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6 days - Experience the Northern Lights from your own fisherman's cabin
This Northern Lights tour combines a stay in the Aurora capital of the north; Tromsø, and a stay at the coastal village of Sommarøy about one hour out of the city. The 3-night stay at Sommarøy is right on the water's edge surrounded by mountains, offering accommodation in fisherman's cabins with fully-equipped kitchen and terrace, overlooking the lagoon.
The tour operates every day during the winter season and gives you the opportunity to experience The Northern Lights, dogsledding with eager huskies and a snowshoeing safari.
Highlights include
- Enjoy a day in Tromsø, high above the Arctic Circle
- 3 nights at Sommarøy Arctic Hotel
- Dogsledding tour
- Northern Lights tour
- Snowshoeing Safari into the Arctic mountain scenery with cozy cafe visit
- 24-hour phone service
- Day 1
- Arrive Tromsø
- Day 2
- Spend a day in Tromsø - the 'Paris of the North' including guided walk
- Day 3
- Arrive at Sommarøy Arctic Resort
- Day 4
- Enjoy dogsledding and watch for the Northern Lights
- Day 5
- Scale the summit on snowshoes
- Day 6
- Depart Tromsø
- Start/End Place
- Tromsø, Norway tours
- Country Visited
- Norway tours
- Duration
- 6 Days
- Type
- Touring
- Suitability
- Easy
- Code
- TNL001
Details
Transportation
Return transfer from Tromsø to Sommarøy
Included
- 2 nights standard room in comfortable 4 star hotel on Tromsø harbour
- 3 nights fishingman's cabin at Sommarøy
- Daily breakfasts in Tromsø
- Half board (breakfast & dinner) at Sommarøy
- One lunch included plus visit to cozy cafe
- Return transfer from Tromsø to Sommarøy return
- Guided city walk in Tromsø
- Husky safari at Sommarøy
- Snowshoe walk in Sommarøy
- Northern Lights tour in Sommarøy
- All activities include complete outdoor winter clothing with thermal suits, gloves and boots.
Not Included
International flight tickets, meals other than described, travel insurance, visas, gratitudes and any items of personal nature.
Itinerary
Day 1 - Arrive Tromsø
Day 2 - Spend a day in Tromsø - the 'Paris of the North' including guided walk
Enjoy a day in the city of Tromsø, high above the Arctic Circle. Meet your guides after breakfast for a two-hour private guided tour. Tromsø is a city packed with culture, polar history and fresh locally sourced food in its numerous restaurants. Mountains, fjords and islands also surround it; making it a great base for exploring the winter landscape.
Meals
1 BreakfastAccommodation
Restaurants
Optional Add Ons
Day 3 - Arrive at Sommarøy Arctic Resort
After breakfast transfer from Tromsø to Sommarøy Arctic Resort and check in to your accommodation. Enjoy a 3 course dinner and free time in the evening to explore the remote resort.
Few places close to Tromsø offer better conditions to experience the Northern Lights than Sommarøy Arctic Resort one of Northern Norway's leading tourist resorts.
Sommarøy Arctic Resort offers a pleasant, small local restaurant and bar as well as a wide variety of winter activities that can be added to this itinerary including a fjord safari and kayaking tour.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Dinner
Accommodation
Sommarøy Arctic ResortDay 4 - Enjoy dogsledding and watch for the Northern Lights
Today you will go dogsledding with a group of eager huskies. We will start the adventure with a lesson in how to manage your own husky team, drive in pairs with a chance to change drivers in the halfway and finish the excursion in the late afternoon. A warm camp fire will be waiting for you midday, around which you can sit and exchange your stories of the trip whilst eating your packed lunch along with hot beverages and biscuits.
Sommarøy Arctic Resort is located in one of the most visited Northern Light hotspots in the Tromsø area. Spend the evening on the foreshore, in the Lagunen or your balcony, enjoying the northern lights with comfort and relaxation. You can also hire a hot tub for an evening dip.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Lunch
1 Dinner
Accommodation
Sommarøy Arctic ResortDay 5 - Scale the summit on snowshoes
Snowshoeing is a great way to experience the arctic winter. On this tour we bring you to the mountain range of Kattfjordeidet and take you up on one of the accessible summits.
You will have to work up a sweat on this tour, but the reward is a great day out with a splendid view of the surrounding fjords and mountain ranges.
After our descent we head down to a café by the name of bryggerjentene for a cup of hot chocolate or coffee and some home made kake. This café situated on the docks in the fjord of Ersfjorden is a well hidden gem run by locals, in breathtaking surroundings.
Please note: there are other options such as a sea eagle safari by boat if snowshoeing is too challenging for you.
