Tales from TravelLocal: Jo’s family trip to Tromso, Norway

If you’re aching to plan an unforgettable family trip filled with magic and excitement, make for the city of Tromso in Norway – a northern Arctic Circle outpost that’s famous for its high-octane outdoor pursuits and year-round appeal – whether you and your crew are lovers of history, nature, city sightseeing, or unbridled wilderness experiences. Our Chief Brand Officer, Jo recounts her phenomenal family adventure, taken with her husband and two sons – read on for her highlights and top tips to help inspire your next trip.

Visiting Tromso in Norway: a balanced, family-friendly destination

After a fantastic but incredibly hot adventure in Mexico last year, my younger son pleaded to go somewhere cold this year. So as soon as I spotted the launch of direct flights from Bristol to Tromso, I signed us up for a half term trip.

Tromso is a small island in the very far north of Norway, well within the Arctic Circle. It is surrounded by mountains, glaciers and fjords, making it an excellent base for winter activities. Traveling as a family of four, including my sons who are 12 and 15, and for only a few days, it was important to get the right balance of fun and food, adrenaline and downtime – and Tromso certainly delivered. It’s a magical place.

Getting there was simple until we got off the bus and realized that the great views advertised at our apartment were because it was at the top of a very steep icy hill – but we managed it and were delighted that we could even see the Arctic Cathedral from the window.

Day 1: city streets, fjords and reindeer hot dogs

Our first full day was all about exploring the snowy city – a fabulous electric catamaran tour of the fjords and circling Tromso island showed off the beautiful scenery and also gave us a sneak peek of Olavsvern, the Bond-villain style secret naval base carved into the mountain. We loved being able to enjoy the bracing outside decks, then retreating to the cozy inside areas when we could bear the cold no longer.

Back on dry land we stopped for reindeer hot dogs at the famous Raketten kiosk, then crossed the windy bridge to the mainland to visit the Arctic Cathedral and ride the cable car.

Arriving at the top of the mountain at dusk was an accidental stroke of genius. Watching the island light up as night fell was extraordinary. And we were very grateful for our thermal layers and snow boots.

Days 2 and 3: an incredible wilderness expedition

The following day we traveled about 90 minutes southeast to Camp Tamok, the base for our snowmobiling adventure. After getting snow suited and booted (and balaclava’d and helmeted and gloved!), we were ready for our incredible expedition into the wilderness.

It was stunning and exhilarating, whether you were the driver or passenger – an experience we’ll never forget. We warmed up afterwards in a Sami roundhouse with reindeer soup and traditional Norwegian polarbrød.

Our final day saw us heading 40 minutes west to a remote dog sledding center. Unlike the facilities at Camp Tamok, this base was super simple – the facilities were just a covered sled for the guides and the toilets were a tree for the gents and a tent for the ladies.

Teams of 10 dogs pulled us on double sleds across a frozen lake and into the hinterland. Both my sons were drivers and I chose to be the “passenger princess”. Another unforgettable experience. We followed this up with another reindeer soup for lunch, this time with a delicious hot chocolate chaser.

The trip back to town took us past the airport, so the driver kindly agreed to drop us there, at what is now officially our family’s favorite airport – cool design, plenty of space, lots of charging points, laid-back and efficient. It was a dream.

Planning a family trip to Tromso: my tips to keep in mind

We feel like we squeezed everything we could out of our time in Tromso. My personal highlights were seeing how thrilled the boys were on the snowmobiles, and accidentally timing our cable car trip to see night fall.

Planning is vital: understanding locations and itineraries means you can make sure not to waste too much time on transfers. When it comes to wilderness excursions, dress in lots of warm layers (this sounds obvious but we had a very, very hot bus and a very, very cold camp on the same afternoon); and take lots of snacks to keep teenagers fueled – also obvious, but there is nowhere to buy anything once you leave the city and there’s only so much reindeer stew they can take.

And the question everyone asked – did we see the northern lights? Well no, we didn’t – but we made the active choice not to go on a northern lights tour. Why? Selfishly, I’ve seen them before. Unselfishly, after exhausting days, I didn’t want the boys to spend several hours on a bus with no guarantee of seeing them. It was the right choice – our cozy family evenings with good food, games, and relaxation were more than enough.

Tromso was a fantastic destination and I can’t recommend Norway enough for a family trip. It is expensive, but you can reduce costs with sensible choices and planning; the people, culture and scenery are all wonderful, and you’ll have incredible, shared lifelong memories.

Make it happen

Feeling inspired by Jo’s travels, to plan a Scandinavian adventure of your own? Get in touch with our local experts today, and together you’ll start putting together the trip of a lifetime to Norway’s Tromso and beyond.