the sensible pattern is the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 on night one or two and a spare night in your pocket. Because the cancellation rule is clear — full refund more than 48 hours before departure, full charge inside 48 hours — you can book early and then move your plan once you see how the first night went and what the forecast says.

If your stay is only two or three nights, book the chase for the first full evening. That leaves the later nights for a second tour or a rebooking, and it means you are not spending your last evening hoping a cloud front moves.

What a December Evening on the Chase Looks Like

Pickup is outside Clarion Hotel The Edge on the waterfront; look for the black Mercedes. The listing gives 18:30 as the pickup time from 25 October, and the booking calendar shows the exact time for your date, so check it there. From there the evening follows the weather: the guide heads for the sky that looks best, which may mean coastal viewpoints or inland valleys, and you stop where the conditions are right.

The operator includes a winter suit, a warm meal, snacks and hot drinks. That matters in December, because standing still for an hour at night in the Arctic is a different thing from walking through town. Wear warm base layers and bring your own gloves and hat; the suit covers the rest. The tour is listed at 5–8 hours, and the long window is deliberate: the better the lights, the longer the guides stay out.

Add a Daytime Tour Without Wrecking the Night

A late night asks for a calm day. The two pairings we send friends towards in December are the Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 2,100 per person, 5–6 hours, lunch included) and the Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 1,500 per person, 4 hours, pickup at 10:00). Both are daytime tours that finish in the afternoon, which leaves time for a rest and an early dinner before the 18:30 pickup.

If you want the lights themselves to be the day-and-night theme, the Aurora Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 at NOK 1,500 is a different style of evening: about 4 hours on snowshoes with a chance of the lights, rather than the long drive of the chase. We would still book the full chase as the main attempt and treat the snowshoe evening as the second night.

Shared or Private: When the Private Tour Is the Better December Choice

The shared tour is excellent value for couples and small parties. The Private Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 is NOK 15,000 per group for 2–8 guests (larger groups on request), all ages, with pickup wherever you choose at checkout. Divide that by six and it is under NOK 2,500 each, only slightly above the shared price; for four it is NOK 3,750 each.

The private version makes sense for a family with young children, a group of friends who want control over the stops, or anyone who wants a pickup from a rental apartment rather than the central meeting point. It also removes the need to coordinate with strangers on a night when everyone wants to stay out later. For December specifically, a private departure is a way to protect a fixed date for a family trip where you cannot be flexible.

How to Book With the Hungrytravelfamily Discount

Booking is simple and always direct with Legendary Adventure (Legendary Group AS, Tromsø). Open the booking link for your tour, pick the date on the live calendar, add your guests, and in the promo-code field at FareHarbor checkout type HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5. The price drops by 5% before you pay; if the field does not accept it, check that you opened the operator’s own booking page and not another site. The code is for tours booked online and does not stack with other offers.

If you are booking more than one tour, add each separately and repeat the code at each checkout. We are Legendary Adventure’s partner and may earn a commission on bookings made with our code; it never changes the price you pay. For the full list of what the operator runs in winter, see our Tromsø activities guide. Our current picks for this question: the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 and the Private Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5.

Cancellation is the same on the shared tours: a full refund if you cancel more than 48 hours before departure, and the full price is charged inside 48 hours. Book early enough to keep that flexibility, then adjust once you can see a forecast.

FAQ

Our Honest Final Word

December rewards the traveller who decides early. Book the chase as the fixed point, keep a spare night if you have one, and fill the days with the fjord tour or a snowshoe hike. You will not control the sky, but you can control how many attempts you give it.

When your dates are set, open the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 or the Private Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5, and use HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 at checkout for 5% off.

5% off · code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5

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