Best Time for a Northern Lights Holiday in Tromsø, by Month

Any month from September to March works for a northern lights holiday in Tromsø; pick by what you want around the aurora. September, October and March bring milder evenings and daylight for fjord trips; December and January bring the polar night and the longest dark; February adds light back for sledding and whale trips. In every month the clouds decide more than the calendar, so stay several nights. For the evening tour, we would book Arctic Breeze’s minibus chase, from $139 a person in current promotion (usually $214), rated 4.8 from 7,015 reviews (checked October 2026).

Illustration: the same fjord near Tromsø shown in three bands, an autumn evening with dark water and a green aurora, a polar-night midday in deep blue twilight, and a late-winter evening with snow and a pink sunset — Illustration. Autumn, the polar night and late winter all have dark evenings; they differ in daylight, snow and cold.

The season, as Visit Tromsø gives it

The northern lights can be seen in the Tromsø region from late August to early April, and most northern lights activities start in early September. Through that whole period the nights are dark enough; from mid-April to late summer they are not, and from about 20 May to 22 July the midnight sun keeps the sky light all night. Within the season, the aurora is most often active between about 20:00 and 02:00.

Month by month

Months	Dark	Daylight	Average temperature	What else to do
Late Aug - Sep	Evenings only, lengthening	Long days	Milder than winter	Fjord trips, hiking; the first chases
Oct - mid Nov	Long evenings	Shortening fast	Milder than winter	Fjord cruises; Brim Explorer's whale trip had dates from 30 October 2026
Late Nov - mid Jan	Polar night: no sunrise	A few hours of blue twilight	About -2 °C in Dec, -3 °C in Jan	Husky sledding, Christmas in town
Late Jan - Feb	Long nights	Light returns quickly	About -3 °C	Sledding, snowshoeing, reindeer camps
Mar - early Apr	Evenings, shortening	Long, bright days	About -2 °C	Skiing, sledding, the last chases

On a phone, swipe the table sideways.

Season and polar night from Visit Tromsø; temperature averages for Tromsø from yr.no (the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and NRK): -1.7 °C in December, -3.0 °C in January, -3.3 °C in February, -1.9 °C in March.

The polar night: the longest dark

From about 27 November to 15 January the sun stays below the horizon over Tromsø, according to Visit Tromsø’s winter page (its other pages give the end as mid or late January). That gives you the most hours in which the aurora could show, and the strange midday light of the polar night, deep blue with pink at the horizon. It also brings the coldest weather, the shortest days for daytime trips, and the busy Christmas weeks. If you go in December or January, book five nights and the first chase before you fly.

Check dates for the minibus chase →

Autumn and late winter: the gentler months

Map of Tromsø and the country around it: Tromsø, Sommarøy Arctic Hotel, Malangen Resort, Camp Tamok in the Tamok valley, the Aurora Hut at Hatteng, Lyngen Lodge, and Skibotn and Kilpisjärvi on the road into Finland — In every month the chases go where the sky is clearest: out to the coast and the fjords, or inland past Skibotn towards Finland.

September and October have dark evenings, often before the snow settles in town, and milder air for standing outside for hours; the aurora over dark water in a fjord is the autumn picture. In March the days are long and bright, the winter snow is still there, and the nights are still dark. Both suit a holiday where the days matter as much as the nights.

Does the solar cycle matter?

Somewhat. NASA and NOAA announced in October 2024 that the Sun had reached the maximum period of its roughly 11-year cycle, and said fairly significant storms are possible in the declining phase that follows. The solar data centre at the Royal Observatory of Belgium expected further episodes of very enhanced activity over the following two years. That makes the 2026-27 winter a good one for strong displays, but a strong display behind cloud is still invisible, so it changes nothing about how many nights to book.

When to book

Visit Tromsø advises booking northern lights activities well in advance because they are often fully booked. The tours here can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before, so there is little cost in booking the first evening as soon as your flights are fixed. For how long to stay, see how many nights in Tromsø; for the evening options compared, the homepage comparison.

Season, midnight sun, polar night, activity hours and booking advice from Visit Tromsø; temperatures from yr.no; solar cycle statements from NASA and NOAA (15 October 2024) and the SIDC, Royal Observatory of Belgium; tour details and prices from the GetYourGuide listing, read on 29 October 2026.

The Best Time for a Northern Lights Holiday in Tromsø