How to plan a trip to maximize the chance to see the Northern lights?

Knowing that there was only one perfect night for the Northern Lights in the whole week, my brother and I booked two tours with three chances of seeing the Aurora.

- Episode 19 -

P.S. Even the “perfect night” was not 100% perfect because it will be cloudy after 6 pm and possibly block the Aurora.

I learned my lesson 5 years ago in Iceland. I left with regard and always thought of coming back to see the Northern lights in my lifetime.

To maximize my chance of seeing the Northern lights in my life, of course, I did not want to put all my bets on only one night.

As there was around a 40-50% chance of seeing the Aurora on the day before this ideal night, we planned to have another tour on that day. So, it would be our plan B-day.

At the same time, we did not want to duplicate our activities, so here was our plan. Feel free to copy it :P

My brother and I booked two tours with an extra chance to see the northern lights. Including backup plans, there were four plans in total,

What is the budget for seeing the Northern Lights in Tromsø?

Price of this "guaranteed plan" is for your reference.

Total: 5,290 NOK for the two of us.

* Plan B (Day 1) - First: Reindeer sliding.

Instead of daytime, we booked the evening time (from 6 pm) which says we may be able to see the aurora

1850 NOK per person

* Plan A (Day 2) - Main: Chasing Northern Light hour (7hours)

950 NOK for each of us

* Plan C - Half-priced backup tour

We got a package that if we couldn't see the Northern Lights on the main tour, we could get another tour for half price. If we fail to see the northern nights, we only need to pay around 450 NOK each to join another tour again. Yes, none of the northern night tours can guarantee you to see the aurora, and they are non-refundable. However, the people there are nice and responsible. If the day is not good for seeing the Northern lights, they will just cancel it.

* Plan D - Another tour from the nice stranger

It's about 1000 NOK per person.

Who is the nice stranger?

See my Episode 17 & 18 on Instagram ;)

This is the first in my life that I have made so many backup plans. Lol

A lot of first-times here!

What is the price of seeing the Northern Lights in Tromsø?

We paid for ~2650 NOK (US$280 approx.) per person to ensure we could see the Northern Lights. However, you can just opt for the Chasing Northern Nights bus; it will only be around 900 NOK.

With a package that offers you a second chance to join the Northern Nights tour again at half price, it will be around 1350 NOK in total, so your travel budget for this should be around US$145 per person.

If you are very lucky, you can see the Northern Lights for free.

Hope you can see it!

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