In the evening head out for a Northern Lights tour. Just a 3-minutes drive or 20 minutes by foot from the hotel is Halvars place. He is a local inhabitant that has lived at Sommarøy all of his life and he is a unique individual full of knowledge and stories about life in the Arctic. Halvar built the Northern lights park stone by stone with his own hands and all the materials he used is recycled from the old school building and other structures around Sommarøy. The Northern Lights park provides shelter, heated premises and toilet facilities. The parks location is unique and the building is gently placed in the nature. With almost no light pollution, to ensure perfect photos of the Northern lights.
Meals
1 Breakfast1 Dinner
Accommodation
Sommarøy Arctic HotelDay 6 - Depart Tromsø
Take the morning or evening shuttle bus back to Tromsø, or direct to Tromsø Airport.
If you wanted to stay longer up north please ask us for extra nights or extending your trip in other ways.
Meals
1 BreakfastAll prices listed are per person, early indicative price for 2022/2023. Please note Sommarøy is closed during Christmas 19-27 December.
31 Mar 2023
31 Mar 2023
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Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is compulsory for all tours with 50 Degrees North. Please ensure that you have this organised as we will need to see proof of this upon issuing your tour documentation. Please contact us for a quote or visit http://www.suresave.net.au/
Practical information about Scandinavian Hotels
Practical information about Scandinavian Hotels
- Hotel rooms in Scandinavia are normally furnished with twin beds, which can be moved together to form a double bed or placed separately. Please note that single rooms are generally smaller than doubles, and are often equipped with a shower instead of a bath. Purpose-built triple or family rooms are likewise unusual in Scandinavian hotels. Whilst it is possible for 3 persons to share a room, this will normally be a double room with an extra bed, with correspondingly less space to move about in.
- It is also unusual to have a porter at hotels to carry your luggage.
- There is free wi-fi in many hotels in Scandinavia.
- Unexpectedly, all forms of Scandinavian accommodation rarely provide tea and coffee facilities in their rooms. If you are lucky, a kettle will be supplied but nothing else. Please ask at reception for some provisions when you arrive or just carry a small selection from home.
- Please also note that in Scandinavia - in particular, during winter - the included lunch will often be a hearty warm soup with bread.
- More remote hotels in Lapland will offer dinner at an additional cost. In some spots, there will be limited choices else where. Generally, you get a very nice home-cooked Scandinavian dinner. However, you may sometimes find only one or two choices only for your main course.
- In Scandinavia, it is normal for washing and laundry facilities to be in the basement. If you are staying in apartment type accommodation, check downstairs or ask for assistance.
Practical budgeting information before your departure to Norway
Practical budgeting information before your departure to Norway:
Budget surprises:
Norway has a few items that typically surprise travellers when visiting Norway for the first time. Alcohol and luxury items are heavily taxed and therefore prices are higher than you would expect. On the other hand, necessities such as bread and milk, are taxed low and therefore are great value.
Alcohol import allowance into Norway:
We recommend that you bring all the alcohol you’re allowed to bring into the country when you arrive. There are many lovely parks and balconies where you can enjoy your duty free. However, be sure not to bring more than you’re allowed!
As of May 2014, the allowances according to Visit Norway are:
Alcoholic beverages:
Minimum age: 18/ 20*
1 litre of beverages with more than 22% up to and including 60% alcohol per volume as well as 1½ litre with more than 2.5% up to and including 22% alcohol per volume or three litres with more than 2.5% up to and including 22% alcohol per volume
and
2 litres of beer with more than 2.5 % or other beverages with more than 2.5% up to and including 4.7% alcohol per volume.
This means that you may for example bring with you five litres of beer provided you do not have any other alcoholic beverages with you.
*For importing alcoholic beverages with more than 22% alcohol per volume the minimum age is 20.
It’s illegal to bring extra alcohol into Norway and can end up costing you. Another thing you should bring and not buy in Norway is razor blades. Good razor blades in Norway are expensive.
Practical Information for travelling and packing for Scandinavian Winter
Recommended Scandinavian Winter Tour Packing List:
- Warm wind and water proof jacket and trousers large enough to fit thick woollen jumper/clothing underneath
- Rain trousers – waterproof and breathable material
- Warm windproof cap/hat
- Warm gloves or mittens. Mittens where all fingers except the thumb are together are often warmer than gloves.
