First Time in Tromsø? The 3 Tours to Book Together — and the Order That Works
Most first-timers in Tromsø either try to squeeze in everything or book the northern lights for the last night and lose it to cloud. This is the three-tour set we tell friends to book together, in the order that protects the aurora night — with real prices, pickup times and ages from Legendary Adventure.
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.
For a first winter trip to Tromsø, book these three together: the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 on your first evening (NOK 2,300 per person, 5–8 hours, pickup 18:30), the Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 the next day (NOK 2,100, 5–6 hours, lunch included) and the Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 the day after (NOK 1,500, 4 hours, pickup 10:00). Book them in that order as well: the chase first, because every other date in your plan depends on it. The set costs NOK 5,900 per person, or NOK 5,605 with code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 at checkout. Three nights work; four give you a spare evening if the first one clouds over.
Our pick · 5% off with code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5
Northern Lights Tour
The tour your whole plan hangs on — book it first and put it on your first evening. From NOK 2,300 per person, 5–8 hours, winter suit and a warm meal included, pickup in central Tromsø.
Why These Three Tours — and Not Five
Legendary Adventure runs more than a dozen winter experiences from Tromsø, and a first-timer looking at the list tends to want all of them. We understand the instinct. From our Arctic winters in Rovaniemi we also know how it ends: four early pickups, two late nights, and a traveller too tired to enjoy the one evening the sky finally opens.
The three tours in this set each do a different job, and together they cover what most people come to Tromsø for:
- The Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 — the night. A guided chase in a Mercedes minibus with 2–8 guests, a route chosen on the evening from the latest weather forecasts, a winter suit and a warm meal. This is the tour with the most at stake.
- The Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 — the coast. Fjords, snow-covered mountains, white-sand Arctic beaches, wildlife spotting and an included lunch at the Sommarøy Arctic Hotel.
- The Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 — the snow. Four hours including transfers, snowshoes and poles provided, the easiest way to actually stand in the Arctic landscape rather than look at it through a window.
They also share practical details that make them easy to combine. All three are shared small-group tours priced per person, all three pick up outside Clarion Hotel The Edge on the harbour (look for a black Mercedes), and the two daytime ones both leave at 10:00. Stay in the centre and you never need a car or a taxi.
What we left out, deliberately: the shorter Ersfjord & Grøtfjord tour overlaps with the Sommarøy day, the Aurora Snowshoe Hike overlaps with the chase, and the private reindeer and husky days are big-ticket add-ons, not first-trip essentials.
The Booking Order: Chase First, Then Fill the Days
There are two orders to get right: the order you book in and the order you do the tours in. The booking order is simple and it matters more than people expect.
1. Book the northern lights chase first. Pick the first evening you will realistically be in Tromsø by 18:00. If your flight lands mid-afternoon, that is your arrival day. If you land late in the evening, it is the next day. This date is the anchor; everything else is arranged around it.
2. Book the fjord day for the day after the chase. The Sommarøy tour is the most seated of the three — scenic stops, a long lunch, the drive back in a warm vehicle — which is exactly what you want after getting home in the small hours.
3. Book the snowshoe hike for the following morning. By then you have slept properly, your legs are fresh and you have seen the landscape from the road, so walking into it on snowshoes means more.
Do all three in one sitting. Each tour is a separate checkout on Legendary Adventure’s FareHarbor calendar, so open the three links in tabs, choose your dates and enter the code each time. Booking together means you never end up with the fjord day on the only date the chase had space.
On the shared tours the cancellation rule is a full refund more than 48 hours before departure and a 100% charge inside 48 hours. That gives you room to adjust if your flights change, but not to hold dates speculatively until the last minute.
The Doing Order, Day by Day
Day 1 — Arrive, eat early, chase the lights
Land, check in and walk the compact centre while you still have energy. Eat something light: the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 includes a warm meal, snacks and hot drinks out in the field, so a heavy dinner before an 18:30 pickup is wasted. The winter suit goes over your own layers. The tour lasts 5–8 hours depending on how far the guide drives for clear sky, so plan nothing afterwards and nothing early the next morning.
