Escape to Norway for a long weekend. Discover snow-capped mountains and crystal-clear fjords. Sail alongside humpback whales and explore colourful fishing villages.
Classic Short Breaks in Norway
During our classic short breaks in Norway, you experience a wealth of cultural and natural wonders — in places like Tromsø, Svalbard and Lofoten. You also have an excellent chance of seeing the Northern Lights, in a region renowned for its Aurora sightings.
Our tailor-made trips combine your choice of winter activities and hand-picked accommodation. So — with Aurora Nights — it’s easy to create the Northern Lights holiday you’ve been dreaming of.
Explore our Classic Short Breaks in Norway
Short breaks in Norway: FAQs
When is the best time of year to book a classic short break in Norway?
You have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights if you travel to Norway between September and March. During autumn and winter, the nights are long and dark, which makes it much easier to see the Northern Lights.
On a winter break in Norway, you can enjoy snow-based activities, like dog sledding and snowmobiling. You can even choose to celebrate Christmas or New Year here.
Unsure when to book your weekend break in Norway? Just get in touch with the Aurora Nights team. We’ll be happy to advise you on seasonal weather conditions and activities.
Read more: The Northern Lights: Season by season
How long are your short breaks to Norway?
Our short breaks in Norway are between three and five nights long. Most are based across a long weekend, departing on Friday and returning home on Monday or Tuesday.
We can tailor these tours to include your choice of northern Norway destinations. You can stay in beautiful Tromsø or get closer to the North Pole on a Svalbard tour.
Of course, if you’d like to book a longer break, you can extend your trip to include our other Northern Lights destinations:
What can you see and do during a weekend break in Norway?
Here are some of the sights and activities you can experience on a Norway short break:
- Take an overnight voyage through Tromsø’s fjords. Then, start your day whale watching, looking out for majestic orca and humpback whales.
- Fly north to the remote island of Svalbard, a land of dramatic mountains, glaciers and icebergs.
- Mush a team of huskies through snowy landscapes before exploring the magical ice formations of an ice cave.
- Take a catamaran cruise around Tromsø Island at night. Sample Arctic cuisine and keep your eyes on the skies to see the dancing colours of the Northern Lights.
- Explore Tromsø. Visit the Polar Museum, the Arctic Cathedral and Mack Brewery. Or take the cable car up Storsteinen Mountain for panoramic city views.
- Travel deep into the Arctic wilderness on exhilarating Northern Lights excursions. Warm up by the fire as you wait for the aurora borealis to appear.
- Experience the thrill of snowmobiling or a ride in a snow-cat truck. Or soak in the serenity of the Arctic on a snowshoeing excursion.
- Relax in the sauna or hot tub back at your hotel. Enjoy fine dining cuisine. And why not head up to the rooftop terrace for warming drinks and spectacular views?
Our short trips to Norway are tailor-made. So just tell us if there’s anything else you’d like to do on your Norwegian Northern Lights break. We’ll do our best to make it happen.
Where will I stay?
Boutique hotels in Tromsø and Oslo. A remote lodge on the island of Svalbard. A cosy glass igloo. A stylish residence with a fine dining restaurant, nestled among mountains and fjords.
There are lots of comfortable and memorable accommodation options to choose from on our Norway weekend breaks. Whether you’re travelling as a couple, family or large group, we’re confident of finding the perfect place for you to stay.
What’s included in your Norway Northern Lights packages?
Our Norway Northern Lights breaks include the following as standard:
- Accommodation
- Transfers
- Half-board or full-board dining
- Arctic clothing for activities
- Your choice of guided Arctic activities
Please note that flights are not included in our Northern Lights holiday packages. But if you’d like advice on the best airports and airlines to use when travelling to Norway from the UK or the US, just let us know. We’ll be happy to help.
Can I book a Tromsø city break package?
Absolutely. The city of Tromsø is known as the gateway to the Arctic. So it’s a great place to experience Norwegian culture and the Northern Lights.
On a Tromsø package holiday, you’ll stay in the city, with restaurants, galleries, and sights like the Arctic Cathedral on your doorstep.
But because the city is surrounded by fjords and mountains, you’re never far from nature. Look out for sea eagles and seals — or escape the city to experience Arctic scenery at its finest.
As part of our city breaks in Norway, you’ll also go searching for the Northern Lights. You’ll sail out into the fjord, away from city lights. Or travel by snowmobile to remote and scenic locations that make a beautiful backdrop for your Northern Lights photographs.
What about a city break in Oslo?
We offer Norway city breaks in Oslo, too. But bear in mind that Oslo is much further south than Tromsø — so it’s not the best place to see the Northern Lights.
However, if you’d like to explore Norway’s capital city, we can plan a longer itinerary. You can spend some time in Oslo before heading north in search of the Northern Lights.
What should I wear on a Northern Lights short break in Norway?
During winter, northern Norway is very cold. There aren’t many hours of daylight and temperatures rarely rise above freezing. So people dress for comfort and warmth.
