Tromsø sits at 69.6 degrees north, roughly 350 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle. From about 27 November to 15 January the sun does not clear the horizon at all. From about 18 May to 25 July it does not set.
Polar night is not darkness. For several hours each day the sky goes through a long blue twilight, the snow holds what light there is, and the town is lit. It is one of the strangest and most beautiful conditions in Europe and people who expect black at noon are usually surprised by it.
Which season you are actually booking
The two extremes are entirely different holidays.
Late September to late March is aurora season, with the best statistical odds from December to February. It is cold, dark and the town is set up for it: whale watching in the fjords, dog sledding, Sami reindeer herding, and a small city with more pubs per head than anywhere else in Norway.
Late May to late July is the midnight sun, when the light never goes and people hike, kayak and sit outside at two in the morning. It is a completely different Arctic and it is much less marketed.
The shoulder weeks in April and August give you neither and cost considerably less.
Tromsø and the islands
Tromsø is on an island connected by bridges, with the Arctic Cathedral, a cable car up Storsteinen and the world's northernmost botanical garden. It has around 77,000 people and the university, which makes it a working city rather than a resort.
The Lofoten islands, further southwest and reached by a flight or a long drive, are the dramatic ones: granite peaks straight out of the sea, fishing villages of red rorbuer, and the best photography in Norway.
Alta and Senja, east and south, are quieter with their own wilderness lodges.
The seven below are grouped by that.
Tromsø
The city, on the island.
Clarion Hotel The Edge occupies a waterfront building with a bar on the top floor looking across the sound at the Arctic Cathedral and the mountains. It is the best-positioned hotel in the city and the aurora is visible from the roof on a clear night.
Clarion Hotel The Edge
Tromsø waterfront · 4★ · $$$
Top-floor bar facing the Arctic Cathedral across the sound
Check availabilityRadisson Blu Hotel, Tromsø, A Verified Net Zero Hotel sits on the harbour with contemporary rooms, a good restaurant and the shortest walk to the boat departures.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Tromsø, A Verified Net Zero Hotel
Tromsø harbour · 4★ · $$$
Shortest walk to the whale and aurora boat departures
Check availabilityScandic Ishavshotel occupies a central position with reliable rooms, a bar and rates below the waterfront hotels.
Scandic Ishavshotel
Tromsø quayside · 4★ · $$
Reliable harbour rooms below waterfront rates
Check availabilityThe Lofoten islands
Southwest, reached by flight or ferry. Peaks straight out of the sea.
Nusfjord Arctic Resort occupies a preserved nineteenth-century fishing village in a narrow inlet, with the original buildings restored as rooms, a bakery and a general store still operating. The whole village is the hotel and it is the most complete restoration in northern Norway.
Hattvika Lodge sits at Ballstad in a set of converted fishermen's cabins on the water, run by a family who organise skiing, fishing and boat trips from the door.
Hattvika Lodge
Ballstad, Lofoten · 4★ · $$$
Converted fishermen's cabins with skiing and fishing from the door
Check availabilityThon Hotel Tromsø occupies a position at Svolvær with harbour-front rooms, a restaurant and the most convenient base for the islands.
Thon Hotel Tromsø
Svolvær, Lofoten · 4★ · $$$
Harbour-front rooms and the best base for the islands
Check availabilityAlta
East, on the Altafjord.
Sorrisniva Arctic Wilderness Lodge sits on a river outside Alta with a wilderness lodge, a spa and a long-running dog sledding operation. It also builds an ice hotel each winter, which is worth visiting and is not where you sleep.
Sorrisniva Arctic Wilderness Lodge
Alta · 4★ · $$$$
A riverside lodge with a long-running dog sledding operation
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The rorbu self-catering cabins across Lofoten are excluded, and they are the traditional and by far the most common way to stay on the islands. They are cabins rather than hotels.
What to do
Chase the aurora with a guide who moves. Tromsø's weather is coastal and cloudy, and the operators who drive inland toward the Finnish border on a bad night are the ones who find clear sky. A static viewing spot is a worse bet.
Go whale watching between November and January, when herring move into the fjords and orcas and humpbacks follow them. Boats leave from the harbour and it is cold work.
Take the Fjellheisen cable car up Storsteinen for the view over the city and the sound, in either season.
Meet reindeer with a Sami herder, and take the sledding seriously — it is a working relationship with animals rather than a ride.
In summer, hike Fløya or take a boat into the fjords at midnight, which is the best thing about the light.
Practical notes
Tromsø airport has direct flights from Oslo and several European cities. Lofoten is reached via Bodø or Evenes with a short onward flight or a long drive.
Aurora season runs late September to late March. Midnight sun runs late May to late July. Polar night is roughly late November to mid January.
It is genuinely cold and the weather changes fast. Most operators lend thermal suits and boots; confirm that they do.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Tromso and Arctic Norway Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Is polar night completely dark?
No. There are several hours of blue twilight each day and the snow reflects it. It is dim rather than black.
Will you see the aurora?
Season and clear sky decide it. Three or four nights in winter with a mobile guide gives good odds, not a guarantee.
Tromsø or Lofoten?
Tromsø for the city, the boats and the flight connections. Lofoten for the landscape and the photography.
How many nights?
Four in winter, to give the sky several chances. Longer if you are adding Lofoten.