Day 2 — The Sommarøy & Kvaløya fjord day
Pickup is at 10:00 from the same hotel. Over 5–6 hours you drive west across Kvaløya to the island of Sommarøy, with several scenic stops, an eye out for reindeer, moose and white-tailed sea eagles, and a local lunch by the sea (vegan and vegetarian options available). Wildlife is never guaranteed and the operator says so. You are back in town by late afternoon with a free evening — and if night one was cloudy, this is the evening to book a second chase.
Day 3 — Morning snowshoe hike, afternoon at leisure
The Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 picks up at 10:00. The four hours include the transfer, so the walking itself is steady rather than long, with a local guide choosing safe terrain. Snowshoes and poles are provided; you bring insulated, waterproof boots and warm layers. Back around 14:00, the afternoon is yours.
Day 4 (if you have it) — the spare evening
A fourth night is the cheapest insurance in Tromsø. Leave it unbooked, watch the forecast, and use it for a second chase only if you need one. Flip days 2 and 3 if you prefer — both tours leave at 10:00 from the same place — but keep the chase on night one.
If You Only Book Two — or Want a Fourth
Not every first trip has room or budget for three tours. Here is how we would cut or extend the set.
Only two tours: keep the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 and add the Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 — NOK 4,400 per person. That is the night and the most complete daylight experience, and it suits every age from 7 up. If you are more active than scenic, swap the fjord day for the Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 3,800 for the pair) and spend the saved day exploring the town on foot.
Only one: the chase, on your first evening. The aurora away from the city lights is the one thing a guide with a vehicle genuinely changes.
A fourth tour: add the Aurora Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 1,500, 4 hours, pickup 18:30, ages 10+) on a spare evening. It is a different way to look for the lights — on foot, away from the city glow, with snacks and a hot drink — rather than a repeat of the chase. It stays near Tromsø instead of driving to clear sky, so treat it as a second attempt in a different format rather than as your main one. If you want maximum odds on a second night, book the chase again instead.
What we would not do on a first trip is put two night tours back to back. A 5–8 hour chase followed by another late evening leaves you flat for the daytime tours you also paid for.
Book it · 5% off with HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5
Northern Lights Tour
From NOK 2 300 per person · 5-8 Hours · small groups of 2-8 guests (larger groups on request).
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The three-tour set works as written for adults and for children aged 10 and over. Three adjustments cover almost everyone else.
Children under 7. The shared chase and the Sommarøy tour are recommended for ages 7 and up. The Private Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 welcomes all ages, costs NOK 15,000 for the whole vehicle (2–8 guests, larger groups on request), and lets you choose your pickup address at checkout. The Private Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 is the same price, also all ages, lunch included.
Children aged 7 to 9. Both snowshoe hikes are recommended for ages 10 and up. Keep the shared chase and fjord day, and replace the hike with the Ersfjord & Grøtfjord Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 1,500, 3–4 hours, ages 7+, pickup 10:00) — a shorter fjord drive that ends before anyone runs out of patience.
Groups of six to eight. Private tours are priced per group, so the maths flips. Eight people on the private chase pay NOK 1,875 each against NOK 2,300 on the shared tour. With six it is NOK 2,500 each — close enough that the own pickup and own pace usually win.
Couples who want a quieter night. Keep the chase on night one for the odds, and make the Aurora Snowshoe Hike your fourth tour — fewer people, no roadside stops, just snow and sky.
What the Three Tours Cost Together
Operator from-prices in Norwegian kroner, per person, for the shared tours. The right-hand column is what you pay after entering the code at checkout. Two of the three include food, which matters in a city where restaurant meals add up quickly.
| When | Tour | Duration | Price | With 5% code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 evening | Northern Lights Tour (winter suit, warm meal, snacks, hot drinks) | 5–8 h | NOK 2,300 | NOK 2,185 |
| Day 2 | Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour (local lunch) | 5–6 h | NOK 2,100 | NOK 1,995 |
| Day 3 morning | Arctic Snowshoe Hike (snowshoes and poles) | 4 h | NOK 1,500 | NOK 1,425 |
| The first-timer set | NOK 5,900 | NOK 5,605 | ||
| Optional 4th | Aurora Snowshoe Hike | 4 h | NOK 1,500 | NOK 1,425 |
| Set + 4th tour | NOK 7,400 | NOK 7,030 |
For a couple, the core set is NOK 11,800, or NOK 11,210 with the code. A family of four with children aged 10 or older pays NOK 23,600, or NOK 22,420. Hotels, flights and other meals are extra, and prices are the operator’s from-prices, so check the live calendar for your exact date.
