Experiencing the magic of the Northern Lights is a once-in-a-lifetime trip that everyone needs to add to their bucket list. Many factors go into seeing the aurora borealis and even if you plan a trip, there is no guarantee that you will see the dancing lights.
We visited Tromsø, Norway in December of 2022 with the hopes of seeing the northern lights. We were lucky enough to experience the aurora borealis on two separate occasions! Our first time seeing the lights was during an overnight stay at the Tromsø Wilderness Center. This article will discuss our second experience with the aurora through Marianne’s Heaven on Earth Aurora Chaser Tours.
The Start
Marianne is a local of the Tromsø region and as we would come to learn, knows all of the best spots to see the lights. Our tour picked us up a block away from the Radisson Blu hotel and the adventure began.
We were lucky to have scheduled our tour on a clear night and with strong solar winds, which gave us optimal conditions to see the Northern Lights. We drove just over an hour outside of Tromsø, Norway to the Kvaløya region near a small town called Tromvik for the first stop of the trip.
Stop 1
Marianne is a trained photographer and was able to help us with the correct camera settings to capture the lights. She equipped us with snow suits and boots to withstand the weather as-well-as tripods for our phones and cameras.
Our first stop was alongside Grøtfjordvegen Road overlooking the small town of Grøtjorden.
We were able to climb from the road down to the rocky beach shoreline and set up our cameras in anticipation of seeing the Northern Lights. It did not take long for us to experience our first glance at the magical aurora. We got amazing shots of the Northern Lights overlooking the fjords and mountains in the background. Our first stop lasted around an hour and a half before some cloud coverage started to roll in and forced us to move on to our second location.
Stop 2
Our second stop came at a private plot of land owned by Marriane just outside of the small town of Tromvik.
Sandwiched between a fjord and a tall mountain, we were in the perfect location to get unique shots of the Northern Lights. After about 30 minutes, the cloud coverage was gone and the lights came out to put on a show for us. Mason and I laid in the snow for over an hour, staring up at the night sky, observing both the magic of the Aurora Borealis as-well-as the star-covered sky.
Marianne has a small Yurt on her property that we were able to go inside of to warm up by a fire. It was a nice break from the cold, snowy weather. She also served us hot chocolate, cheese sandwiches, and her magical fish soup to prep for the long night ahead.
After finishing the refreshments we went back outside to continue our Northern lights chase. Mariannes soup did end up being just as magical as advertised. We continued to see the lights dance at our second stop and were lucky enough to see some different colors, other than just the normal green. We got to see shades of purple, yellow, and pink! Our second stop on this journey ended up being one of my favorites.
After about two and a half hours at our second stop, Marianne had us pack our stuff and hop back into the minibus to head to our third location.
Stop 3
We drove about 25 to 30 minutes to get to stop number 3. We were in a cove right on the water overlooking a fjord. We had mountains behind us and endless water to look out on in front of us.
Unfortunately the clouds started to roll back in, we did not end up staying for more than 30 minutes, however this location was one of the most dramatic landscapes I have ever been close up to.
Stop 4
Our fourth and final stop on our Northern Lights chase came about five to six hours after we had first left Tromsø. After being in the cold for this long, the others in our group decided to stay in the van for the rest of the journey. Truthfully this made for a way more memorable experience. The last hour was just Marianne, Mason, and myself exploring the Arctic wilderness.
By now, it was around 11 pm and pitch dark outside. The wind had picked up, but the sky was clear of any clouds. We were lucky enough for the aurora to put on a truly magical display and saw them dance through the sky for the final hour of our chase.
Marianne helped us to get time lapses of the aurora dancing while I laid in the snow with my camera taking non-stop shots. The night sky was filled with lights of all colors, and every minute or so, you would hear Marianne yell out to look in a different direction and get ready for the next auroras. We left this final stop with some truly incredible shots, and I will forever be thankful that we stayed out for the whole night for this magical experience.
The Drive Home
After a long night of chasing the Northern Lights, we packed up the van around midnight and started our hour-and-a-half journey back to Tromsø. Everyone had fallen asleep except for Marianne and me, and we made small talk for the remainder of the ride back.
Coming from very different countries and walks of life, I can not say that Marianne and I had too much in common. It was interesting to hear about the local Norwegian culture and how it differs from the United States.
We do not have enough good things to say about our journey with Marianne to see the Northern Lights. I can not even begin to think of what our experience would have been like with another company.
Marianne did not stop catering to us the whole 7-hour journey and would not rest until we saw the Northern Lights and got the most out of our trip. She is a true professional, and you can tell that she loves what she does! You could see the excitement she would get from spotting the lights and the true joy she would have when we would see the aurora, thus checking this experience off our bucket list.
If anyone is traveling to Tromsø and planning on booking a trip to see the Northern Lights, we highly recommend booking through Marianne. I’ll link her bookings below, and please feel free to reach out with any questions!
Disclaimer: This trip was not sponsored. We had not met Marianne until she picked us up outside the Radisson Blu. In fact we had not even decided to book a Northern Lights chase until the morning of our tour. These are just our true thoughts, and I hope everyone can experience the magic we felt on our journey!
Till next time! 🙂