Itinerary · 5 days · 18 places

5 Days in Tromsø

Five days in Tromsø in the polar winter: first the island city with the Polar Museum, Polaria and the Fjellheisen cable car, then a full day on the water whale-watching in the Kvalsund, a fjord day across the bridge to Kvaløya as far as Tromvik — and on every clear evening, the chance of the Northern Lights.

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Photo: Irina · Pexels

The route on the map

The plan, day by day

Day 1Arrival in the polar winter
1. Arrival in Tromsø
2. 15:00–15:45
  Hotel check-in
  Stay in the Sentrum between Storgata and the harbour quay, from where the museums, restaurants and fjord-boat landings are all within walking distance.
3. 16:00–17:30
  Stroll along Storgata
  The car-free main street of colourful wooden houses climbs uphill from Stortorget by the harbour, strung with fairy lights all through the darkness and looking across to the illuminated Arctic Cathedral in Tromsdalen.
4. 19:15–20:45
  Evening: Ølhallen at the Mack Brewery
  Northern Norway's oldest beer hall, on the ground floor of the Mack Brewery, pours from a good seventy taps, including its own brews, and unlike in the past stays open until late in the evening.
Day 2Polar history & Fjellheisen
1. 09:00–10:30
  Polarmuseet
  In the old customs warehouse on the quay, sealing boats, Roald Amundsen's equipment and the hut of trapper Henry Rudi tell how Tromsø made its living for centuries.
2. 10:45–11:30
  Tromsø Domkirke
  The yellow wooden cathedral of 1861 right on Storgata is Norway's only Protestant cathedral built of wood, and surprisingly bright and simple inside.
3. 13:00–14:30
  Polaria
  The building of slanting, stacked ice floes by the water shows bearded seals at feeding time, a panoramic cinema about Svalbard and a touch pool with Arctic fish.
4. 14:45–16:00
  Perspektivet Museum
  A small city museum in a merchant's house on upper Storgata, with a photo archive and exhibitions on the everyday life of Tromsø's Sámi and Kven population.
5. 16:15–17:00
  Tromsø bibliotek og byarkiv
  The curved glass dome of the former cinema is the city's living room — warm, free, with magazines, coffee and a view of snowy Storgata.
6. 19:15–21:00
  Evening: Fjellheisen and Storsteinen by night
  The cable car from Tromsdalen takes you up to 421 metres in four minutes, where the island's lights lie below you and, under clear skies, the Northern Lights hang right above the plateau.
Day 3Whale-watching in the Kvalsund
1. 09:00–09:30
  Prostneset harbour terminal
  At the quay in front of the Hurtigruten terminal the thermal suits are handed out and the whale-safari boats tie up — arrive half an hour before departure.
2. 09:30–15:30
  Whale safari in the Kvalsund
  The quiet hybrid catamaran heads into the sound between Kvaløya and Ringvassøya, where humpbacks and orcas follow the herring shoals in winter and you hear them blow in the blue twilight before you see them.
3. 16:00–16:45
  Ishavskatedralen
  The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsdalen is made of eleven white concrete sails, and behind the altar glows one of the largest glass mosaics in Europe.
4. 19:15–21:45
  Evening: Northern Lights chase in the surrounding area
  Minibuses head wherever the clouds break — depending on the weather to the Lyngenfjord area, Breivikeidet or across the border into Finland, with a campfire and camera tripod.
Day 4Fjords on Kvaløya
1. 09:30–10:30
  Kaldfjord
  Just beyond the Sandnessund Bridge the island's first deeply cut fjord opens up, along whose shores the herring shoals — and so often the whales — gather in winter.
2. 10:45–12:15
  Ersfjordbotn
  The region's classic photo spot: a handful of red houses at the head of the fjord, sheer peaks all around, plus the small sandy beach with the concrete bench by the water.
3. 14:15–15:45
  Tromvik
  A fishing village on Kvaløya's exposed north side, where the road ends and the view stretches across the Grøtsundet to the mountains of Rebbenesøya.
4. 19:45–21:15
  Evening: bar crawl around Stortorget
  From the Blå Rock Café with its loud music and burgers to the quiet Bastard Bar, the bars around the market square are all within five minutes' walk of each other.
Day 5Art by the Arctic Ocean & departure
1. 09:15–10:45
  Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum
  The art museum by the harbour shows Northern Norwegian painting from Peder Balke to contemporary Sámi art — compact enough for a morning before your flight.
2. 11:00–11:45
  Skansen
  The low timber building by the water stands on the ramparts of the medieval fortress and is the oldest surviving building in the city.
3. Departure from Tromsø