After sharing my first travel report on Tromsø in Northern Norway, I’m excited to dive into the various activities we enjoyed and our overall experiences.
On our first day, we booked a snowmobile tour. My husband and I shared one, while Luca went with the instructor. After receiving instructions on how to handle these machines, we set off. Snowmobiles may seem stable, but you need to lean in the opposite direction when turning to avoid toppling over. I was leaning like crazy because I didn’t want to get crushed by one of those heavy things! They are a bit of work to drive, so my husband did most of it. I kept reminding him to take it easy because if you hit the gas too hard, they can go up to 150 km/hour, which is pretty frightening. However, they aren’t powerful enough to easily climb steep hills. The instructor had to make several attempts to create a path up the hill.
One of the most fun things we did was jump off a cliff into the snow. It was high, and the snow was so thick it reached above our knees. Climbing back up the cliff was quite a challenge. We had a great time on the snowmobiles, but my son got really cold after several rides up the hill and all the jumping in the snow, so we had to return to our lunch spot. This was a big tent, which was initially freezing until the fires in the center were lit. We spent quite a bit of time warming up before enjoying a delicious hot Norwegian lunch.
On another day, we visited Polaria, a main museum in town. We hoped to learn more about the Northern Lights, but the information and film on the topic were limited. However, we enjoyed a little sea lion show. We had planned to go dog sledding, but had to cancel because Luca got sick. By the next day, he felt better, so we opted for reindeer sledding instead.
Our guide, whose name I forgot, was a Sami. He shared stories about his life and how he takes care of a large number of reindeer. Every year, he moves them to higher, colder parts of the mountains and catches them with lassos. It was fascinating to learn about these old Sami traditions, which he is keen to keep alive. Sometimes his children accompany him to learn these skills.
We had a chance to practice our lasso skills, and I was the only one to catch the ‘reindeer.’ The Sami take little tents with them on their journeys, which are heated with a small fire in the middle. After hearing more stories, we went for a slow ride on the reindeer sleds. While dog sledding might have been more exciting, this was a culturally enriching experience.
On our last day, we combined cross-country skiing with ice fishing. We dressed in super warm ice suits, which nearly swallowed Luca! Skiing on a lake completely covered in thick snow was surreal, and the ice was more than a meter thick, so we were pretty safe.
After skiing, we tried ice fishing. Our guide drilled a hole for us, and then the waiting began. Luca was the first to catch a fish, and despite feeling a bit sorry for it, he was very proud. Only two of us managed to catch fish, so we grilled those along with some sausages since we were quite hungry.
We had a fantastic time in Tromsø, and I would definitely recommend it for a beautiful Arctic experience. If seeing the Northern Lights is a priority, you may want to visit from late February to mid-March. It’s less cold during this period, and there’s still a good chance to see the lights in full glory. Nonetheless, Tromsø is worth visiting even without the Northern Lights. The scenery is stunning, and the activities offered are both fun and memorable. And for the record, the fish we caught tasted amazing!