Tromsø NYE & Northern Lights

Overview

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 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!

Check out all 2018-2019 pictures here ⋙
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Pre-reserve your spot now
If you are interested in this trip, you can now pre-reserve a spot. This is for free and comes without obligations. Once we have more information about the trip, we will contact you with the final program and price (the below information applies to our 2019-2020 trip!). You are then able to reserve before we publish the trip to our wider community. Also, we offer you an interesting discount if you book your spot early. So, pre-reserving definitely makes sense and we advise it to anyone who is interested in the trip, even if you are not yet sure you can get days off from work.

Countdown to 2020

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.

 

What is the last time you heard about Sommarøy island? Okay, that’s a trick question. Mid 2019 the island announced it wanted to be the world’s first place without an official time (see CNN article). Of course it’s marketing to get more people to the island, but it certainly worked!

“In June 2019, Innovation Norway conducted a marketing campaign – called fake news by some – claiming that local inhabitants wanted Sommarøy to declare itself as the world’s first time-free zone and had petitioned the Norwegian government to abolish civil time on the island. The story was covered in more than 1650 articles which potentially reached up to 1.2 billion people. The value of this coverage was estimated at 11.4 million USD, whereas Innovation Norway spent less than 60,000 USD on the campaign.” (source Wikipedia)

Sommarøy is a stunning place to visit. These islands stick out in the Atlantic Ocean, only connected to the “mainland” (which is also an island) with an impressive single-lane bridge. During our trip we make 2 stops at some stunning panoramic viewing points. Our destination is the Sommarøy Arctic Hotel where we will enjoy a super nice lunch

Northern Lights

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.

 

 

Accommodation

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 2021 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.

Flights

We are taking convenient flights with SAS from Brussels to Oslo and onward to Tromsø, and we fly back to Brussels via Copenhagen (2019-2020 schedule!). 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 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 towards Finland (it’s generally dryer there).

• • Sami experience & reindeer feeding / sledding
  • Scenic road trip to Sommarøy & New Year’s lunch
  • Whale watching
  • Husky dogs sledding
  • 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!!)

From our previous 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 NYE trips we know that almost everyone booked the Sami Experience / Reindeer feeding / Reindeer sledding, so we are likely to include this already for our 2020-2021 trip. The same goes for the scenic ride and New Year’s lunch, which was joined by everyone during our 2019-2020 trip. The majority joined for the whale watching trips in 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 (7 whales spotted). 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.
• 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 (probably) the 1st and 3rd 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 carefully selects correct pictures for hotel rooms, but they remain purely for illustrative purposes. The actual rooms may differ.
• 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.