Hamilton & Chase Tours
Norway Fjords and Northern Lights — Private Package 9-day Scandinavia tour: The Sognefjord and Bergen, then Tromsø for the Northern Lights, dog sledding, and the Arctic.

9-Day Private Package Journey

Norway Fjords and Northern Lights

The Sognefjord and Bergen, then Tromsø for the Northern Lights, dog sledding, and the Arctic.

Available as Private Semi-Private Self-Guided
From €4,290 per person 9 days / 8 nights
View Itinerary

Tour Overview

9 days across Scandinavia.

Norway above the Arctic Circle is a different country from the Norway of the fjords — quieter, darker in winter, and illuminated in summer by the Midnight Sun that never sets between late May and late July. Tromsø at 69°N is the largest city north of the Arctic Circle in Norway and the world capital of Northern Lights tourism: the combination of its position in the auroral oval, the surrounding dark fjord landscape, and the infrastructure that has grown to serve the aurora hunters who come from October to March makes it the most reliable Northern Lights destination in mainland Europe. This nine-day private journey combines the essential Norwegian fjord circuit — Oslo, the Flåm Railway, the Nærøyfjord, Bergen — with a flight to Tromsø for the Arctic experience: Northern Lights chasing in winter, the Midnight Sun in summer, dog sledding or whale watching depending on season, and the Arctic Cathedral that is the most architecturally significant building in northern Norway. The two halves of the journey are deliberately different from each other — the fjords are a landscape of summer, the Arctic is a landscape of extremes — and together they give the full range of what Norway is.

Detailed Itinerary

Your journey, day by day.

Every day is designed with breathing room. Sleep in, take a detour, linger at lunch — the itinerary flexes around you, not the other way around.

Day 1 — Arrival in Oslo
Day 1
1

Day 1

Arrival in Oslo

The capital at the head of the Oslofjord.

Your private driver meets you at Oslo Gardermoen Airport. Oslo sits at the head of the Oslofjord between the Nordmarka forest and the city centre — a compact capital whose wealth and civic infrastructure make it immediately comfortable. The Opera House on the harbour: the Snøhetta building whose sloping white marble roof is designed to be walked, giving views of the fjord and the Aker Brygge waterfront. Welcome dinner overlooking the water at one of the Aker Brygge restaurants that have made the Oslo food scene worth the flight.

  • Private airport transfer to Oslo
  • Oslo Opera House — walk the roof above the Oslofjord
  • Aker Brygge waterfront
  • Welcome dinner overlooking the fjord
4–5★ hotel, Oslo city centre
Day 2 — Oslo Museums
Day 2
2

Day 2

Oslo Museums

Viking ships, The Scream, and 212 sculptures.

The Viking Ship Museum on Bygdøy: the three best-preserved Viking longships in the world — the Oseberg (834 AD), the Gokstad (890 AD), and the Tune ship — preserved in their oak by the anaerobic blue clay of the Vestfold burial mounds for over a thousand years. The National Museum: the new 2022 building that is the largest art museum in Scandinavia, housing Edvard Munch's The Scream and the comprehensive collection of Norwegian art. The Vigeland Sculpture Park: Gustav Vigeland's 212 bronze and granite figures arranged in Frogner Park — the largest sculpture installation by a single artist in the world.

  • Viking Ship Museum — the Oseberg longship from 834 AD
  • National Museum — Munch's The Scream
  • Vigeland Sculpture Park — 212 figures in bronze and granite
  • Holmenkollen ski jump — the national monument above the city
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Oslo city centre
Day 3 — The Flåm Railway
Day 3
3

Day 3

The Flåm Railway

The world's most scenic railway descent to the fjord.

The Bergen Railway crosses the Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 metres — a sub-Arctic landscape of snow-covered fells that in winter is impassable by road. At Myrdal the Flåm Railway branches off and descends 864 metres in 20 kilometres to sea level: the steepest standard-gauge railway in the world, passing through 20 tunnels and stopping at the Kjosfossen waterfall whose 93-metre drop is visible from the train platform. Flåm at the fjord: the village of 350 people at the innermost point of the Aurlandsfjord, where the mountains rise immediately to 1,400 metres behind the first houses and the fjord opens west toward the sea.

