ABOVE THE ARCTIC ON A BUDGET: Tromsø travel tips 🇳🇴

my girlfriend and i went to Tromsø, Norway right before Easter, and we had the best time at this gem of a city way up in the north! it is an incredibly expensive city and we made some

mistakes, but ultimately a few things made our trip an amazing one so here are my tips for those who are planning to head there ✨

👉🏼 LAYER LAYER LAYER

layering is king! even though Tromsø's climate is quite mild considering their geographical location, it is still pretty cold when we went (at the tail end of the northern lights season) so please invest in some good thermal layers and outerwear!! it can be expensive, so here are some tips to overcome that:

➡️ look at secondhand marketplaces such as Carousell

➡️ buy winter clothes just after winter/off season

➡️ GSS (Great Singapore Sale!)

tried and tested clothing to survive up North:

➡️ Uniqlo's extra/super warm thermals are 😚👌🏼

➡️ ski pants are a lifesaver

➡️ a great waterproof down jacket is ESSENTIAL

➡️ WATERPROOF winter boots PLEASE

my girlfriend had winter boots from Uggs (amazing brand btw) but they were sheepskin and her feet were soaked by the slush and we ended up having to rent one from the shops there 🤷‍♂️

👉🏼 CATER A COUPLE OF DAYS EXTRA

this kind of only applies to the northern lights season because thats the reason most people head there 🤩 and they are INFAMOUSLY hard to catch! we were super lucky to catch it the first night but we had to endure intense cold + wind from 9pm-1am before the lights decided to show up! however, the subsequent days were all cloudy and rainy so if we didn't see them then there was no other opportunity anymore 😢

➡️ some companies let you rebook at a discount if you don't see the lights on your initial tour but don't count on that cause the weather still reigns supreme

➡️ don't really bother booking expensive private tours as most of the companies communicate amongst themselves so they'll all end up in similar areas. save your $$$ and just go on a tour within your budget!

➡️ bonus tip: plan your trip either in Sept/April (start/end of northern lights season) and you may get private tours even if you booked a tour in a huge group which was what happened to us (9 person private tour when we booked for a 80 pax maximum tour)

👉🏼 BOOK AHEAD FOR TOURS

this is for those who don't drive! tours are immensly popular during the season and they sell out very quickly! look out and shortlist tours you might like and book them in advance to secure your spot 🤩 we booked a half-day landscape tour around the nearby fjords and islands with lunch included for only $170 pp (which is a steal imo) and the northern lights tour for $120 pp!!

some places to book such tours are:

➡️ GetYourGuide

➡️ Viator

➡️ Klook

➡️ Airbnb

so there you have it! here are my tips for you to wholly enjoy your experience up north in Tromsø and if there's anything i missed out please let me know below! till the next one, stay safe and keep travelling my friends ✨

#travelguide #northernlights #traveltips #travel #lemon8travel