Featured holiday Lyngen Northern Lights experience in Norway Lyngen, Norway

We recommend taking the direct flight from London with British Airways to Tromsø. It means an early afternoon arrival in the Arctic Circle and in time for the group transfer from the airport to Lyngen, about two hours away. The transfer leaves the airport between 15.30 and 16.00 hrs.

The Lyngen Experience is a boutique hotel with rooms and apartments on the side of the Lyngenfjord. As part of the four-night package which operates on a Thursday to Monday at the hotel you have four different excursions and experiences included. These vary by month. All arrivals have the Northern Light experience included. This starts in the evening at the Lodge and depending on the season, you go to the Northern Lights tent in the woods where a campfire is made and the tent used as base camp. From here you wait and watch to experience the spectacle of the Aurora Borealis, conditions permitting. If your guides consider it necessary, the tour may travel by car to a location that affords better visibility of the lights. The other excursions are: Whale safari (November, December and January), Dog sledding (December, January and February), Snowmobile experience (January and February), The Aurora Spirit whisky distillery (November only), and Snowshoe walking (November, January and February). 

The Whale Safari lasts 4 to 6 hours and starts at 09.00 when you board the boat moored in the harbour at Nord-Lenangen, a few minutes from the lodge and apartments. The boat is a Targa 46, a high-speed boat that can cover long distances in a short time so you can travel to where the whales were last observed. Spotting a whale is likely but not guaranteed. Even without sighting a whale, the scenery and landscape you travel through is majestic and awe-inspiring.

Dog sledding lasts 4 to 5 hours with a drive of about 1.5 hrs both ways. The tour starts at 09.45 hrs. This is all about exploring and traversing the variety of terrain in this majestic landscape. The trip is quite long and you should be in good physical shape. Along the way, the journey will be broken to make a fire, drink coffee and enjoy some snacks. There are two possible methods of operation: on a one-passenger sledge or on a two-passenger sledge (if the latter, you will change driver in the middle of the journey). Before the experience starts, you get the chance to help change the harness on the team and to greet the Alaska huskies. You will appreciate the bond that grows between the driver and the huskies. They will be in their element – you are bound to learn to respect it too.

Snowmobile experience lasts about 1.5 hrs and takes place in the morning at 10.00 hrs or in the evening at 20.00 hrs. Snowmobile drivers must have a valid driving licence (in Norway the minimum age in 18 years and it allows you to drive passenger cars with a maximum of eight passengers). The snowmobile experience takes place in outer Lyngen, surrounded by the Lyngen Alps. From the hotel you follow the snowmobile trail up the mountain. The trail starts with simple and flat roads where you learn how to handle the vehicle and to use it as a tool for exploring nature. During the trip, you’ll stop to take in the scenery and vistas. Driving is in pairs, with the chance to change drivers halfway if desired.

Snowshoeing takes place for about 3-4 hours with a 09.30 start. Around Lyngen there are several nice vantage points but the weather conditions will determine where you start the day’s excursion. A popular trip is to the lighthouse at Lyngstuva. You will explore different tracks in an environment of snow-covered forests with stunning views. Hiking in the quiet mountains in the middle of winer is a peaceful and invigorating experience.

Aurora Spirit Whisky Distillery is visited in November only. It’s a four-hour excursion with a one and a half-hour drive each way. You visit the world’s most northernmost distillery where they produce whisky. A tasting is included. Transport is by car.

Your transfer from Lyngen arrives at the airport in the city of Tromsø at about midday. You should then take a taxi or the bus into the city centre and your hotel. You have the rest of the day at leisure to explore this attractive small city. Tromsø is known as the Arctic capital. Within the city itself the most striking feature is the Arctic Cathedral. Consecrated in 1965, this aluminium and glass building is luminescent during the long polar nights and during the summer there are special Midnight Sun concerts given by professional musicians. Tromsø is also home to several museums: The Polar Museum offers an insight into the lives of polar pioneers, whilst the Tromsø Museum explores the history and geology of the region and its inhabitants. There are also excellent Norwegian clothes shops and a choice of bars and restaurants to sample a range of cuisine. The Fjellheisen cable car operates from the mainland at Tromsø to Storsteinen mountain with its upper station being at 421 metres above sea level; the trip takes about four minutes and is another vantage point to view the Northern Lights and perhaps to try your hand at snowshoe hiking too.

Your British Airways flight leaves in the early afternoon, giving you some time in the morning to savour the last of this visit to Norway’s Arctic Circle.