Norway FAQ

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY TO TROMSØ, NORWAY

Frequently Asked Questions

Travel is one of those things that naturally gives rise to queries, concerns and doubts, so we’re here to put your mind at ease. Which trip is right for me? What do I do about cameras? How much do I tip? Is this city Vegan friendly? For questions frequent and otherwise, this is the spot.

Northern Lights

Tromsø is the only city in the world to be in the heart of the Aurora Oval, along the Gulf Stream, have a network of surrounding microclimates & be in the Aurora sweet spot. For these reasons, no other city compares to Tromsø if your goal is to see the Northern Lights. 

Tromsø is located in the heart of the Aurora Oval. The Aurora Oval is an oval-shaped belt that runs around the Earth at both the top and the bottom. The belt is the area that can see activity, depending on the KP. As Tromsø remains in the heart of the belt, it is possible to see the Northern Lights even at a KP 1 or less.  

Tromsø is 70 degrees north. This means that Tromsø is situated in the Aurora sweet spot; the nights are dark enough to see activity consistently from September until mid-April and far enough north that activity is visible even on a KP 1.  In regards to the KP, don’t worry too much about this. If there is any solar activity in the Northern hemisphere, then we would see it here, assuming there are gaps in the clouds and it is dark. This is because Tromsø is located at 70 degrees north. 

Tromsø is located in a region with an exceptional number of microclimates. Each valley, fjord, mountain, and plateau can have significantly different conditions from the neighbouring region, which means that even on very cloudy evenings, it is possible to clear skies within a 2 – 3 hr drive. The environmental conditions here are very dynamic; conditions can change so fast that it is impossible to predict the cloud coverage pattern even within a few days. The reason the forecasts and apps are so unreliable here is that we have so many deep valleys, fjords, inland plateaus, and the Gulf Stream. The forecasts and apps do not account for these other regions, nor is checking the conditions in Tromsø representative of the other regions. 

Tromsø is in the Gulf Stream, this island surrounded by ocean water that has travelled across the Atlantic and up the Norwegian coast. This beautiful ‘warm’ water is straight from the Caribbean, keeping Tromsø surprisingly warm even throughout winter. Expect that in the heart of winter that temperatures in the city will likely go between 1 and –6 with exceptionally cold days reaching –10 or colder. The coldest day on record was a brisk –18 degrees. As most travellers stay in Tromsø city, this means that the majority of their stay is comfortable and suitable for the whole family. However, don’t be fooled, just one hour inland into one of the deep valleys and away from the Gulf Stream, it is often a fresh –20 to –30 degrees. As tour companies often go inland on Aurora Hunts, most have age restrictions in order to protect those vulnerable to such temperatures and too small to regulate their body temperatures properly.  

Before you book your trip to Tromsø, please check this article to ensure you have accessed all the information you need for planning your holiday to Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The northern lights season starts in late September and lasts until the beginning of April. The probability of seeing the northern lights depends on solar activity and the availability of clear, dark skies. Solar activity can be slightly higher in autumn and spring, but the winter season provides increased periods of darkness each day (particular in Tromso!), therefore, more time during the darkness to see the activity. However, winter weather in Tromso can be highly variable, and it is impossible to guarantee which days the skies will be cloud-free and clear enough to view the lights.

We recommend planning your trip based on other factors, such as flight prices, tour availability, and your personal schedule. We also suggest, if possible, planning multiple nights for attempting to see the lights (we are happy to assist your search as many nights as you wish!) to increase your chances in case of poor weather or low solar activity on a single night.

You can also consider what additional activities you would enjoy in Tromso! Whale-watching is possible from October-January; husky, or reindeer sledging, usually between November and March; and if you enjoy winter sports, snow conditions are usually best in late winter and spring as the sun begins to return to the north.

