Northern Lights in Tromso

Tromso Cathedral

I was recently given the opportunity to fly to Tromso to experience the Northern Lights in Northern Norway. There is never a guarantee that the aurora borealis will play fair and come out to play, but I was hopeful and set out with a DSLR, tripod and the instruction manual for the camera.

The flight to Tromso was with SAS via Oslo departing from Heathrow early in the morning with a quick connection in Oslo (where incidentally it is necessary to collect your luggage and re-checkin for the onward domestic flight) and by lunchtime I was gazing at the beautiful snowy landscape as we were on the final approach into Tromso.

The bus transfer into Tromso cost 90NOK return (about £10) and we were dropped outside the Rica with a short 100m walk to the Hotel With where we were booked into. The Hotel With is not the most attractive building from the outside, but it has an amazing position overlooking the harbour and serves waffles and cream in the afternoon! It also provides a basic evening meal as part of the deal - useful as Norway can be expensive to eat out. This is not meant to be a half board option but an opportunity to ensure that food is available if it is wanted. Odd way of looking at it, but the other hotel guests seemed to be happy enough.

Having been up early in the morning to drive to Heathrow we were not really of the mind to set out searching for the Northern Lights, but as our time was short we duly looked at our pre-booked vouchers and set our for the meeting point to go on a taster dog sledding session whilst peering into the sky for the Northern Lights - or at least that was the idea ! Dog sledding is rather like driving a car on skis, in the you need to pay attention to everything that is going on around you while maintaining your balance (and dignity).

The Northern Lights were spectacular that night (4th March) but it was a shame I couldn't take photos - though as I'd not taken the time to read the manual yet I suspect my photos would have looked very much like some of the others which I saw that night ...... black !!!

Speaking to the more experienced photographers it seems that the tripod is a necessity, with a long exposure (10-30 seconds) and a high ISO. I lost it at the ISO stage but thanked them warmly for their advice.

Husky Mushing in Tromso

The husky mushing was great fun though being a taster session it was soon over and we were back to a Kota (or Lavu) for a basic warm meal before transferring back to Tromso by bus, not before seeing the final dance of the Aurora before the clouds obscured the stars and any further chances of seeing more solar activity.

What would the next day have in store for us ........

Location:Tromso, Norway

Can your smartphone survive the cold

Having just returned from yet another trip to Northern Finland I experienced a few issues with my iPhone and Android companions which complained against the cold.  Battery life on smartphones is not knonwn to be that good and the cold exasperated the condition.  I often wondered why all the local guides seemed to have "old" Nokia phones in their pockets and this got me wondering which phones were the best for the cold temperature.

A quick Google and I cam up with the following webpage Sub-Zero Weather and Smartphones.  Quite interesting to see which phones fared the best.

If you've got the latest iPhone then perhaps you should keep it warm !!

ICEHOTEL weekend

What are you doing his weekend ? I'm off to see the 22nd ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, easily reached from the UK in a few hours. I'm leaving at 7am and will be standing at the Absolute bar early afternoon ready for some light refreshment and entertainment.

I'm choosing to stay one night in cool (a.k.a cold) accommodation at a steady -5c on a reindeer skin bed in a (hopefully) warm sleeping bag. The booking instructions say that I need to wear thermal gear and a hat !! Not entirely sure about this, but my mother always told me to try everything at least once, so I'm taking her advice ..... for one night !!!

My second night will be spent in the comfort of a heated hotel room thawing out from the days activities and hopefully taking some photos of the Northern Lights as I've just purchased a new F1.8 50mm lens for my camera. Previous photographic attempts have failed miserably so I'm hoping for better results. As a precaution I've looked at this guide to taking photos of the Northern Lights which I hope will help. Only time will tell and if I get any reasonable shots, I'll post them on our website.

Meet us at Destinations Travel Show London

For those of you who don't know, Destinations Travel Show is one of the largest consumer travel shows in the UK. We will be at Earls Court (stand E112) and look forward to seeing you there from Thursday 2nd Feb through Sunday 5th Feb 2012.

Our experts can guide you through your Scandinavian holiday decision making process and put together a Nordic holiday tailored for you, whether it be a weekend away at the Swedish ICEHOTEL, searching for the Northern Lights in Norway or and Iceland holiday getaway at the Hotel Ranga and beyond. Time is running out for a winter experience this year, but it's never too early to book for 2013 where the Northern lights in Norway are expected to be some of the best of the decade.

If winter is not your thing, then we have some interesting summer experiences to Iceland and Norway to name but a few.

Come and visit us on our stand, or if you can't make it take a look at our Nordic Experience website and give either Francesca or Ian a call on 01206 708888 where we can talk you through your Scandinavian holiday.

Location:Earls Court

New Year in Reykjavik

New Year in Reykjavik

Are you stuck for the ideas for the New Year ? Reykjavik is a tried and tested option for an explosive start to the New Year.  Every year the residents (and temporary residents) welcome in the New Year with a fantastic display of fireworks and bonfires throughout the city.  An organised tour is recommended, or you can simply view the specactular displays from the comfort of your hotel.

Our picks for accomodation include the Hotel Borg, Reykjavik Centrum and the Grand Hotel Reykjavik.  The style of hotel varies from contemporary luxury at the Hotel Borg, modest simplicity at the Hotel Centrum, to modern business at the Grand Hotel Reykjavik.


With many hotels to choose from this is an exciting opportunity to celebrate the New Year in style in a vibrant and cosmopolitan city.

Can I visit the ICEHOTEL in the summer ?

The obvious answer to the question, "Can I visit the ICEHOTEL in the summer ?" is no, however the clever chaps in Sweden have found a way of allowing you to experience the cool ICEHOTEL during the more temperate months.

Sounding more like an April Fools story, the answer is to build a smaller ICEHOTEL inside what amounts to a large freezer set at -5c. If you know anything about the construction or building of the ICEHOTEL, you may know that the ice used is stored over the summer in giant warehouses ready for the winter season. It's one of these "halls" that the little sister to the main ICEHOTEL will be built.

It will have three different Art suites, just like in the wintertime, Ice Chandelier suite and the main Hall Suite to enable people to experience what they may have seen in the media. It will also have the ubiquitous ABSOLUTE ICEBAR to enjoy a refreshing drink after trying your hand at ice sculpting.

The summer ICEHOTEL is opening on the 10th June 2011, and "warm" accommodation can also be booked whilst you enjoy activities such as ratfting, canoeing, hiking and fishing., instead of dog sledding, snowmobile tours and northern light safaris.

Welcome to 2011 and a new decade

It's 2011 and the start of a new decade. We've left the "noughties" and are now in uncharted territory. Are we now in the "tens"? Only time will tell.
Nordic Experience is welcoming the new year with it's new website, and a plethora of new tours for our summer programme, which will be released in the next month.
In the meantime our current Arctic winter programme is in full swing, with Northern Lights a firm favourite. We've also released dates for our Father Christmas programme in Lapland.
Full details of all these can be, or soon will be on our website.

We wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to helping you with your holiday plans.