  • Bergen Railway over the Hardangervidda — Norway's sub-Arctic plateau
  • Flåm Railway — 864 metres descent in 20 kilometres
  • Kjosfossen waterfall — 93 metres from the train platform
  • Flåm village at the Aurlandsfjord head
Meals: Breakfast 4★ hotel, Flåm fjordside
Day 4 — Nærøyfjord Cruise to Bergen
Day 4
4

Day 4

Nærøyfjord Cruise to Bergen

The UNESCO fjord and the Hanseatic city.

The Nærøyfjord is the narrowest navigable fjord in Europe: 250 metres wide, with walls rising 1,700 metres on both sides and waterfalls falling directly into the water during snowmelt season. The UNESCO designation covers both the Nærøyfjord and the Geirangerfjord as outstanding examples of fjord scenery. The cruise from Flåm to Gudvangen passes through the most dramatic section of the Sognefjord system. Bergen by the evening via the Stalheimskleiva road: the Hanseatic trading city of wooden wharves whose Bryggen quayside and fish market have been operating since the Middle Ages.

  • Nærøyfjord UNESCO cruise — the narrowest fjord in Europe
  • Stalheimskleiva — 13 hairpin bends to the panoramic viewpoint
  • Bergen Bryggen — the 14th-century Hanseatic wharf
  • Bergen Fish Market and Fløibanen funicular
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Bergen
Day 5 — Bergen and the Flight to Tromsø
Day 5
5

Day 5

Bergen and the Flight to Tromsø

The gateway city and the leap to the Arctic.

The morning in Bergen: the Bryggen Hanseatic Museum inside one of the original wharf buildings, the Fløibanen funicular to the top of Mount Fløyen, and the fish market. The flight from Bergen to Tromsø takes 1 hour 45 minutes and crosses the entire longitude of Norway — the Sunnfjord, Nordfjord, Romsdal, the Lofoten Islands visible to the west, and the Svartisen glacier before the Arctic coastline of Troms. Tromsø at 69°N: the largest city in the Norwegian High Arctic, built on an island in the Tromsø Sound between the mainland and the Kvaløya island. The Arctic Cathedral — the Ishavskatedralen — stands on the mainland across the Tromsøbrua bridge: a 1965 Brutalist building of triangular concrete panels that from a distance resembles a glacier and from close up is one of the most architecturally serious buildings in Norway.

  • Bergen Bryggen final morning
  • Flight Bergen to Tromsø — crossing Arctic Norway from above
  • Arctic Cathedral — the 1965 Brutalist glacier building
  • Tromsø city introduction — the capital of Arctic Norway
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Tromsø
Day 6 — Tromsø — Arctic Activities
Day 6
6

Day 6

Tromsø — Arctic Activities

Northern Lights, dog sledding, or the Midnight Sun — by season.

Tromsø's Arctic experience changes completely with the season. In winter (October–March): Northern Lights chasing by minibus into the dark fjord landscape outside the city — the Tromsø area is in the auroral oval and clear-sky nights produce displays that range from faint green curtains to the full multi-coloured corona that photographers travel from around the world to photograph. Hamilton & Chase works with a specialist aurora guide who monitors solar wind data in real time and drives to the optimal viewing location for the night. Dog sledding: a two-hour run through the Tromsø birch forest with a team of Siberian and Alaskan huskies whose enthusiasm for the snow is audible from the moment the harnesses go on. In summer (May–July): the Midnight Sun never sets — the full 24-hour Arctic day, photographed from the viewpoint on Storsteinen (421 metres, accessible by the Fjellheisen cable car) where the sun at midnight is still above the horizon.

  • Northern Lights chasing — aurora guide with real-time solar monitoring (winter)
  • Dog sledding in the Tromsø forest — two hours with a husky team (winter)
  • Midnight Sun from Storsteinen — the sun at midnight above the horizon (summer)
  • Fjellheisen cable car — 421 metres above the Arctic Sound
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Tromsø
Day 7 — Tromsø Arctic Fjords
Day 7
7

Day 7

Tromsø Arctic Fjords

Whale watching or reindeer herding — the Arctic ecosystem in depth.