It is possible to strike out when driving yourself, however, it has taken us years to gain the knowledge and understanding of the regional microclimates that we have. Most people are not aware of where to go or what to look out for, this is why we think joining a tour is the safest in order to have the best chances to see the Northern Lights. Part of what guests pay for is our teams’ knowledge and experience. 
 
Driving in the winter here can be extremely dangerous. Please consider your experience with unstable winter driving conditions, safety, and those of others on the road before deciding to rent a vehicle in the winter. 

At Wandering Owl, we do not offer refunds or discounts if the Northern Lights don’t appear. The main factors to see the Aurora Borealis are solar activity and weather, both of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict.

To increase your chances, we recommend booking multiple nights. However, even then, sightings are never guaranteed. The tour is designed to be enjoyable regardless—cozy, immersive, and focused on the beauty of the Arctic wilderness.
Our goal is to find clear skies safely, often driving up to 3 hours in any direction. Some nights, the Aurora may be faint or barely visible. If you’re expecting a dramatic display, it’s possible you may feel disappointed.

It’s important to communicate with your guide during the tour—they’re there to help manage expectations in real-time, not after the fact. Also, please keep in mind that openly expressing disappointment may impact other guests’ experience.

We know how meaningful this trip is, and we promise: every night of the season, we’ll do our very best to find the lights for you. To give you peace of mind, last Aurora season, we took statistics and learned that we saw activity on 81% of evenings. Our success rate is due to the knowledge and experience of our guides and drivers, as well as the supportive framework provided by the rest of the team that enables them to excel.

The first thing to understand about an Aurora Hunt is that you are not chasing Northern Lights. The Aurora activity occurs at least 80km above our biosphere. This means if there is any activity, we will see it if we can find darkness and gaps in the clouds. Therefore, the real hunt is to find gaps in the clouds. 

Northern Light tours are different every night, the conditions are ever-changing, which means that the locations change sometimes even during the evening. For this reason, we have broken the tour into three sections. 

Section one: Pick–up, departure & driving to the location. 
We ask all guests to arrive 10 minutes early at the pick–up point to ensure prompt departure. If a guest is delayed, we cannot wait for them, as this may result in the group missing out on finding a parking spot for the camp and ultimately missing valuable opportunities to see the Northern Lights. 

Once we meet you at the pick–up location, we will confirm your name against our manifest. Our guides may request to see your ID to ensure you are in the correct group and to ensure any children booked are the approved age, for safety reasons. We’ll ask you to sign our liability release form and privacy agreement before entering our vehicle. You must sign this agreement to be accepted on tour. To save time, you can read it and sign it in advance at the link sent in the confirmation email. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to our office in advance. If you wish to cancel the tour at the pick–up, no refunds or rebooking is on offer.

Driving time depends on weather and cloud cover, ranging from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours. If you are joining the group of up to 8 guests, and the driving conditions are challenging, then the guide (who will be driving) will be required to focus on the driving, not providing a running commentary on the surroundings. This is for safety reasons. However, if you are in the minibus of up to 15 guests, the guide will not be driving and will be able to communicate with you during the activity. Generally, the guide will be engaged with guests about 2/3rds of the driving time unless it is indicated otherwise by the guests.

Driving could take between 30 minutes and 2 hours. If possible, the guide will make a toilet stop at the beginning of the tour. However, this is a tour into the wilderness, please expect that there may not be toilet facilities. If nature is the only option, we strongly encourage the leave-no-trace policy.

At some point during the evening, the guide will offer you your thermal suits and boots. 

Section 2:  On location 

No two evenings are the same. On some nights, gaps in the clouds are forecast in a specific area at a specific time — in those cases, it makes the most sense to head there early, secure a good parking spot, set up, and wait. On other nights, we may need to drive long distances, in search of clearer skies.

On some evenings, the guide may be able to spend hours taking photos for guests and chatting, on other evenings, they may be required to continually check the environmental condition reports and be in contact with other local guides regarding what they are seeing or not seeing to make an assessment and decision on their hunt locations. 