We recommend bringing thermal base layers, a middle layer and a warm jumper. A warm, winter coat, walking boots and waterproofs are essential. You should also pack a hat, gloves and warm socks.
For night time excursions and fjord cruises, we provide Arctic outerwear. This includes a snow jacket, thermal overalls, snow boots and Arctic gloves.
Read more: What to wear on a Northern Lights trip
Will I definitely see the Northern Lights on my short break to Norway?
The Northern Lights can be unpredictable. Their visibility depends on both solar and weather conditions. But we do everything we can to maximise your chances of seeing the Northern Lights on your Norway short break.
We pick accommodation within easy reach of the best Aurora locations. And we pair you with an expert Aurora guide.
Our guides are skilled at tracking down the Northern Lights. They’ll take you on exciting nighttime excursions, finding clear and cloudless skies where the aurora is most likely to make an appearance.
Why book your Norway Northern Lights short break with Aurora Nights?
When you book any Northern Lights holiday package with Aurora Nights, you can count on:
- Tailor-made trips — we tailor our short breaks in Norway to include the destinations, accommodation and activities you have on your wishlist
- Hand-picked experiences — with in-depth knowledge of northern Norway, we offer the very best activities and excursions the region has to offer
- Expert local guides — our experienced guides know Norway inside out — and they’re great at tracking down the Northern Lights
- A hassle-free holiday — we take care of transfers, accommodation and your itinerary — so you can sit back, relax and enjoy your Northern Lights adventure
How do I book my Northern Lights classic short break?
Choose from the list of tours above and click Enquire Now. We’ll be in touch to chat about your trip and any bespoke requirements.
Can’t see a tour you like? Then, take a look at our other Norwegian Northern Lights holiday packages:
Or get in touch with the Aurora Nights team. We’ll be happy to design a long weekend in Norway just for you.
See what our clients say
Overall very good. Staff excellent and helpful. Accomodation basic but was what we expected. Tour guides very good (nature walks, snow mobiles, dog sleighs). Sky station disappointing as we never got to go up due to the weather and this seem to be a recurring feature.The alternative walk at night and meal was a let down as a result.Overall would recommend to others.
I appreciate the fast response to my inquiries regarding my trip. It would take decision making faster on my part, and plan my itinerary and activities being offered by the company accordingly.
My wife and I had an awesome and memorable trip to Iceland thanks to Alex at Aurora Nights. Alex tailored the itinerary to exactly what we wanted to see and chose excellent hotels to stay at. We totally enjoyed the city of Reykjavik and the many beautiful waterfalls. He went above and beyond to not only recommend sights to see around the Golden Circle and Ring Road, but also mapped it out so we were prepared to drive through the country during unpredictable weather and road conditions. And we were especially pleased to see the Northern Lights on our visit. Alex was very flexible to make changes to our plans and choosing the wonderful Sky Lagoon to replace our tickets for the Blue Lagoon due to the closure from the volcanic activity. We highly recommend Alex and Aurora Nights.
We had a wonderful time! The food at the lodge was amazing and there were some great vegetarian dishes. I had the best beetroot I’ve ever had (beetroot tartare).
Everyone was really friendly and all the guides were good fun and very knowledgeable.
A special thanks to William and Petri who were really friendly and really added a personal touch to our trip. The activities were really well planned and we especially enjoyed the trip with the huskies. The area we were in is stunning and the lodge was very nice. We would definitely recommend this to friends and family.
Hotel Ranga was perfect, with amazing food. It is in the middle of nowhere, very quiet and with the weather being bad there wasn’t the possibility of leaving the hotel in the evening so mightn’t suit all for that reason. Super Jeep tour we thoroughly enjoyed with 2 lovely guides.
Hotel Borg was in the perfect location. For us, one night in Reykjavik would be ample.
Blue Lagoon was a wonderful experience only heightened by the appearance of the northern lights on our walk home from dinner. All in all we had the best holiday and we plan to return to Iceland hopefully sooner rather than later.
We enjoyed both the hotels that were arranged by weekend a la Carte Aurora nights. The Porsmork trip was very enjoyable, both guides were fantastic and informative.
The Northern Light hunt trip out of Reykjavik with Superjeep was an adventure and we got to see the lights, worth braving the cold at -6.
We booked with Aurora for a short winter break to celebrate an event. We wanted something special and that’s what we got. Clear information was backed up with straightforward booking detail, and we had a super, holiday with no complications.
The holiday exceeded my expectations and I will use Aurora in the future. Thank you!
1. Gourmet Cabins was excellent and Johan was a friendly and knowledgeable host. The food, cabins, hot tub and sauna were brilliant.
2. Dog sledge was a fantastic experience and we were given the opportunity to drive our own sledge
3. Snow Mobile – really got off the beaten track and into the spectacular mountains
4. Saw the Northern Lights twice in two days. There is no description that can really do them justice
Ready for an aurora adventure?
Book with Aurora Nights, the Northern Lights holiday experts. We will personally plan your bucket-list Northern Lights adventure holiday to Swedish Lapland, Iceland, Norway and Finland.