The Tromsø fjords in winter are home to humpback and sperm whales that follow the herring from October to January — one of the largest concentrations of feeding whales in European waters, accessible by boat from Tromsø's harbour. A six-hour whale watching trip covers the Kaldfjord and Kvænangen fjord systems, with Minke, humpback, and white-beaked dolphins in addition to the larger species. The Sámi reindeer herding community at Tromsø: a guided visit to a working reindeer farm with a Sámi herder who explains the relationship between the indigenous people of the Arctic and the animals that have sustained their culture for 10,000 years. The Northern Lights museum at the Tromsø University Museum covers the science of the aurora borealis — the solar wind interaction with the Earth's magnetic field — in the building designed specifically to display the phenomenon.

  • Whale watching in the Tromsø fjords — humpback and sperm whales (October–January)
  • Sámi reindeer farm — the indigenous Arctic herding culture
  • Northern Lights museum at Tromsø University
  • Arctic fjord landscape in winter or Midnight Sun light
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Tromsø
Day 8 — Tromsø — The City in Depth
Day 8
8

Day 8

Tromsø — The City in Depth

The Polar Museum, the Arctic Cathedral, and the Arctic table.

Tromsø's compact city centre has more pubs per capita than any other Norwegian city — a legacy of the Arctic explorer tradition, when expedition ships provisioned here before heading north to Svalbard. The Polar Museum on the Strandtorget documents the era of Arctic exploration: Fridtjof Nansen's 1888 Greenland crossing, Roald Amundsen's 1911 South Pole expedition, and the seal and whale hunting industry that was Norway's primary Arctic enterprise before tourism. The Arctic Cathedral in the evening light: the glass mosaic behind the altar — the largest glass mosaic in Europe — depicts the Second Coming in a palette of blues and whites that references the Arctic landscape. Dinner at a Tromsø restaurant: the reindeer, king crab, and Arctic char of the northern Norwegian kitchen, presented in a city whose restaurant culture has caught up with its ambitions.

  • Polar Museum — Nansen, Amundsen, and the Arctic exploration era
  • Arctic Cathedral interior — the largest glass mosaic in Europe
  • Tromsø city — the pub culture and the Arctic kitchen
  • Final Northern Lights opportunity if conditions allow
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Tromsø
Day 9 — Departure from Tromsø
Day 9
9

Day 9

Departure from Tromsø

The Arctic at its best is unhurried.

Tromsø in the morning: the harbourfront fish market, the Polaria Arctic aquarium (whose panoramic cinema screen shows the Northern Lights and Arctic landscape on a curved screen), and the view of the Tromsø Sound from the Tromsøbrua bridge. Tromsø Airport has direct flights to Oslo, Copenhagen, and selected European cities. Your private driver transfers you at the agreed time. Oslo connections typically depart mid-morning; London and other European connections often require an Oslo transit.

  • Tromsø harbourfront morning
  • Polaria Arctic aquarium
  • Private transfer to Tromsø Airport
Meals: Breakfast

Where You'll Stay

Hand-picked hotels, every night.

We choose properties for character, location, and the kind of service that makes you feel looked after — not just checked in. Every hotel can be swapped for an alternative if you prefer.

4–5★ hotel, Oslo

Oslo

2 nights

4–5★ hotel

City centre or Aker Brygge

Two nights allows the full Oslo museum programme

4★ hotel, Flåm

Flåm

1 night

4★ hotel

Fjordside

The Fretheim Hotel is the historic fjordside property with direct fjord views

4–5★ hotel, Bergen

Bergen

1 night

4–5★ hotel

Bryggen or city centre

One night allows the Bergen programme before the Tromsø flight

4–5★ hotel or Arctic lodge, Tromsø

Tromsø

4 nights

4–5★ hotel or Arctic lodge

City centre or fjordside

Four nights in Tromsø allows multiple Northern Lights opportunities and the full Arctic programme

Hotels shown are indicative of the standard we book. Upon request, we will provide a detailed itinerary with specific hotel options tailored to your preferences and budget.