During the evening, the guide will decide on a location as their main camp. Here, they will light a fire (conditions dependent) and serve the hot meal. This is a wonderful opportunity for travellers to mingle around the campfire, learn about the region, and, of course, to get to know each other.

Section 3: 

Before departing for Tromsø, the guide will retrieve all hired equipment from the guest. The guest needs to return the equipment undamaged to avoid replacement or damage charges. The guide will then pack the vehicle, and you will depart for Tromsø. If possible, the guide will stop for a toilet break. You will arrive back in Tromsø between 00:00 and 02:30 (exceptional circumstances may arise and delay the return, eg reduced visibility whilst driving). It is important for the guide to return on time to ensure they can manage their rest and fatigue safely. On evenings when no activity is seen, the guide may stop on the return trip to see if they can see anything. 

After returning to Tromsø, you will be dropped off to one of the offered locations you chose when signing the waiver. Your guide will provide you with edited and watermarked JPG files in web-sized resolution within 3 days of the tour. If you have not received your images within 3 days and have not heard from our office Owls regarding any delay, then please reach out to us via email or phone. 

There is not enough darkness in the summer to see the Northern Lights. During the summer, the sun does not set; this means we experience up to 24 hours of daylight and enjoy the midnight sun circling above us. The activity is still occurring, we just can’t see it!

Though this is not a good time to see the Aurora Borealis, it is a great place for a summer vacation that is off the beaten track!

The main limitations are: 
– Incorrect forecast for the environmental conditions 
– Road closures, icing risks or avalanche risks preventing us from going into an area where gaps in the clouds are more likely 
– Extreme cold can make staying outdoors difficult (extreme example)
– Human limitations around time management — such as guests being late for pickup, taking extra time to get dressed, or needing a bathroom stop — can make a significant difference. In some cases, it could be the difference between reaching a clear, dark-sky location in time or missing a rare gap in the clouds altogether
 
Season 2019/2020 was the lowest year of the Aurora cycle. The Arctic experienced nearly 6 weeks of high cloud coverage (fluctuating temperatures going between + – degrees on an almost daily basis). Our extensive local knowledge and experience meant we still saw activity on 81% of evenings and we can thank our experienced guides for their commitment and our other supporting Owls for creating a Nest where our guides and drivers can excel, even in the toughest of conditions. As we say; never lose hope in the morning!

The Northern Lights look different every single day, and depending on where you are in the world, their appearance can change based on solar activity happening at the time. We’ve put together a gallery to show you just how much they can vary from night to night, depending on the weather and environmental conditions.
It’s true that many people photoshop their photos heavily, but at Wandering Owl, we don’t overly edit any of the images you’ll see or receive. We take photos because we genuinely love photography and want our guests to have beautiful, authentic memories of the night — something to look back on and remember not just the sights, but the feelings of the experience.

Here is the link to our gallery so you can see how different it looks on different nights of the season: https://wanderingowltromso.pixieset.com/aurora-magic/

Take a look at our blog category on the Northern Lights. Here we have a LOT of information about the Aurora Borealis, what to expect and more.

If you go into the experience with the mindset that you’ll enjoy a night out in the Arctic wilderness no matter what, you’ll likely come away feeling satisfied with the adventure — whether or not the Northern Lights appear. 
Some evenings the activity is bright and colorful, on others, it can be barely visible. Here is a link to our gallery to show you how different the Aurora Borealis can appear each evening, depending on the environmental conditions. 

Our team will always do their best, every night of the season – BUT the guests’ involvement in the activity will also greatly impact the evening. Here are some tips for you to help yourself get the most out of the activity with our team.

Don’t forget to sign your waiver well in advance so that you don’t need to do it at the pick up and delay the departure for everyone else. Here is the link.

