Big bus, minibus chase, premium small group, boat or camp dinner: what each format includes, how far it drives and what happens on a night when the sky stays empty.
Pick a night, or the first and last night of your stay in Tromsø. We check the booking calendar of every northern lights tour and show which ones still have seats.
If you see no lights: No refund, no repeat
If you see no lights: Free repeat
If you see no lights: No refund, no repeat
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No refund, no repeat
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: Discount on a new tour
If you see no lights: Money back
If you see no lights: No refund, no repeat
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: No special rule
If you see no lights: Discount on a new tour
If you see no lights: No special rule
Duration: 4.5 h
Duration: 4.5 h
Duration: 24 h
Each of these tours is the clearest choice for one way of spending the night. The full comparison of every tour follows below.
The listing promises a full refund if the camera captures no aurora at any point during the tour. The chase has no limit on distance or time and crosses into Finland or Sweden when the sky is clearer there.
Two versions of the same chase: a big bus with a toilet on board, or a minibus with a thermal suit, a free aurora portrait and hotel drop-off. Both have a campfire with marshmallows and can cross into Finland or Sweden.
No more than six guests in a minivan that may cross into Finland, with photos and video when the weather allows. Thermal suits are not included, and guests must be between 18 and 65.
Thermal suits are included and the deck stays open all evening, with a warm indoor cabin and toilets for breaks. If you see no lights, the operator offers a discount on one new tour.
Two questions about your evening, then our suggestion with the rule for a night without lights.
Question 1 of 2
Question 2 of 2
No tour fits every answer, so here is the closest one.
No mileage or time limit: the chase crosses into Finland or Sweden when needed. Full refund if the camera captures no aurora.
Repeat the tour free of charge until the camera captures the aurora. Climate-controlled coach with a toilet on board.
One of the longer chases, with a campfire stop. Half price on the next trip if the first night has no lights.
No more than six guests. One of the longest chases in this comparison.
Four-wheel-drive van with no more than eight guests. Dinner and snacks by a campfire.
Drives into Finland and Sweden if that is where the sky is clear. Thermal suit and boots, bonfire and reindeer sausages included.
Choose between a big bus with a toilet and a minibus with a thermal suit. Free aurora portrait on the minibus option.
Travel by bus or minibus with a toilet on board. A stop at a camp with hot drinks.
Warm indoor cabin, deck access throughout, toilets on board. Thermal suits included.
Quiet electric boat with heated indoor lounges. Vegan soup to warm up, guide on board.
Dinner on board a hybrid catamaran.
Large sailing yacht with no more than twelve guests. Private hot tub session on deck.
Reindeer sled ride and dinner at a reindeer camp. A chance of northern lights over the camp on clear nights.
Feed the reindeer and walk around the camp: no sled ride on this tour. Three-course dinner with bidos, the traditional Sami stew.
Sleep under a glass roof in a Sami-style lavvo. Basecamp in the Lyngen area, at most twelve guests.
Also a good fit
Sorted by number of reviews. Tap a column header to re-sort by price or reviews.
| Photo | Tour | Type | Vehicle & group | Cancellation | Reviews ↕ | Price ↕ | Book |
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Aurora bus tour with camp Northern Lights Safari Tromso | Big bus | Bus or minibus, toilet on the bus · Large group | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.6 (8,954) | €88 per person | Book now |
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Minibus chase with pro photos Arctic Breeze AS | Minibus | Mercedes minibus · Minibus group; reviewers mention two minibuses on some nights | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (7,079) | €117 per person | Book now |
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Sprinter chase with HD photos NLT Guide Company | Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter · Max. 16 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.7 (2,849) | €113 per person | Book now |
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Reindeer sledding + dinner Tromsø Arctic Reindeer | Camp | Reindeer camp | ★ 4.6 (2,811) | €201 per person | Book now | |
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Minibus chase with aurora portrait Amazing Arctic Tours | Minibus | Big bus or minibus (two options) · Depends on the option | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.5 (2,375) | €61 per person | Book now |
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Aurora coach tour, free repeats Jeshua As | Big bus | Coach with toilet · Large group | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.6 (2,365) | €72 per person | Book now |
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Unlimited minibus chase Snow-travels | Minibus | Minibus · Max. 15 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (2,018) | €183 per person | Book now |
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All-inclusive small-group chase Northern Horizon | Minibus | Minivan · Max. 15 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (1,835) | €106 per person | Book now |
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Aurora big bus chase Chasing Lights | Big bus | Large bus, toilet not guaranteed · Max. 50 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (1,707) | €119 per person | Book now |
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Evening aurora cruise Polar Adventures | Boat | Boat with warm indoor cabin | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.4 (1,645) | €115 per person | Book now |
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Minibus chase with campfire Spirit in the sky | Minibus | Minibus · Minibus group | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (1,613) | €96 per person | Book now |