What's in the Price

Included

  • 8 nights in 4–5★ hotels and Arctic lodges
  • Daily breakfast at each property
  • Private airport transfer at Oslo
  • Private vehicle and driver throughout
  • Oslo guided visits — Viking Ship Museum, National Museum, Vigeland Park
  • Bergen Railway and Flåm Railway tickets
  • Nærøyfjord UNESCO cruise
  • Bergen guided visit
  • Internal flight Bergen to Tromsø
  • Arctic Cathedral guided visit
  • Northern Lights evening chase with specialist aurora guide (winter) or Midnight Sun programme (summer)
  • Dog sledding (winter) or kayaking (summer)
  • Sámi reindeer farm visit
  • Polar Museum entry
  • All entrance fees for guided visits
  • Full Arctic clothing provided for winter activities
  • 24/7 travel specialist support
  • Hamilton & Chase digital travel booklet

Not Included

  • International flights to Oslo / from Tromsø
  • Travel insurance (required — we can arrange on request)
  • Meals not listed
  • Personal expenses
  • Gratuities for guides and drivers
  • City tax (collected by hotels)

Good to Know

  • Northern Lights sightings cannot be guaranteed — they require clear skies and sufficient solar activity. The Tromsø area has a sighting probability of approximately 70% over a four-night stay in peak season (October–March). Hamilton & Chase ensures multiple chase attempts.
  • Winter temperatures in Tromsø range from −5°C to −20°C. Full thermal clothing, boots, and gloves are provided for outdoor activities — guests need only bring a warm base layer.
  • Summer visitors (May–July) experience the Midnight Sun rather than Northern Lights. Hamilton & Chase advises on the optimal season for your priorities.
  • Dog sledding requires a minimum weight of 25kg for each sled (passengers) — there is no maximum. Children under 8 must share a sled with an adult.

Make It Yours

Optional add-ons & upgrades.

Every trip is different. These extras can be woven into your itinerary — just let your travel specialist know what catches your eye.

Snowmobile safari

A guided snowmobile expedition from Tromsø into the Arctic plateau — 40km through the mountain landscape with reindeer sightings common. Available November–April. Driving licence required.

From €185 pp

Sea eagle safari by RIB

A high-speed RIB boat through the Tromsø fjords searching for white-tailed sea eagles and other Arctic seabirds — the largest eagle in Europe, with a 2.4-metre wingspan. Available year-round.

From €125 pp

Ice fishing on a frozen fjord

A guided ice fishing session on one of the frozen freshwater lakes above Tromsø — drilling through 50cm of ice and fishing for Arctic char with traditional equipment. January–March.

From €95 pp

Northern Lights photography masterclass

A four-hour Aurora photography session with a specialist who teaches long-exposure night photography in the field — guests leave with properly exposed Northern Lights images they took themselves.

From €145 pp

"We chose the winter dates specifically for the Northern Lights and Hamilton & Chase delivered on every night except one. The dog sledding in the dark forest with the huskies howling beforehand — I will remember that for the rest of my life. The fjords the week before were extraordinary too. Two completely different Norways in nine days."

Philip & Sophie M.

Dublin, Ireland · Norway Fjords and Northern Lights, February 2025

Common Questions

Questions about this trip.

What is the best month for Northern Lights in Tromsø?

The aurora season runs from late September to late March — when there is sufficient darkness. February and March offer the best combination of darkness and increasingly good weather. October is atmospheric but often cloudy. January is the darkest month but very cold. Any clear night from October to March has potential.

What if there are no Northern Lights on any of our Tromsø nights?

Hamilton & Chase works with an aurora guide who chases the lights proactively — driving out of cloud when necessary. Over four nights, a complete absence of lights is unlikely but not impossible. We are transparent about this: the Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and no operator can guarantee them.

Private Package Journey

Norway Fjords and Northern Lights

9 days / 8 nights

From €4,290

per person

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