If you have never seen the famous Aurora Borealis, now is your chance! This natural phenomenon is so incredibly special and so out-of-this-world beautiful, mesmerising, magical and mysterious, that you simply cannot afford to not have it on your bucket list. But unfortunately there are only a few places on our planet where you can see it, and only during the dark and cold winter months of the year. On top of that it requires a lot of planning.
At Expat Club we love going to the most special destinations on Earth with Brussels’ friendliest international travel community. And Tromsø is definitely an amazing place to visit. Although all the way in Northern Norway, the city’s winter climate is relatively mild due to the Gulf Stream. Combine this with incredibly beautiful fjords and mountains, a rich Sami reindeer-herding culture, a lovely city centre with brand-new pool & spa facilities, and a spectacular fireworks to ring in the New Year, we just love returning to Tromsø after a fantastic NYE trip in 2018-2019. Located bang in the middle of the “Aurora Oval”, it is possibly the world’s best place to spot the Aurora Borealis. And during this trip we offer our participants 2 complimentary Northern Lights hunting trips!
Sami Experience / reindeer feeding / reindeer sledding
Husky dogs sledding
Whale watching
Snowmobiling
Visit to Arctic Cathedral
Visit to Tromsø spa & pool
Fjellheisen Cablecar to magnificent viewing point
NYE Party in The Edge Hotel
NYE Party at The Edge Hotel’s rooftop (only for hotel guests)
New Year’s Lunch in Arctic Hotel at Sommarøy Island
Our flights
We will fly with SAS direct from Brussels to Oslo on Monday morning 30 December, with an early afternoon connection to Tromsø. Our return flight is on Friday 3 January to Copenhagen with a connection to Brussels. NOTE: last year we arrived in the evening only in Tromsø, and our return we had to fly back to Amsterdam, so these flights are much better!!
Who can join us?
Expat Club is known for welcoming a wide variety of international people on its trips. This creates a special, open-minded, safe and friendly environment in which everyone should feel comfortable. You do not have to be a member, and of course Belgians are more the invited too to join us. We always welcome many solo travellers, couples, retirees, small groups of friends and on this trip certainly also children.
How to add a child ticket?
Expat Club loves welcoming the younger/est expats. If you want to bring your child(ren) up until 18 years, please contact us first so we can apply the right discount. Due to the nature of this trip, we can only offer a relatively low discount for children. Up to 11 years €200, and from 12 to 18 years €150.
Tromsø
Tromsø is one of the world’s most Northern cities with about 75.000 inhabitants. Some parts, including the old town centre, are located on a large island in a fjord, whereas other parts are on the mainland. These parts are connected by 2 bridges and a tunnel. Despite its Northern location, it is relatively warm in the city due to the Gulf Stream that reaches all the way to the top of Norway. This leads to surprisingly mild winters. Even trees still grow here.
The city was officially established in 1838, with some houses dating back to the 18th century, whereas archeological discoveries show traces of civilisations from 10.000 years ago. Bottom line, you are travelling to a city with history and character. During our visit you will be able to do many things, either as part of the fixed program, or as part of an optional group outing, or on your own, your partner or a smaller group.
There are few reachable places as good as Tromsø to see the Northern Lights. These magical displays are also called Aurora Borealis or Polar Lights, and Aurora Australis or Southern Lights on the Southern hemisphere. But what are these lights exactly? “The Northern Lights are actually the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common auroral color, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of up to 200 miles. Nitrogen produces blue or purplish-red aurora.” (Source: Northern Lights Centre)
2 complimentary Northern Lights trips included*
The Aurora Borealis is a spectacular natural phenomenon that is visible from anywhere in the oval region (sometimes even beyond as well) and is a result of solar activity a few days before. It namely takes time for the Sun’s particles to reach the Earth’s atmosphere. It is often visible from the city itself, but of course it is better visible from a darker place.
Tromsø lies right in the middle of an oval-shaped circle around the Earth’s magnetic pol
The white and yellow/green lights above Northern Norway
For this trip we top the already great hotels we stayed at last year. We choose 2 hotels very close to each other, of which one belongs to the top of city, literally! Our firsts hotel is the highly-reviewed Quality Saga Hotel***, and the second the impressive Clarion The Edge Hotel****, Tromsø’s highest building. And on top of that… it has an awesome rooftop terrace from where you could enjoy the NYE 2020 Party!
The Quality Saga Hotel*** is located close to harbour harbour, at just a stone’s throw from where the world-famous Hurtigruten cruiseships dock every day. It offers modern rooms with a seating area, a desk, a flat-screen TV and of course WIFI. Coffee/tea is available. A buffet breakfast is waiting for you every morning (included) and also at night you can enjoy a light dinner in this hotel (not included). You can choose between a single room, a double room and a twin room. Triple or family rooms upon request.