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4WD small-group adventure Greenlander | Premium small group | 4WD van · Max. 8 | ✕ Non-refundable | ★ 5.0 (1,543) | €283 per person | Book now |
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Minibus chase, warm meal Chasing Lights | Minibus | Minibus · Max. 15 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (1,464) | €237 per person | Book now |
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Unlimited chase across borders Arctic GM Experiences AS | Minibus | Heated van or minibus · 8–20, depending on the vehicle | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.5 (1,350) | €144 per person | Book now |
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Reindeer camp dinner Tromsø Arctic Reindeer | Camp | Bus to a reindeer camp | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.7 (943) | €187 per person | Book now |
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Minibus hunt with soup The Green Adventure | Minibus | Minibus · Max. 15 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (848) | €198 per person | Book now |
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Aurora dinner cruise Brim Explorer | Boat | Hybrid catamaran | ★ 4.3 (776) | €191 per person | Book now | |
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Sprinter chase with homemade cake Arctic Glow AS | Minibus | Mercedes Sprinter · Up to 19 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (675) | €131 per person | Book now |
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Electric aurora cruise Brim Explorer | Boat | Electric boat with heated lounge | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.2 (373) | €124 per person | Book now |
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Crystal lavvo overnight Aurora wonderland- Basecamp | Camp | Lavvo with glass roof · Max. 12 | ★ 4.8 (240) | €380 per person | Book now | |
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Sailing yacht with hot tub World Sea Explorers | Boat | Sailing yacht with hot tub · Max. 12 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.8 (137) | €307 per person | Book now |
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Six-seat hunt with photos & video AdventuresGuide | Premium small group | Minivan · Max. 6 | ✓ Free cancellation | ★ 4.9 (52) | €130 per person | Book now |
Tour prices in this table are per person and update from GetYourGuide and Viator; the booking page shows the final amount for the night you pick.
The rule for a night without lights, group size, thermal suit, photos and food, taken from the product pages. “Not stated” means the listing says nothing about it.
| Tour | If you see no lights | Group size | Whole tour | Thermal suit | Photos included | Food |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern lights bus tour with camp and photos | No refund, no repeat | Not stated | 6 h | No | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Northern lights coach tour with unlimited free repeats | Free repeat | Not stated | 6 h | No | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Northern lights chase by big bus | No refund, no repeat | up to 50 guests | 5–9 h | No | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Northern lights minibus adventure with professional photos | No special rule | Not stated | 6 h | Yes | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Northern lights chase that keeps driving until the lights appear | No special rule | up to 15 guests | 5–8 h | Yes | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Small-group northern lights chase, all-inclusive | No special rule | up to 15 guests | 7 h | Yes | Yes | Sausages at the campfire |
| Northern lights chase by Sprinter with HD photos | No special rule | up to 16 guests | 6 h | Yes | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Northern lights minibus chase with local guide and photos | No refund, no repeat | up to 19 guests | 6 h | Yes | Yes | Hot drinks and homemade cake |
| Aurora chase by minibus with a free aurora portrait | No special rule | Not stated | 6–7 h | Yes (minibus option) | Yes (minibus option) | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Northern lights minibus tour with campfire | Discount on a new tour | Not stated | 8 h | Yes | Yes | Sausages at the campfire |
| Unlimited northern lights chase across borders | Money back | up to 20 guests | 5–8 h | Yes | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Northern lights minibus chase, all photos included | No refund, no repeat | up to 15 guests | 5–9 h | Yes | Yes | Warm meal |
| Small-group northern lights hunt by minibus | No special rule | up to 15 guests | 6–9 h | Yes | Yes with watermark | Hot soup |
| Northern lights hunt with six seats only, photos and video | No special rule | up to 6 guests | 8 h | No | Yes | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Small-group northern lights adventure by Arctic 4WD | No special rule | up to 8 guests | 6–9 h | Yes | Not stated | Dinner |
| Electric northern lights cruise | No special rule | up to 120 guests | 3 h | Not stated | Not stated | Hot soup |
| Northern lights dinner cruise on a hybrid catamaran | No special rule | Not stated | 3 h | Not stated | Not stated | Dinner |
| Evening aurora cruise, dinner optional | Discount on a new tour | Not stated | 3–3.5 h | Yes | No | Hot drinks and snacks |
| Luxury northern lights cruise with hot tub and dinner | No special rule | up to 12 guests | 4 h | No | Not stated | Hot soup |
| Reindeer sledding and dinner with a chance of northern lights | Not stated | Not stated | 4.5 h | Not stated | Not stated | Dinner |
| Reindeer camp dinner with a chance of northern lights | Not stated | Not stated | 4.5 h | Not stated | Not stated | Dinner |
| Overnight in a glass-roof lavvo in Lyngen | Not stated | up to 12 guests | 1 day | Yes | Not stated | Dinner |
From the GetYourGuide and Viator product pages, checked in October 2026. The length of the whole tour is the operator’s figure.
The format decides more than the operator: how many people share the vehicle, how far the guides can drive, and how the evening feels.
