Recently Viewed
Aurora Hunt Tour: Small-Group Northern Lights Chase with Citizen Science in Tromso
4.7
34 Ratings
Tromsø
Join our small-group Aurora hunt tour in Tromso for an ethical experience chasing the Northern Lights. Enjoy a cozy campfire, homemade meal, and contribute to citizen science while increasing your chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis.
Join our small-group Aurora hunt tour in Tromso for an ethical experience chasing the Northern Lights. Enjoy a cozy campfire, homemade meal, and contribute to citizen science while increasing your chances of seeing the Aurora Borealis.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Kvaloya - Some nights the clear skies are on the coast so we will chase the gaps here.
On the location, your guide will set up a cosy campfire and serve a homemade meal. Your guide will share with you stories about the region and explain the aurora borealis phenomenon as well as take professional photos of landscapes and portraits of our guests….
-
Kvaloya - Some nights the clear skies are on the coast so we will chase the gaps here.
On the location, your guide will set up a cosy campfire and serve a homemade meal. Your guide will share with you stories about the region and explain the aurora borealis phenomenon as well as take professional photos of landscapes and portraits of our guests. -
Skibotn - Some nights the gaps in the clouds are inland and we might chase the gaps here.
On the location, your guide will set up a cosy campfire and serve a homemade meal. Your guide will share with you stories about the region and explain the aurora borealis phenomenon as well as take professional photos of landscapes and portraits of our guests. -
Kilpisjarvi - On occassion when it is too cloudy to have gaps in Norway we might cross the border to Finland. This will only be done when there are substantially higher chances of seeing gaps in the clouds in Finland then in Norway.
On the location, your guide will set up a cosy campfire and serve a homemade meal. Your guide will share with you stories about the region and explain the aurora borealis phenomenon as well as take professional photos of landscapes and portraits of our guests.
What's Included
- Thermal suits & boots
- Dinner
- On-board WiFi
- Photographs of the activity
- Snacks
- Tea and coffee
- Thermal suits & boots
- Dinner
- On-board WiFi
- Photographs of the activity
- Snacks
- Tea and coffee
Additional Information
Join us on a small-group exploration in search of the Aurora Borealis, conducted in a way that respects the environment. We’ll travel from the city lights of Tromsø into the frigid Arctic wilderness. Our guides will utilize forecasts and local insights to identify the ideal location to witness the mesmerizing Northern Lights. Once the optimal location…
Join us on a small-group exploration in search of the Aurora Borealis, conducted in a way that respects the environment. We’ll travel from the city lights of Tromsø into the frigid Arctic wilderness. Our guides will utilize forecasts and local insights to identify the ideal location to witness the mesmerizing Northern Lights. Once the optimal location is identified, we’ll suit up in thermal gear, start a comforting campfire, and relish a homemade meal. Our guides will also photograph you during the Aurora hunt, and web-quality versions of these pictures are available for free after the tour. We also involve our guests in gathering data as part of a citizen science project, which aids in the conservation efforts of our beloved tundra.
Enjoy hot chocolate by the fire before we return back to your hotel in Tromsø island. Despite the unpredictable nature of this natural phenomenon, our dedicated Aurora Hunters strive to ensure the best chances every night, throughout the season. Join us on more than one evening to improve your chances of experiencing the Northern Lights.
Location
Scandic Ishavshotel
Fredrik Langes gate
Please wait outside the Scandic Ishavhotel.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.7
(34 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Navod_s
Oct 3, 2024
Amazing experience - Completed a bucket list item - Thank you Bart and Wondering Owl - We had an amazing experience in this tour. We were incredibly lucky that weather stayed clear, given that the days before and after our tour was filled with rain and cloudy skies around Tromso. The tour party was limited to 8, which was ideal.
We can only say good things about our amazing guide Bart, who went above and beyond his way to make sure we had a great experience. He took care of the tour party very well and had great conversations with all of us. Bart was very knowledgeable on Auroras and was very keen to keep us informed on Science behind Auroras. He superbly planned this tour and found a great spot with minimal light pollution. We were treated with an amazing display of aurora borealis.
We had the option of wearing thermal outfit to keep ourselves warm. Also there was a wood fire to keep us warm. Bart treated us with warm hot chocolate and tasty vegan soup.
Highly recommend this tour with ideal party size. Also, thanks Wondering Owl and Bart for the attempts made to clean the camp site and to make sure only our footsteps are left behind.
Review provided by Viator
60gisellew
Sep 25, 2024
Hello Aurora!!!! - After 3 years and 3 countries our quest for the northern lights has finally ended with the most amazing sight of all - aurora borealis !!!!
Thank you to our knowledgeable and persistent guide Gerard and to our driver Mike- they were amazing even in the rain. The sights were incredible , open fire, soup and hot chocolate added to the ambience making me forget the cold. Truly amazing!!! Highly recommended specially the small group of 15 people and lastly the professional photo by Gerard , muchas gracias!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Timberwolf3000
Apr 21, 2024
Great Aurora Hunt - Went on an Aurora Hunt with Lukas (hope his Mum reads this !!) and our fantastic driver Lucasc - we'd had two previous unsuccessful trips to Iceland and Finland in the hope of seeing the NL but both were unsuccessful. Ventured off into the wilderness in our Mini Bus and because of cloud cover and low probability we feared the worst. Lukas stuck with it though and despite being evicted from our first forest stop (due to a Nato / Norwegian army exercise) we drove off to 2 other venues and were lucky enough to see the lights. A late night back to Tromso (circa 2am) but a great trip and our guide and driver were amazingly helpful, entertaining and patient - great job guys and thanks.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jakob
Apr 2, 2024
Great northern lights tour - I had the pleasure of a great tour with Kamil and Maciej chasing northern lights. Kamil is very knowledgeable and loves to share everything he knows about the northern lights and his adopted home of Tromsø. As an added benefit he's also quite a photographer aficionado so he shared great pics after the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephenko3071jw
Mar 31, 2024
Unreal experience seeing the Northern lights - My partner and I had an amazing time and we were extremely lucky to get Bart as our tour guide who was excellent, very friendly, knowledgeable and knew exactly where to go to see the northern lights, which we were elated to see. Great tour and would recommend to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hadamatras
Feb 23, 2024
Not to be missed in Tromso - Our guide went out of her way to allow us to see the Northern Lights. Finally, their efforts allowed us to achieve our goal.
