Polar night in Tromsø: when to go

What polar night means in Tromsø

Polar night is the stretch when the sun stays below the horizon. Visit Tromsø puts it at about 27 November to 15 January and says the light returns gradually from mid-January. Because of the surrounding mountains, the sun is usually not visible from the city centre until later in January. It is not black all day. On clear days there is some daylight around midday, and in the afternoon light bounces off the sea and snow in a cobalt-blue tint known as the blue hour, or blåtimen in Norwegian, as in this photo.

Month by month

The operator runs its evening tours from the end of October to early April, and the exact dates change from year to year. The camp is closed from mid-April to early November, because the reindeer spend the summer free in the mountains, where the calves are born. Guests can only visit on a booked tour, so the booking calendar shows which dates are open. The programme is the same all season. What changes is the light.

• Late October and November: the evenings darken as the sun sinks
• Late November to mid-January: polar night
• Late January: the light returns
• February and March: daylight lengthens, and aurora storms may be more frequent near the equinox
• Early April: the last evenings of the season

The northern lights are a chance, not a booking

The operator's pages offer a chance of seeing the northern lights and say it can never promise one. Visit Tromsø says the lights may be visible from late August to early April, but clear skies and darkness are essential. The camp sits in a valley away from street lighting, which helps on a clear evening. Wikipedia adds that geomagnetic storms that ignite auroras may occur more often in the months around the equinoxes, though it calls the pattern not well understood, and cloud can still hide a display. Book for the herd, the dinner and the stories, and treat the sky as extra.

What to wear

Visit Tromsø gives the winter average as about -4 °C and advises planning for -25 °C to 5 °C if you are doing Arctic activities or watching for the northern lights. Its advice is layers: wool next to the skin, then warm dry jumpers and jackets, adding a layer when you stop moving. The operator asks you to bring at least two warm layers, gloves or mittens, a hat and good winter boots. Choose boots with room for an extra pair of woollen socks. Feet, hands, neck and head get cold first.

• At least two warm layers, with wool next to the skin
• Gloves or mittens, and a hat
• Good winter boots with room for woollen socks
• Ask before counting on lent thermal suits

Will they lend you gear?

Visit Tromsø says many activity providers supply thermal suits, boots, hats and mittens. The operator of this evening lists clothing you should bring and does not say that it lends any. So do not assume a borrowed suit is waiting for you. If you are travelling light or coming from somewhere warm, ask the operator before you leave, or ask about Tromsø Outdoor, which Visit Tromsø says rents and sells outdoor clothing. Ice grips for your shoes, sold in Tromsø shoe and sports shops, help on slippery streets.

Getting to the pickup and back

The evening starts at the bus terminal at Tromsø Havn Prostneset, Samuel Arnesens gate 5, in the city centre, and the bus brings you back to the centre. The ground floor has two entrances, one by the buses and one between the terminal and the Clarion Edge hotel. The guide and the bus wait at the bus terminal, and the team wear blue jackets with the operator's logo. Arrive with time to spare so the bus can leave promptly. The drive out to the camp takes about half an hour.

Fitting it into your day

The evening takes about 4.5 hours from pickup to drop-off, and the sled ride is 15 to 20 minutes of that. Your confirmation shows the pickup time for your date. Because it is an evening plan, the daylight hours stay free, though in the polar night they are few. Visit Norway says locals keep their normal routines during the polar night, so the city does not shut down. Treat the camp as the anchor of the evening, not one stop among several.

What you see: the herd and the fire

The camp is run by a Sami reindeer-herding family, and its site calls herding a way of life, not a show. In winter the herd is on pasture around the camp, and in summer it is free in the mountains. You walk among the reindeer and feed them by hand. You then warm up by the fire in a gamme or lavvu, the Sami hut and tent, where the bidos is cooked over the open flame. Your hosts tell stories about what it is like to be a reindeer herder.

Read next: Reindeer, the Sami herders, and what you'll hear at the camp

What you hear: joik and stories

During the evening your guide tells stories about Sami culture and performs a joik, a traditional Sami song. Wikipedia describes a joik as meant to evoke a person, animal or place rather than to sing about it, traditionally unaccompanied and with short lyrics or none. Researchers consider it one of the oldest continuous musical traditions in Europe. It was condemned during Christianisation and devalued under Norwegian assimilation policy, and it revived in the 1970s. Listen as you would to any living tradition, and leave the stories to the people telling them.

Children, access and pace

The operator says all ages are welcome, and a small child can sit with an adult in the sled. Buses have only a few booster seats, so bring your own car seat for a baby or book a taxi. The operator's site says pregnant women may join the sledding tour, which it describes as slow and steady. The camp has an accessible toilet next to the entrance. Assistance dogs are allowed but must stay outside the reindeer fence. The site gives no other mobility details, so ask before you book if anyone has limited mobility.

Who this isn't for

Skip it if you need to see the northern lights, because no one can promise them. It is not for visitors in mid-April to early November, when the camp is closed. If you dislike standing outside in winter, this is not the evening for you, because the feeding and the sled ride are outdoors. And if you need hotel pickup, note that the meeting point is the bus terminal, not your hotel. Anyone needing step-free access or who cannot stand in the snow should contact the operator first, because the site gives only the facts above.