The straightforward option: a coach, usually with a toilet on board, and a fixed plan for the night.
A smaller group in a van that follows the clear sky inland, on many tours across the border into Finland or Sweden.
Only a handful of guests in the vehicle, more time with the guide and the camera, at a higher price.
A shorter evening on the fjord with a warm cabin, on a quiet electric boat or a sailing yacht with a hot tub.
Dinner at a reindeer camp or a night in a glass-roof lavvo. The lights are a bonus if the sky clears.
The questions that decide a good night out, each on its own page.
Free repeat, refund, discount or nothing: the rule of every tour, quoted from the product pages.
Read moreWhich chases may cross the border, why, and how late the night can get.
Read moreSleep under a glass roof in the Lyngen area and watch the sky from your bed.
Read moreSeason, polar night, the best hours, the moon and the clouds.
Read moreLayers for hours outside, and which tours include a thermal suit.
Read moreWhy the camera sees more than your eyes, and how to get your own shot.
Read moreReviews from every kind of tour, including the critical ones. Most complaints are about clouds, a weak aurora that showed mainly on camera, a long night, or a boat that could not move away from the weather. No operator controls those, so this site puts them first.
“Northern Lights hunting can take patience, but Ailen and Joanna kept everyone's spirits so high … tracking satellite data, weather patterns, and cloud cover to give us the absolute best chance at clear skies.”
“The minibus mercedez looks very brand new, very comfortable. This is important for 5-6 hours sitting. … We started with sky full of clouds in tromso city center. But at the end we found northern light at the border of Finland (literally 500meters to finland). The photos he took were amazing.”
“The weather was very bad and I kinda hopeless to see the aurora, but Victor searched everywhere and finally found a gap with perfect timing of the aurora. It was amazing! The photos were very beautiful, too!”
“It was easy to see through camera, so I can see why they bring the professional camera along because the photos look good, however I assumed when reading the description of the tour, that we would be able to really see it with the naked eye. … No bathroom stops - just an FYI.”
“So we drove three hours each way (all the way to Finland) for a 45-minute campfire, only to find that clouds blocked any view of the sky. Then we drove back (another three hours) and arrived back at 2:00 AM.”
“The tour only went as far as just outside the harbor and the many lights. For me, a bus tour would be the better way to see the Northern Lights, as the bus can change locations flexibly and park away from light sources.”
“The boat itself was very nice, the food was delicious, the staff very warm and welcoming … But the best part was that we really got to see the Northern lights.”
“Feeding the reindeer was fun and listening to the talk with the Sami representatives was intriguing … There was no aurora tonight due to cloud but that's understandable.”
“The lavvo was exactly as imagined, having to wake up to put wood to keep warm. Fun experience. We managed to see some aurora activity too”
Reviews by travellers after their northern lights night, from GetYourGuide.
This site lists the bookable northern lights tours from Tromsø with vehicle, group size, cancellation and the rule for a night without lights. When you book through a link on this page, GetYourGuide or Viator pays us a small commission out of their margin; your ticket price stays the same.
It depends on how you want to spend the night. A big bus is the simplest and usually the cheapest option, mostly with a toilet on board. A minibus chase is more flexible and often drives far inland or across the border to find a clear sky. A premium small group keeps the van to a handful of guests. Boats and camp dinners are shorter and calmer evenings where the lights are a bonus rather than the goal. Our comparison page sets the three chase formats side by side.
No. The aurora is a natural phenomenon and no operator can promise it. What differs is what happens on a night without lights: some tours let you come back for free, one refunds the ticket if the camera captures nothing, some give a discount on a new trip, and many offer nothing at all. Check this rule before booking. Our comparison page lists it for every chase tour.
A camera collects light for several seconds and sees green where your eyes see a pale grey or whitish glow. On a strong night the colours are clearly visible to the naked eye; on a weak night the aurora may only really show up on the screen. That is normal, not a trick, but worth knowing before you judge a tour by its photos.
Chases leave in the evening and last most of the night, so you are usually back in town well after midnight. Tours that drive into Finland or Sweden can return much later, and the listings rarely state a fixed return time. Plan the next morning accordingly.
On chases that may cross into Finland or Sweden, several operators ask you to bring your passport or ID card. Boats and camp dinners stay close to Tromsø; for bus tours, check the listing.
On most minibus chases, yes. Not on every tour, though: the big bus tours and the six-seat AdventuresGuide tour do not include them, so you need your own warm winter clothing or a rented suit where the bus offers one. The product card of each tour lists what is included.
Most tours here can be cancelled free of charge up to a day before the start. One exception stands out: the Greenlander small-group tour is non-refundable and cannot be changed. The cancellation column in the table shows the rule for each tour.
From late August to early April, when the nights are dark enough. During the polar night, from late November to mid-January, the sun stays below the horizon, which gives long dark hours. A clear sky matters far more than the date.
Bus, minibus, small group, boat or camp, each with its rule for a cloudy night.
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