There are plenty of tour operators flooded in and around Tromso who do Northern Lights tour. But it’s really important to choose the best tour company, else you might waste your money and time.
We went on the tour with Arctic Guide Service, one of the prominent tour operators who are based in Tromso City Centre. They go by the tag line “Non-stop Northern Lights Chase every single evening!” and they truly live by the word.
After going on the northern lights chase with Arctic Guide Service for 3 days, we got an opportunity to see their work at close quarters, about their tour operations, safety precautions and customer service. So, here we share our 2 cents about them!
The tour usually starts between 6.30-7.30pm after the sky gets dark. We were asked to be at their office 15 minutes before, so that we could see the forecast of the aurora, and sign out the disclaimer form to them. The tour involves bus travel since spotting Aurora when there’s lot of light pollution will make it tedious task. Hence the tour operators drive you to a location away from any light pollution, where there’s no cloud.
Bus Journey & Customer Safety
A big coach bus is used for the tour along with a Professional driver and a knowledgeable guide. The bus has 2 door exits, a bathroom, reading lights and heater. During travel, we need to wear the seat belts. While getting down the bus, all the passengers were given safety jacket. If we are embarking on a long journey, they keep us informed, and stop in the service areas as well.
Snacks on Tour
We were provided with Hot Chocolate and biscuits during the tour usually around 12am-1am.
Information Provided by the Guide
The guides are extremely knowledgeable about the city Tromso, Northern lights, the surrounding areas, camera operations etc. You can check out our Tromso Travel Guide. They share the history about the location and educate the travelers on which camera setting is best for capturing aurora.
Assistance in setting up your camera
The guide/s assist us in setting your camera to the right mode (including shutter, aperture, ISO) and share the best camera setting that would be suitable for capturing Northern Lights.
A photo souvenir
Not just all that! The guides are good photographers too, and they take awesome photos of you with Northern Lights at the backdrop. They share the photo through email, and with your consent post them in their Facebook Page for easy access. Other Northern Lights pictures are also available for you if you intend to share it with your friends, or have a keepsake. The photographs shared by them were crystal clear images and a perfect portrait shot. What better souvenir than this?
Customer Service
Arctic Guide Service is very flexible and customer focused. If the weather turns out bad, it is the customer who decides if they want to go on tour or not. They provide all the information about cloud, weather forecast, aurora activity details to the customer before letting them decide. We liked this working style of Arctic Guide Service particularly because we as customers are the ones paying the money, and getting a upper hand in deciding will only increase the trust. Even if one customer agrees to go on tour, they are ready to go for the chase! If you choose not to go for the tour, they are happy to refund you the money, or re-book you on alternate date.
Never Give up Attitude
These guys never give up on the Aurora chase. They take you to every possible corners of the Troms Country to spot the lights, and sometimes drive all the way up to Finland Border (which is about 3 hours drive from Tromso) to spot a clear sky and see Aurora. The whole team (Administrator, Driver, Guides) is really dedicated towards achieving this goal.
Tips for Booking the tour
It is advisable to book a 2 day tour, since the chances of seeing Aurora on just one given day is less. Plus you pay a discounted price for the 2nd day of the tour.
Price Details
Adult Price: 950 NOK; Child: 475 NOK
Tickets can be booked at their Office located behind Radisson Blu Hotel in Tromso, between 2pm – 6pm.
Conclusion
Overall, we loved their service and would definitely recommend their tour to anyone who travels to Tromso and wishes to see Northern Lights. We had a lovely memorable tour with them.
Disclaimer: We were given 3 day complimentary tour tickets for Northern Lights Chase by Arctic Guide Service. The review expressed in the post are ours, and were purely based on the experience we had with them.
Rama Ananth
Thanks for all the information, it would definitely help us while planning the trip.
How did you manage to get complimentary tickets from the organisation?
I hope you are coming up with more photos of the NLs
You both look really good. How many people were there in your group?
Country Hopping Couple
Thanks Rama. The tours are usually crowded during peak winter (Dec – Mar), so it's best to book well in advance. It was a sponsored tour.
Krishna/കൃഷ്ണ
Great photo… first one…
Informative…
thanks
Country Hopping Couple
Thank you Krishna!
Rajlakshmi
wow stunning views… I so watch the northern lights 🙂
Country Hopping Couple
Thank you Rajlakshmi 🙂
R Niranjan Das
Looks wonderful. Useful information too.
Country Hopping Couple
Thanks Niranjan!
Chaitali Patel
Very detailed and useful review. Especially liked how they give visitors tips on capturing the lights in the best possible way. I would love to see the Northern Lights sometime. I blog about my travels on: http://off-the-map-mytravelogue.blogspot.in
Country Hopping Couple
Thanks Chaitali! Yes, its one of the good things offered by this tour operator. Welcome to our space here!
Avada Kedavra
wow you made it huh?! Great Anu. You got to see aurora 🙂 🙂 Loved the pics.
Country Hopping Couple
Yes we did Ash! Finally saw them, and were awed! Thanks!
Renuka
Nice to know! Sounds like it's more than a tour service. It gives quite a few perks like your personal pic. 🙂 Looks good!
Country Hopping Couple
Yes it does Renuka…Thanks!
sanam arzoo
Great information. Thanks for providing us such a useful information. Keep up the good work and continue providing us more quality information from time to time. Customer Service
Andrea Ata
Soo jealous that you say the lights! What an incredible excursion! Definitely will have to check the tour out when I get to crossing it off my bucket list! http://nomoneywilltravel.com
Libby
I have always wanted to go and see the northern lights.
Thank you so much for this information; I shall be looking at the tour providers you used as you have gave them such good reviews.
The pictures are amazing by the way
Libby xox