Four Combining Mistakes First-Timers Make
Most of the disappointing Tromsø trips we hear about are not caused by the weather alone. They are caused by how the tours were stacked.
- The chase on the last night. If that night is cloudy there is no second chance, and if it runs to 02:00 you are packing at dawn for your flight. First night, always.
- An early start after the chase. The chase lasts 5–8 hours. Booking something with an 08:30 or 08:45 pickup the next morning — the private reindeer and husky days start that early — means four hours of sleep. Keep the morning after a night tour for the 10:00 departures or for nothing at all.
- Booking one tour at a time. People book the chase, wait a week, then find the only free fjord date clashes with it. Choose all three dates in one sitting.
- Ignoring the age guidance. 7+ for the shared chase and the fjord tours, 10+ for both snowshoe hikes, 16+ for the advanced snowshoe adventure. Swap to private or to the Ersfjord tour rather than hoping for an exception.
We go deeper on the night itself in our northern lights first-timer mistakes guide, and if you want a slightly fuller plan with a culture option, see our 3-day Tromsø winter itinerary.
Book Your Whole Tromsø Plan
Every tour in this plan is booked directly with Legendary Adventure (Legendary Group AS, Tromsø) on its own live calendar. We never take your payment, and your booking sits under the operator’s terms. Open these in order, pick your dates, and book:
- Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 — your first evening
- Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 — the next day
- Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 — the day after
- Optional: Aurora Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 on a spare evening, or Private Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 instead of the shared chase if you have children under 7
When you pay, enter HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 in the promo-code field at checkout — it works on every Legendary Adventure tour you book, shared or private, so the 5% comes off each one.
Full transparency: we are Legendary Adventure’s partner and may earn a commission on bookings made with our code. It never changes your price. For other ideas, from Sámi culture to husky days, browse all our Tromsø activity guides.
FAQ
Which three tours should I book on my first trip to Tromsø?
Our first-timer set is the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 2,300), the Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 2,100) and the Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 (NOK 1,500). Between them you get the aurora chase, the coast in daylight and a few hours on snowshoes, all from the same pickup point in central Tromsø.
In what order should I do the tours?
Northern lights chase on your first evening, the fjord day the day after (it is the most relaxed, mostly seated day), and the snowshoe hike on the third morning. Keeping the chase first leaves later evenings free for a second attempt if the first night is cloudy.
How many nights do I need for these three tours?
Three nights is the minimum if you land by mid-afternoon on day one. Four nights is better, because the extra evening gives you a buffer for a second chase without squeezing the daytime tours.
How much do the three tours cost together?
NOK 5,900 per person at the operator’s from-prices, or NOK 5,605 after the 5% discount with code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5. The northern lights tour includes a warm meal and the fjord tour includes lunch.
Can children do the first-timer set?
Children aged 10 and over can do all three. The shared northern lights and Sommarøy tours are recommended from age 7 and the snowshoe hike from 10, so younger children need the private versions (all ages) or the Ersfjord & Grøtfjord fjord tour instead of the hike.
What if I need to cancel one of the tours?
On the shared tours you get a full refund if you cancel more than 48 hours before departure; inside 48 hours the full price is charged. Each tour is a separate booking, so changing one does not affect the others.
Our Honest Final Word
A first trip to Tromsø does not need a packed schedule. It needs one night tour in the right place, one day on the coast and one morning on snowshoes — and the discipline to book the chase first and put it on night one. Everything else is optional, and much of it is better saved for a second visit.
Book the Northern Lights Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5, the Sommarøy & Kvaløya Scenic Fjord Tour5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 and the Arctic Snowshoe Hike5% off · HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 together, and enter HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY5 at each checkout for 5% off all three.
The first-timer set: three tours to book together
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.
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