Reindeer sledding under the Northern Lights
A reindeer in the snow, a lavvu glowing orange, and green light rippling overhead. It is the picture on every brochure. Two evening tours from Tromsø try to make it real. Sometimes they do, and whether they will on your night depends mostly on the clouds.
The two evening tours
| Tour | Price | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tromsø Arctic Reindeer | ~$218 | 6 to 10:30 pm | Feeding, night sled ride, three-course dinner in a turf hut, stories and joik, sky watching |
| Tromsø Lapland | ~$229 | 6 pm, 4.5 h | Sled train of up to 30 minutes, feeding, bidos, Sami talk, professional pictures |
The evening sled with dinner from Tromsø Arctic Reindeer is the one on our comparison page: the same family as our pick, a bus from the Prostneset terminal at 6 pm, and more than 2,800 reviews at 4.6. Tromsø Lapland's evening version offers the longer ride, but it has a stricter weight limit of 100 kg (220 lb) and a lower rating of 4.5, which is why it sits in our guides rather than in the top five.
How good are the odds?
It depends on the sky, and the camp cannot move. Tromsø lies under the auroral oval, so on a clear, dark night between September and April the lights are out more often than not. The problem is clouds. A Northern Lights chase can drive for hours to find a gap; a reindeer camp half an hour from town stays where it is. If the coast is cloudy, you will have a lovely dinner and no aurora. Reviews of both evening tours reflect exactly that, with unforgettable nights and cloudy ones.
If seeing the lights is the main goal, book a dedicated chase as well, on another night. Our sister site compares the best Northern Lights tours in Tromsø, including minibus chases that will cross into Finland for a clear sky. Treat the reindeer evening as a cultural night with a bonus chance, and you will not be disappointed.
Riding in the dark
The sled ride after dark is quieter and stranger than by day. You see the reindeer ahead in the glow of the camp lights, the snow, and not much else. It is atmospheric, but it gives you fewer photos of the ride itself. If the ride is what you want to remember, the day tour from the same camp is the better choice. What a ride is like, day or night, is in our guide.
Sled, dinner and a chance of the lights
Tromsø Arctic Reindeer's evening tour leaves the Prostneset terminal at 6 pm and is back at 10:30 pm, ~$218 with a three-course dinner.
Photographing the aurora at the camp
- Phones from the last few years have a night mode that captures faint aurora well. Brace the phone against something, or bring a small tripod.
- Turn off the flash and keep your screen dim; the camp lights are bright enough already.
- A faint aurora often looks grey to the eye and green on camera. That is normal.
- Keep spare batteries warm inside your jacket.
Some Sami traditions treat the lights with caution. You do not whistle or wave at them. Your guide may tell you the stories. More about Sami culture is in our guide.
On a cruise
The evening tour is back in the center at 10:30 pm, so it works when your ship sails at midnight or later, or stays overnight. Add the ride to Breivika if you docked there, and keep the usual hour of buffer. Some winter Northern Lights cruises overnight in Tromsø, which makes an evening tour easy. All the timings are in our cruise guide, and what to wear after dark in the clothing guide.
When the evening tours run
The aurora season starts in September, but the sled needs snow, so the evening sled tours run in the narrower window from roughly late November to early April. Outside that window the camps offer feeding and dinner evenings without a ride. Month by month is in our season guide.