A 7-night break to northern Norway to search for the Northern Lights and experience some of the best coastal scenery Norway has to offer.
This Norwegian Costal Island Explorer holiday starts in Tromso, known as the Paris of the North, before heading south to the fabulous island of Senja. There you’ll take a boat trip to Svolvaer in the majestic Lofoten Islands, the most beautiful part of the Norwegian Coast.
Senja has historically had a good population of whales in the area during the months of December to mid-February, so if your journey is made in that period then you have a good chance of seeing them. Please note that the whales migration is an act of nature and cannot be guaranteed.
The Northern Lights in this part of Norway can be spectacular, especially so as they are framed by the towering peaks of the mountains that soar out of the sea.
Location
Norway
Duration
7 Nights
Available dates
Sep - Mar
Price per person (excl. flights)
from £2,350
Overview
Highlights
- 4 nights in Tromso – the ‘Paris of the North’
- 3 nights on the beautiful island of Senja
- Accommodation in sea view apartments
- Wildlife and day fjords cruise out of Tromso
- Daily day and evening guided activities in Senja
- RIB Boat wildlife safari in Trolfjord
What’s included
- 4 nights accommodation with breakfast at the central Tromso Hotel
- 3 nights accomodation on full board basis with 3 activity choices at Mefjord Brygge
- Northern Lights Dinner Cruise
- Lyngen Snowmobile Safari
- Transfers to/from the airport and Finnses harbount (boat transfer booked locally)
A note on flights
While flights are not included in the holiday price, our team will happily provide a quote and arrange them for you. Simply ask one of our Travel Experts for details of the available options.
Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive into Tromso
Arrive at Tromso airport and transfer to your hotel.
Settle in and explore the local area and either choose to eat at the hotel or one of the excellent local restaurants around the quayside.
Day 2
Morning to Explore Tromso and then transfer to Senja Island
Take some time out in the morning to explore Tromso before then departing to Finnsnes in the afternoon.
Return to port in time for your onward boat transfer to Finnsnes (this is booked locally). The journey by boat takes about 75 minutes and lets you experience coastal nature.
A driver will pick you up at the boat terminal in Finnsnes and transfer you through the beautiful Senja island to Mefjord Brygge – your base. Check into your sea-facing apartment before dinner is served in the maritime-style restaurant.
After a short briefing and introduction to your activity program, it will be time to relax, go for a small walk in the evening or finish off the day in the sauna.
Day 3
Day of Seasonal Activities and Northern Lights Hunting
Breakfast will be served at 9.00am after which you will meet with the guide who will present your plan for the next couple of days with regard for current season and weather conditions.
Typically, during daylight hours you will go for an Arctic Boat Safari to see wildlife and marine landscape. Lunch will either be on the safari or upon your return to the hotel.
The afternoon might be spent at leisure or you can go for a small snowshoeing trip on your own.
Traditional Norwegian dinner will be served in the early evening and after that you will get ready for the night time session. The guide will take you to some remote spots for a Northern Lights chasing experience. You will also visit scenic vantage points where it is possible to admire the Aurora Borealis without any light pollution.
Day 4
Day of Seasonal Activities and Northern Lights Hunting
After breakfast, you will do a different activity to the day before – depending on the season and preferred activity, it may be a minibus sightseeing, snow-shoeing or hiking trip to see different types of Senja’s nature and in case of bad weather there would be a special trip to show you the harsh Arctic coast and power of the Norwegian Sea.
After dinner, you will again set out for an evening activity focusing on experiences on Senja and the northern lights. Hopefully, you will admire the beauty of the Northern Lights reflected in the sea and with mountains in the foreground while visiting some remote spots in the nearby fjords.
The creative guides will surprise you by telling some old local stories, showing you some interesting places and introducing you to traditions linked with north-Norwegian culture.
Day 5
Arrive back into Tromso
After breakfast you will be dropped back at the Finnsesn harbour and catch your boat back to Tromso where you will check in at your centrally located hotel and spend the evening relaxing after the previous couple of days’ adventures.
Day 6
Tromso Fjord Cruise
Spend the day exploring Tromso by visiting some of the local musuem or crossing over the bridge to see the Arctic Cathedral. Then get prepared for an evening out on an Aurora Dinner Cruise. As you cruise around the Tromsø fjord, you will be presented a delicious Arctic tapas dinne which is prepared by an award-winning local restaurant.
Put together with locally sourced, seasonal and fresh ingredients, the three-course dinner is inspired by traditional Northern Norwegian cuisine with a modern twist! Carefully selected local beer and quality wine are also available for purchase. As you enjoy your meal the captain will keep an eye out for the Northern Lights, the perfect way to cap off an evening adventure!