The tour considers details that made the trip very pleasant: the stories, conversation around a campfire, hot food and a closeness, generated by our Ely gluttony, truly special. We definitely recommend this activity.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
340shrutib
Feb 20, 2024
What a show!!! - Ellie was fantastic. Right from the start she managed our expectations really well as to our chances given the weather etc. - we left tromso in the middle of a snow storm!!
our pick up was timely and we were lucky that the group of 8 people were personable and fun even if Ellie had to focus on the road - it made our experience better and helped time go by. We had a long night where we drove past the Finnish border in the hope of catching the lady;
And we were extremely lucky; even by the standards of our guide, we had great luck and had a long aurora show for close to 4 hours !!!! We got back to the hotel really late but I think it helped that the group was always on the same page about it and there were no moments of complaints or stress.
The campfire was lovely and the soup was quite delish! The campfire was lovely and gave everyone a chance to be warm and chat while we enjoyed the show.
I do recommend eating before you go so that you don’t snack up on the drive and feel sick Incase you have a long car ride.
I think I would just like people to mentally prepare themselves that the suits etc have to be put on outside once you’re ready to camp out and just prepare yourself for the onslaught of the wind or cold. The suits once on were very effective !! But I actually recommend getting electric heated gloves so that if you have to remove your hands in the cold you can manage your heat better !!
We had to get through some snow and shovel but our group mates were all super hands on and helpful and accommodating in all aspects.
Overall, it was truly a once in a lifetime experience made much more amazing by the guide and her frankness and the people we were with. I appreciate the ease of booking this tour and given the length of it, it was easier that we were a small group with no kids
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hwancroos
Feb 13, 2024
Unforgettable experience - We did both the regular and the adults-only aurora tours with Wandering Owl.
Both followed the same structure: once the group is gathered in the van, the guide summarizes weather conditions and explains where are we going and why that decision was taken. Once in the chosen spot, they hand thermal boots and suits to the passengers and they set a campfire (not a big one, but enough for some warmth and light). During the night, they offer some food (a really tasty homemade vegan and gluten free soup) and finally they offer hot chocolate and biscuits.
Guides are constantly in contact with other guides (both from their company and other companies) to share information. They are also constantly searching for aurora activity with their cameras, which can see far more than human eye and, once they find some auroras, they took really nice pictures.
First night, we only saw a very slight aurora, although the guide (Coen) did a great effort to take us some nice pictures. Second night, our guide (Jenna) first took us to a great spot (incredibly clear skies) but as she saw nothing was happening, we went again on the road and while at it, we were able to spot a hughe and unforgettable aurora.
Main differences between regular and adults-only:
- Group size: It may not sound like it, but a group of 15 (regular) vs a group of 8 (adults only) makes A LOT of difference. We felt our experience was far more personalized in the smaller group, you could see the guide really gets to know each of the passengers and conversation was fluid. Also, there was far more attention to detail in the adults only tour.
- Minors: Aurora hunting can be challenging, long, frustrating and tedious. I personally believe this is not an activity suitable for children, and it shows. In our regular group there was a little girl. Although she was well behaved, she naturally needed a lot of attention, photos were more difficult to take due to height and the difficulty of having her staying still, while her parents were visibly anxious to get her a nice picture.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrew
Feb 15, 2024
A windy night in deep snow - We went on the adults only tour with Ellie as our guide and driver. There were 8 of us in total. The skies looked promising as we set off south looking for the Aurora. Ellie was an excellent guide and really personable. Everyone interacted well with a good mix of people. After a toilet and snack stop at a service station we headed off. We were fortunate to find some clear skies and some activity at our destination. After photos we had the opportunity to put on arctic suits and boots and 5en headed off into the deep snow to find a place to set a fire and have some food. Food was a homemade soup which was tasty. The stars above us were but unfortunately Mother Nature decided not to put on another show whilst we sat round the campfire. At times the wind blew hard taking the temperature way below -10C. It felt very cold at times. We spent a couple of hours there before heading to a couple of other spots looking for the Aurora. Nothing was happening so we headed back arriving at our hotel at 1.15am. Plus point were a small group and an engaging guide. The minus point was putting on the suit and boots outside in the cold
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Adamlf6476js
Mar 29, 2024
1200eur lost with this rude and unprofessional company. - Anna was terrible tour guide treating us with an attitude for being 2 minutes late on the bus. We were unfortunate to be with that uptight, humorless tourguide. After half an hour drive the minibus stopped at a gas station and Anna send the driver to tell us that she has cancelled our tour and called a taxi for us. When confronting her, she said that we were rude to the driver and that is why she asked us to go. Then she told the other participants that we wery drunk. She refused to talk and hid in the bus.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
