Arctic by Cargo Van — Anywhere Under the Sun

Flying into Tromso, the gateway to the Norwegian Arctic, the landscape is magical in the winter twilight. The Tromso airport has one of the most beautiful backdrops and I was instantly enthralled by the beauty of the arctic. Going in February, we had about 9 hours of light each day but about 3 hours of that time was a prolonged sunset. The light is just absolutely breathtaking! (oh no, I’m gushing!)

Upon landing we headed to the rental car corner to quickly discover that the company we rented through didn’t actually exist. Ugh Priceline and third-party booking! After some finessing with the kind employees at Hertz, we became the proud renters of a cargo van that was our mode of transportation as we explored the Arctic. Upon meeting our new ride, we instantly fell in love and named her Bessie.

While lacking every amenity and comfort and consisting of a single bench for all three passengers and a large, unheated, holding area, Bessie was a champ. It navigated the fjords, ferries and icy roads that abound in the Norwegian arctic with no issues.

As a planner, I was eager to schedule dog sledding, aurora chasing and photography tours to complete our trip. There was just one problem, Norway is expensive! Travelling there on a budget didn’t leave a lot of room for these adventures. The other problem was that my two travelling companions and I couldn’t agree on which activity we wanted to do. In the end we decided to go it alone.

Our two main goals were to explore the Arctic and see the Northern Lights. With a little research and a phone, you can track the Northern Lights yourself so why pay a lot of money to ride in someone else’s van to see them. (Okay, warm blankets, specially prepared food and local guides are great, but won’t you feel so much more empowered when you do it on your own?!?) We went to three different places over the two nights we were there and ended up in the same places that the tours were taking tourists to, so don’t feel like you need to have a local take you to the right spots!

Unfortunately, the Northern Lights weren’t very bright while we were there. They did materialize both nights but timing was key as they didn’t last long. We left our hotel ahead of time so we could be out of the city when the lights got stronger. The second night, when they were stronger, we could see them from Tromsø but the light from the City weakens the affect. You need to be in a place with no artificial light to really enjoy them. If you want to capture them with a camera, you will need to leave the aperture open for at least 30 seconds to capture the light. You will also need a tripod so the camera is still for those 30 seconds. What you absolutely want to avoid is leaving your camera on the plane, which is what I did. Fortunately, one of my traveling companions had a good camera and I still had my tripod so between us we had the equipment to capture some shots. As a photography junkie I tried ardently to capture some images of the lights with my phone with no success.

Northern Lights in Norway. Photo courtesy of my friend Danielle.

For a good driving route, we went into the Tromsø Tourism office and had someone map out a route that would take a day and wouldn’t have much backtracking. We ended up on the most amazing drive I’ve ever been on.

From Tromsø we went across the bridge and headed south on E8 then turned east on 91. This route took us along an interior road dotted sparsely with what I can only imagine are summer houses or winter homes for the very hardy.

We had our lowest recorded temperature of the trip here, -1 F.

A lonely house along Route 91 near Tromsø , Norway

After crossing a ferry, we traveled along a fjord that fulfilled all of my dreams of snow-capped peaks and rugged rock formations.

Every Game of Thrones-loving bone in my body was singing with joy. Somehow though, driving along, I felt sad already that I wouldn’t be able to gaze at this sight for days on end. If I had been alone, I might be there still, weeping and laughing on the side of the road.

We stopped in the cute little village of Lyngseidet for lunch and ate at the only place that was open at that time of year. Don’t let the high prices fool you though! The $27 burger isn’t something to write home about (unless it is to complain about the price). The food isn’t what you are here for though, right? If you have the option, pack some food, although a warm meal is very welcome when you’re traveling in the arctic.

We finished our drive with a gorgeous, three-hour sunset that just kept giving. We finally had to stop getting out for pictures so we could actually make it back to our hotel. Only to rest up before heading out again for the Northern Lights.

With a flight out in the afternoon, we spent our final day exploring the city of Tromsø . With the Cathedral of the Northern Lights, the Fjellheisen (tram), several art museums, the cute Tromsø harbor, an aquarium, a never-ending supply of outdoor adventures, and more, there is plenty to do in and around Tromsø. We visited the Museum of Contemporary Art, stopped by the Cathedral of the Northern Lights on the way to the tram and spent some time at the cafe overlooking Tromsø and the surrounding islands.

A trip to the Norwegian Arctic in the winter should be on every travelers’ list. You won’t be sorry you made the trip.

Tips for exploring the Arctic –

- Pay special attention to your first layer of clothes. If you get this right, you’ll be okay. I love the Norwegian saying, “there is no bad weather, just bad clothing.” Wool is your friend!

- It was actually pretty easy to drive around. Albeit we didn’t have a bunch of fresh snow to get through, we were still careful of icy roads. Our rental car (van) came with studded tires that really helped.

- We spent a total of three days in the Arctic, with only one full day, and it wasn’t enough. One more day would have been great.

- Check out a museum – For a “small town,” Tromso has a good number of museums. We went to the Tromso Museum of Contemporary Art and there were a lot of great local and native artists represented along with some cool interactive pieces.

- Take a tour and see some of the back country – If I could do this trip over, I would take a tour to see some of the landscape beyond the roads. In the intense arctic environment, you can’t really walk off the road and explore and there is some truly amazing scenery that you will want to check out.

- Double your food budget – Norway is seriously expensive. I ran out of money towards the end of my trip and had to resort to eating at convenience stores. Don’t let this happen to you! Keep in mind that alcohol is also very expensive but some might say “essential” in this cold climate! Don’t be afraid to hit up the duty-free area at the airport and stock up.