Day 7
Lyngen Alps Snomobile Safari
You will grab an early breakfast before getting your transfer out to the Lyngen Alps where you will explore this stunning location with a local guide. On this scenic, gentle and safe Snowmobile Safari, you will see nature at its very best. The area of the Lyngen Alps offers some of the most beautiful scenery in Northern Norway. It is a big wilderness playground where you will follow some approved and well-established trails. In the afternoon you have the chance to relax and if you wish to add on additional Northern Lights excursion, one of the team can pre-book this for you or this can be done locally.
Day 8
Returning Home
After breakfast you will get your standard transfer back to the airport for your flight home. There are plenty of opportunities to extend your stay, with options to cross over the border to Sweden or Finland. You might like to spend some time in Norway’s capital city, Oslo – just let our team know and they can build that into your itinerary.
Where You'll Stay
Scandic Ishavshotel Tromso
The Scandic Ishavshotel is on a picturesque waterside location in Tromsø, which is often referred to as the Paris of the North, and offers stunning views of the harbour and city. It is located only 50 metres from the Hurtigruten ferry and 4 minutes from the Polar Museum. It has easy access to the pier where most boating trips depart from.
Almost all rooms at the Scandic Ishavshotel are located at the very end of the quay and provide panoramic views whilst there are excellent Restaurant and Bar facilities.
For a relaxing drink visit the Roast Bar, located right by the water and offering views of the Tromsø Bridge and a famous architectural landmark, the Arctic Cathedral.
Mejford Brygge
Mefjord Brygge is surrounded by mountains in the picturesque fishing village of Mefjordvær on Senja Island. Accommodation is in modern style cabin apartments which face out to the sea and offer plenty of space.
A well-equipped kitchen, private bathroom and a balcony or patio feature in all apartments and cottages at Mefjord Brygge. They also include a seating area and flat-screen TV. All cabins are en-suite.
Relax options at Mefjord Brygge include a sauna, hot tub and solarium.
The guides at Mefjord Brygge run a daily programme of activities for clients which focus in Autumn and Winter on the sea and the northern lights. They have their own boat which is ideal for whale watching.
Meals are served in a very traditional and atmospheric marine style restaurant a short walk from the cabins.
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Reviews
See what our clients say
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
Nigel Longton
Thank you for arranging a fabulous holiday, we had a really enjoyable time and would love to return in the future. Hotel Ranga is a lovely place to stay and the owner greeted guests in the restaurant, which was an unexpected welcoming touch. We didn’t see the Northern Lights due to the weather and the trip to the Eyjafjallajokull glacier and volcano was substituted by an excursion to Thorsmork, also due to the weather, which we thoroughly enjoyed; the brochure description doesn’t do it justice. We found Iceland and the people there really charismatic. Although the wind and snow cut short the amount of travelling we could do, we still covered a reasonable amount of what we wanted to see and our appetites are whetted for a return, perhaps in Spring or Summer. We found a couple of great places to eat near the Hotel in Reykjavik. Messin does tasty fish dishes and the Icelandic Street Food restaurant was excellent, offering simple but hearty soups with refills included in the price – great value.
Nigel Goadsby
Fantastic trip with great hosts & made even more special by seeing the Northern Lights twice!!
Wendy Naphine
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.
Lisa McAleer
We have never before experienced such friendly and simultaneously professional service! Alex’s communication was super prompt, questions encouraged and welcomed and attended to with great care and detail. Everything was well organised and available on beautifully designed and very useful platforms. Our destination (Mattarahkka Northern Lights Lodge) was fabulous on so many different levels – exquisite views, friendly interactions from everyone on the team, great food, exciting activities, perfectly situated to see the northern lights (seen twice in 4 nights’ stay), a great fire place, and not to mention our fantastic guide Fabio. Their provision of winter kit (hats, down jacket, snow trousers, leather gloves and boots) offered everything we needed to be comfortable outside. All we needed to have packed really were base layers, a few layers of clothing and woollen socks. Defintely somewhere we would highly recommend and return to when possible!
Inge Elliott
Cannot thank this company enough. Our break to Iceland was the second time we’ve let them organise everything for us and once again they didn’t disappoint. Everything ran seamlessly and the organised tours were wonderful. This company knows what they are doing. If you want to experience the geysers, the volcano, the northern lights and all the other exciting things that Iceland has to offer then this is the company to use.
Carol Wrack
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.
David Rogers
We had the most fabulous time and everything worked like clockwork. The guides were extremely knowledgeable and extremely competent. The food was excellent and the experiences, especially Husky Homes, were brilliant. We saw the aurora lights at the mountain top in Abisko where the photography tour will be an enduring memory of a wonderful time. I would very much recommend Weekend a la Carte as a proficient tour operator.
Mark Nicholson