It had been a few years since I had visited Tromso and so I was anxious to return to the beautiful Northern Arctic City. Tromso is referred to as the Paris of the North; I have heard many reasons as to why but I like this one.
It had been a few years since I had visited Tromso and so I was anxious to return to the beautiful Northern Arctic City. Tromso is referred to as the Paris of the North; I have heard many reasons as to why but I like this one.
One of the many reasons people travel to Tromso is of course to see the spectacular Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. Even though I have seen them many times I was still exceptionally excited about this prospect of course and checked the sky’s every night during my trip – more about whether I was successful in the hunt for Aurora later! I stayed at a city centre hotel and on my first night enjoyed a delicious meal of fresh Salmon in a delicious creamy sauce. Tromso has some fantastic restaurants all selling local fresh meals including lots of fish. During the trip I also enjoyed some beautifully cooked mussels, red fish and of course Bacalao (A delicious fish dish made with Arctic salted cod, yummy!).
Lots of my time in Tromso was spent visiting accommodation and activity suppliers and learning more about the trips that we can offer. It is great to see all these places and build holiday itineraries for people based on knowing the accommodation, activities and people who run them so well.
On Friday I had the pleasure of visiting the Lyngen Alps as one of our activity suppliers has their camp out there, Camp Tamok. It is always so nice to meet up with the people that run these places but as a dog lover it is always great to see the huskies. I was extremely happy when I arrived and realised not only was I going to get to meet them but I was also going to be able to try out some sledding with them! Dog sledding in September, when there is no snow?? Yes that is right! The dogs are in training for the winter and so it is important that they get lots of exercise. So although it wasn’t sledding it was still great fun. The dogs pull something which looks like a kind of go-kart and one person drives whilst one person sits back and relaxes (sort of!). The track was rather bumpy and muddy but it was so much fun and the dogs seemed to have a great time. This was followed by a delicious lunch including the infamous Norwegian brunost (brown cheese) and some time watching reindeer being herded down the nearby mountain. Camp Tamok is a fantastic spot and offers great activities including dog sledding, snowmobile tours, reindeer sledding and Northern Lights evening and overnight stays.
The Friday evening was the event I had been waiting for. I headed out on a small bus tour on a very popular Northern Lights chase. Tromso is in the enviable position that you do not have to travel far to reach a different climatic zone. This means that if the weather is cloudy in the city then you may find clear skies at the coast or near the Alps. Karina, the guide was clearly as excited as her guests and this was great to see. She is so passionate about the aurora and wants everyone to experience it like she has. She wants everyone to be able to tell their own tales of the magnificent polar lights around Tromso. This is also our passion at Off the Map Travel so it is great to be able to work with someone with a similar philosophy. There would be no problem with telling tales from this trip as the Aurora was on full form with green and red curtains dancing all over the dark sky. The stars are also worth a mention as there were so many of them and we must have witnessed at least 10 shooting stars. All in all a fabulous night with a great host and delicious home-made chocolate and carrot cakes to top it all off! I went to bed that night feeling happy and excited at the prospect of sending more happy customers to wonderful Tromso.
So my final morning had arrived and I had been so busy I had had little time to wonder the wonderfully quaint streets and peruse the lovely shops. I spent an hour or so doing this and enjoying this modern Arctic city.
If you would like to visit Tromso and have the opportunity to view the Northern Lights and take part in some wonderful winter activities then contact us today for a personal quote. Start your winter aurora adventure today with Off the Map Travel.
Get in touch today
Contact one of our team for more information or to help get you a personalised quotation.