- Windproof gloves or mittens, which you can pull over the warm gloves
- Warm scarf
- 2 pairs of long woollen underwear (Merino wool in a few different thicknesses is perfect)
- 1-2 warm woollen jumper(s), or one jumper and a warm fleece
- Woollen or fleece trousers
- 2-3 pairs of warm woollen socks
- Warm & sturdy footwear with good grip
- Clothes for indoors, i.e. a shirt, T-shirts and jeans or cotton trousers
- Back pack for day trips (approx. 30 litre)
- Light footwear/trainers (mainly for indoors)
- Sun screen & Lip salve (the sun reflects off the snow and the air is dry)
- Sunglasses
- Hand warmers
- Nordic Grip anti-slip soles for walking on ice
- Personal medication
- Water bottle - thermo, or include a cover to keep warm (or you can stick it into a warm sock)
- Travel documents (including insurance)
- Photo ID
- Note book and pencil
- Camera, memory cards and charger
- Chargers for other gadgets
- Extra batteries for your cameras as they are used fast in cold conditions.
- Adapters
Self-catering in Norway
Self-catering in Norway
Written by Jayde Kincaid, who married a Norwegian, and was happily (albeit with some hesitation) introduced to a world of Norwegian every day food habits.
At 50 Degrees North, we want to encourage our travellers to try local Norwegian food & drink. This may seem difficult in Scandinavia in general without a large budget, and in particular Norway. Some of the more remote villages you might visit have limited restaurants or cafes, some of which can be pretty expensive. There is certainly no street food! One way to get about sampling local food is by self-catering. You will find plenty of friendly locals in the small town grocery stores and supermarkets who will be happy to help you picking out local ingredients. Just don’t be shy – ask! And, don’t rush – make your local small town shopping part of your holiday experience. Read the local notice boards, and enjoy an ice cream out the front when you have finished. It is what the locals do!
Note: Statoil cups - a good idea to save money as you drive around Norway: purcahse a Statoil (petrol station) metal cup and you get free refills of coffee, tea and hot chocolate at the Statoil stations.
Grocery shopping in remote or far flung Norway:
Norway has an extensive range of grocery stores, and in most small villages you will find at least one, if not two or three grocery stores. However, they do have limited opening hours, and except for ‘Bunnpris’, they are all closed on Sundays. You will see the weekend hours shown in brackets on the store sign out front. If you are arriving in a larger town, we do suggest you stock up with some staples before you head out into the mountains or on a coastal drive.
A few tips:
• Plastic bags are NOK1-2 and you will always need to pack your own shopping.
• You can recycle your bottles and cans for a receipt that you can cash in. Recycling points are found in all stores.
• Alcohol sold in food stores (mainly beer and cider) is restricted by government regulation to certain hours. This varies slightly, but on weekdays alcohol sales stop at 8pm regardless and on Saturdays at 6pm. Outside these hours and on Sundays you can only buy alcohol in licensed restaurants or bars.
• Any alcohol over 4.7% can only be bought at special government controlled liquor store (Vinmonopolet). These are very rare in smaller remote towns and villages, so stock up before you leave the city.
Things to try from a general grocery store:
Meatballs or “meatcakes’: these come in all shapes, sizes and quality. They are generally really tasty and a bit better than what you find at IKEA. Also pick up a packet of dried ready-made brown sauce that goes with them. Be on the look out for Lingonberry sauce/jam, or even fresh lingonberries that you can use to make a fresh sauce (little red circular berries). Don’t add too much sugar, they are served quite tart.
If you want to try to make this brown sauce yourself, buy some ‘brunost’ (brown cheese), the required creams and follow the recipe below.
Hotdogs: known as ‘pølse’ in Norwegian, hot dogs are abundant in Norway. Cheap and cheerful – pølse is THE fast food of Norway. They are sold at service stations, newsagents, corner stores and fast food outlets. Pølse come with a dazzling variety of toppings and bread. Some of the pølse highlights would be the bacon wrapped ones, sprinkled with dried onion, mustards and mayonnaise. You will also find them wrapped in waffles (mostly in and around Fredrikstad) or the Norwegian pancake, ‘lompe’.
Note: there are strict requirements by the Food Safety commission for traditional pølse to be of the highest quality and they have even set requirements for what types of ingredients are allowed.
Like Norwegian beer, you will find seasonal pølse – Christmas pølse (Julepølse) is obviously found only in the lead up to the celebrations.
If you are planning to eat Norwegian style, use boil pølse on the stove and add to meals with potatoes and stew.
Note; steer away from tinned cheap pølse and meatballs.
Fish cakes: these also come in lots of variation and are generally served with a white sauce and lots of parsley. The Norwegians also use a basic white sauce on broccoli with cheese on top. These fish cakes are often found in fish shops, fried or steamed, ready to eat. A great fast snack.
Reindeer: we strongly suggest you try reindeer meat when you are travelling in the far north. It generally comes frozen, so look for finely cut reindeer meat in the freezer section. It is a more expensive option, but absolutely delicious albeit quite gamey. Be sure to get mushrooms, a small amount of brown cheese and rømme (crème fraiche). Fry it all up in a pan - a bit like a beef stroganoff. Serve with boiled potatoes or rice.
