Useful information:

  • midnight sun 18.5.-26.7.
  • polar nights (when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon) 27.11.-15.1.
  • possibility see the northern lights from middle of August to the middle of April
  • snow normally from Desember to April

  1. Is it guaranteed to see the northern lights on your tours?
    This is Mother Nature. Here in Troms we are located in the middle of the northern lights appearance oval (the aurora oval), so there are some activity most of the nights. Sometimes it can last only a few minutes, other nights several hours. Sometimes the northern lights are so weak that you have to overexpose the pictures, and you do not see them by naked eyes. Other times it is so strong activity that you need to underexpose the pictures, and you see them even stronger by naked eyes.

    Then we have the weather. You need to find clear sky to see the northern lights, as they appear higher up in the sky than the clouds do. We are doing our best to find clear sky, so the driving distance can be up to 500 km per night. On most of the days there are possibility to find clear sky in this distance.

    So it is not guaranteed to see the northern lights, but the change to see it is really good.

  2. How to take pictures of the northern lights?
    a) You need to have a tripod (or just place your camera on the ground or other stable surface)
    b) Use selftimer or a remote control

    c) Manual focus
    d) A good starting point for pictures is ISO 3200, F 2,8, 10 seconds. Take a test picture. If the picture is too bright, lower the ISO or shorter the shutter speed. If it is too dark, you need to have longer shutter speed.
    e) You need to adjust the settings all the time according to the northern lights, darkness, moonlight etc. Here you have some easy tips for adjusting:

    If you double the ISO, you can half the shutter speed to get the same amount of light to the picture. Keep in mind that higher ISO increase the noise.

    F stop: If you take a picture at 2,8, ISO 1600, shutter speed 10 sec, and then you increase the F stop to 4,0, that means that you need to double the ISO to 3200 or use 20 seconds shutter speed to get the same amount of light to the picture. F 4,0 gives you more depth of field, but you will get more noise and if the northern lights are moving quickly, you will not be able to see the structure of the lights as everything comes green.

    Photography is an art, so feel free to experiment =)

  3. Can I check the aurora forecast for the night on my own?
    There are several websites to check the aurora activity, and many of those are made really easy to use. What you need to remember, is that here in Troms we are just in the middle of the aurora oval, which means that we can see the northern lights even with a low Kp index (Kp 0 or Kp 1).

  4. Can I get refund if we don’t see the northern lights during the trip?
    No, we do not give any refund. We are doing our best that you could get a good experience and we could have a good time anyway.

  5. Is it possible to get vegetarian food?
    Yes. Just let us know beforehand.

  6. Do I need any special equipments?
    Warm clothing is important. It is best to have several layers, because then you can adjust your clothing during the trip. If you first get too warm, it is easy to get cold when you go out. Remember to open you jacket and take your hat of while sitting in the bus.

    Tripod is essensial to get a good picture of the northern lights. Otherwise you need to put your camera on the ground. Tripods on request, if you need one.