The Clarion Hotel The Edge**** is a top-rated hotel at an excellent location on the water in Tromsø, right across the Visit Tromsø building and where the world-famous Hurtigruten cruise ship dock daily. Every year this hotel becomes the centre of town during a mega party in its lobby area, and only if you are staying here you are invited to join the party on the rooftop terrace on the 11th floor (fees apply for the party, which follow later). From here you will have an incredible view over Tromsø as the New Year is welcomed in town. Needless to say that the rooms offer are modern and convenient, as you may expect from a 4* hotel.
Flights
We are taking convenient flights with SAS from Brussels to Oslo and onward to Tromsø, and we fly back to Brussels via Copenhagen. One checked luggage is included (max 23kg and external dimensions of 158cm), as well as one carry-on luggage of max 8kg and one personal item.
Monday 30 December
SAS SK4744 – Brussels to Oslo – 10h55 to 12h50
SAS SK4418 – Oslo to Tromsø – 14h05 to 15h55
Friday 3 January
SAS SK4451 – Tromsø to Copenhagen – 11h20 to 13h50
SAS SK1593 – Copenhagen to Brussels – 15h20 to 16h45
Activities
There are many things to do in the very North of Norway. Expat Club will organise a great program with many additional activities, often in a privatised setting. You cannot yet order these items upon booking your trip, but we will inform everyone who joins us at a later point. What surely is included for everyone are 2 Northern Lights bus tours. Of course we can only drive off if the conditions make sense, but we can go in various directions and if required we drive all the way into Finland (it’s generally dryer there). But without further ado, here are the other lovely activities you can join
Sami experience & reindeer feeding / sledding
Whale watching
Husky dogs sledding
Snowmobiling
Visit to Arctic Cathedral
Visit to Tromsø pool & spa
Fjellheisen Cablecar to magnificent viewing point
NYE Party in The Edge Hotel
NYE Party at The Edge Hotel’s rooftop (only for hotel guests!!)
Special New Year’s Scenic tour & unch in Sommarøy Island
From our previous 2018-2019 NYE trip we know that almost everyone booked the Sami Experience / Reindeer feeding / Reindeer sledding, as well as the Whale Watching trip. Only a small group wanted to go husky sledding, simply because it’s rather intense (you have to walk behind the sledge sometimes). Note, Tromsø is already great even without these activities, so don’t feel obliged to join them. And besides, there are already two Northern Lights tours included.
Comments
The trip will be carried out with SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
This trip is carefully planned. Still, all timings are indicative and may change. Expat Club is known for keeping schedule, but there are circumstances that force us to make changes from time to time. Still, your hosts, the airline, the local service providers and the hotels are doing their best to give you the most optimal experience.
The trip is sold as a package. You cannot go with your own transportation and/or arrange your own accommodation. If there are specific things that you do not want in the package, please let us know, and we may consider a discount on a case by case basis.
The date for cancelling your trip with a refund is 8 weeks, as stated in the terms & conditions. A name change can be made for free until 45 days in advance (fees apply after that date).
You are personally responsible for getting a good travel insurance that covers you for any unforeseen emergencies and medical expenses during the trip. We also advise you to obtain cancellation insurance in case you cannot join anymore (e.g., due to illness or a family emergency).
You are personally responsible for an appropriate use of the hotel room. Any missing or broken items will be billed after the trip. If you share the room with someone else, you are equally responsible for leaving it the way you found it.
Expat Club cannot be held liable for long delays that influence the program (e.g. missing a guided tour, lunches/dinners and other pre-ordered activities). Expat Club cannot be held liable either for weather-related cancellations or any other unforeseen events that influence the course of the trip, including, but not limited to technical problems with the aircraft and coach, strikes, traffic, weather etc.
Expat Club carefully selects correct pictures for hotel rooms, but they remain purely for illustrative purposes. The actual rooms may differ.
The Aurora Borealis is a natural phenomenon that appears frequently in the skies above Tromsø and the wider region. This tour includes 2 complimentary Northern Lights trips, either closer to Tromsø or farther away (2 to 2,5 hours one way is possible if we drive to Finland!). The tours will surely not be held on 31 December, but 2 times on either 1st, 3rd and 4th evening we are in Tromsø. In case the weather conditions are such that it makes no sense to drive out, the tours will be cancelled (no refunds possible in that case). We are, however, destined to show you these mysterious lights and do not cancel easily..
Expat Club cannot be held liable for personal injuries during the trip, such as, but not limited too, things that happen during Northern Lights tours or reindeer sledding. Joining this trip is at your own risk, so having a good insurance is important.
If you do not find a room partner on your own, we will find one for you (female rooms only, no male rooms). During the outbound trip, we will connect you with others in the same position. If you opt for the room-sharing, you will not have to pay the single fee if there is no one else to share the room with, unless you decide to take a single room during the trip. In that case, you will have to pay for it yourself fully.
If you book a double / twin room and your travel partner cancels, either from the same order or from a separate one once you indicated you want to share the room with him or her, you will have to pay the single room supplement.
Expat Club may “upgrade” or “downgrade” you to another hotel. In the case of a downgrade, you will receive reasonable compensation.
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