Mushrooms: if you are travelling in the chanterelle harvest season (mid/late August), be sure to try them. They are the yellow mushroom found in autumn. Or better still, have a look around the pine forests and pick some. Be sure to image search them before you head out so you know what to pick. They are really delicious with the brown cheese sauce and reindeer.
Salmon, prawns & fish: always be on the look out for a chance to buy fresh fish. Yes, it is possible to smooth talk a fisherman at the harbour. Or look for the local fish-kiosk or fish-shop. Be on the look out for small signs pointing you in the direction of fresh fish sales – ‘reker’ (shrimps, not prawns) or ‘fersk fisk’ (fresh fish) are the words you need.
Norwegians are very proud of their shrimps – and of course completely justified. Their shrimps are small and tasty and harvested from the cool North Sea. Norwegians traditionally serve them with mayonnaise and lemon. Peel them and pop them on a fresh white slice of bread. Mayonnaise is layered on top with dill, pepper & salt.
Smoked Salmon: Norwegian smoked salmon is the best in the world hands down. Be sure to try all the different varieties you see – often, in larger supermarkets or delis, you can try before you buy.
Tubed ‘kaviar’ (caviar): this is a must try. It is cheap and perfect for the travellers pantry. This is what my husband craves like an Australian abroad would crave vegemite.
Norwegian pre-made dips and salads: the Norwegian supermarkets have a large range of premade salads and dips. They last quite a while and are good fillers for sandwiches. Our favourite are the cubed beetroot salad and the potato salads. They come in easy-to-carry and pack-up containers – perfect for picnics. Tubed mayonnaise is also handy for picnics.
‘Leverpostei’ (liver pate) in many variations can also be found in the supermarket. This pate is normally served on brown bread then topped with sliced red onions or sweet pickles. Protein rich and very tasty if you like pate – it is found on most Norwegian breakfast tables.
Yoghurt: now – this is an interesting one. Norwegian yoghurt comes in a variety of styles - some can be very runny, sour and low fat. There are varying names/codes for each sort. You might like to check with a local when you are buying yoghurt to be sure you are getting what you want. Some of the yoghurt comes as though it is milk, in normal milk cartons - sour runny yoghurt is NOT nice in your coffee.
Bread: the Norwegian supermarket bread generally comes un-cut. You can either cut it in the shop – ask for help the first time you do it. They have industrial bread cutting machines near the bakery section. The bread can be quite plain in the main supermarkets so be on the look out for boutique bakeries in the larger towns if you enjoy fancy bread. Also keep an eye out for the Norwegian flatbread, Lefse, which is similar to Mexican tortillas. Usually served with butter and sugar, sometimes cinnamon too. Occasionally made with potato.
Waffles: Norwegian waffle stalls are similar to the sausage sizzle or hot dog stand. It is the most common fundraising or community building food product. Don’t expect sickly sweet jams or whipped cream – you will find these fresh chewy waffles served with sour cream and home made tart berry jams. Never go past one!
Chocolate: we recommend that you try the ‘FREIA’ milk chocolate during your stay. It melts in your mouth.
Berries: if you travel in early autumn (mid/late August) this is berry season. Forest berries that is. Ask a local and head up into the hills or forest in search for berries. You may find; blueberries, lingonberries, rasberries and if you are up north or in the central mountains; the rare yellow cloudberries.
Norwegian Farm Produce:
On a self-drive journey, always be on the look out for small farm shops or stands along the road. Things you cannot drive past:
Strawberries: if you are travelling in the strawberry season – you MUST try Norwegian strawberries. They are seriously amazing. Grown in the nutritious earth that has the chance to rejuvenate through a long winter.
_And if you go past a self-pick strawberry farm, put everything else on hold and enter! Norwegians wait all year for this event. _
New potatoes: be on the look out for new season potatoes – they are often sold in little stands beside the road. Often on an honesty basis; i.e. grab a bag and put the money in an allocated tin.
CLASSIC RECIPE:
Basic Brown Cheese Recipe – can be used with meatballs, reindeer, with added mushrooms.
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3⁄4 cup light cream
• 1⁄2 cup chicken broth (optional - just use water if you cannot find this)
• 1 cup shredded gjetost or brown goats cheese
• 3⁄4 cup rømme (crème fraiche)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or 2 tablespoons fresh dill
Method:
Using the meat dish that has been browned off, remove as much oil from the pan as possible and blend in butter and flour. Remove from heat and blend in light cream. Add chicken broth, bring to boil, stirring and cooking until thickened. Mix in Gjetost cheese. Turn heat low.
Blend some of the sauce into the rømme (crème fraiche), then return all to sauce. Add chopped parsley or fresh dill.
Happy shopping and cooking!