Here is the link to our gallery so you can see how different it looks on different nights of the season: https://wanderingowltromso.pixieset.com/aurora-magic/

Take a look at our blog category on the Northern Lights. Here we have a LOT of information about the Aurora Borealis, what to expect and more.

Planning Your Activities

Pick up
The pick up of all tours is in front of Scandic Ishavshotel (Fredrik Langes gate 2, 9008 Tromsø) unless otherwise agreed with us. This is in the middle of the city centre, close to most hotels, and easy for everyone to find. For the starting time, please see each tour’s webpage for accurate information.

If you booked a private tour, we can pick you up from your hotel on Tromsøya. Please contact us directly about this.

Duration
The duration and starting time of the tours depend on the tour type. Please visit each tour’s page to find all details regarding the tour and its schedule.

Drop off
Check the tour drop-off locations listed on each tour. The distances between locations in the north are immense, therefore we can not drop off further than the locations listed. It is so important that our guides have ample opportunity to rest after their tour 🙂

If you have arrived by cruise ship or are staying in Wandering Owl’s Airbnb, you may have a different pick-up time and location. If you don’t have the information, please contact our office with your booking number and cruise ship information ready.

Most of our tours are bookable for children from 6 and older. We can accommodate younger children on some of our tours. Please check the notes and restriction section on the webpage of each tour. After booking, our office will reach out to you for more information regarding the child’s age/weight/height so we can provide the appropriate child seat in the vehicle. For children below 2 years old, you need to bring your baby seat with you.

Please, read the details of each activity you intend to book and evaluate if your child is able to join without limiting the rest of the group or risking the safety of the child. Different children have different needs and limitations. You are the one who knows them best, so you must evaluate if the activity is suitable or not. Unfortunately, we are unable to adjust the schedule of a tour that includes other guests to accommodate a child passenger. If you require a more flexible arrangement, we recommend booking a private tour.

We have a limited selection of clothing sizes for children, hence consider that they will need to have appropriate boots (our smallest size is EU35) and clothes (our smallest size is adult XS and we have two generic child-sized thermal suits).

Aurora Hunt tours are long tours, which finish late at night. In most cases, there will be a possibility for the child to stay on the bus with a parent. Note that on most of these tours, the group will be in the vicinity of the bus, but outside. There will not be any toilets, and it is important that the children are supervised by their caregivers.

On hikes and snowshoeing excursions, please evaluate if your child is able to walk for the duration of the hike (2-3 hours). Our smallest snowshoes fit EU36 shoe sizes.

Sightseeing tours are the most appropriate for children, as they are easy and not too long, with a fixed return time.

On all tours, please follow our guides’ advice to help keep your child comfortable without disrupting the group.

The parents are responsible for the full supervision of all children at all times.

We can provide gluten-free options on request. Please inform us well in advance about any allergies or special dietary requirements so we can do our best to cater to them.

You can check with us for allergens in the food served on Wandering Owl tours.

If you’re unsure which size to select when booking, refer to the table below. Choose the size (XS–XXXL) that best fits your largest measurements (in cm or feet). In most cases, height and waist are enough to determine the right fit.

Keep in mind that these are overall suits that you will wear on top of your outdoor clothes. Tight clothes are not good for keeping you warm, so rather pick a size slightly too big than too small.

We will anyway use this information as a rough indication, so it may happen that you will get a suit slightly bigger than your choice, for logistical reasons. This is by no means a problem; you will be warm and comfy anyway.

Please don’t send us your sizes in measurements; please measure yourself and we’ll pack accordingly.

Wandering Owl has a strict departure time for all tours, especially our Aurora Hunt (Northern Lights Tour). Wandering Owl has a reputation for providing well-organised tours and activities, which means we must ensure they depart on time.

This is primarily because there are many companies in Tromsø going on tours at the same time, it is important that we have a succinct departure to ensure we have enough time to get away from the city lights for when activity is most likely to begin. A delay could result in limited parking spots, requiring additional time to search for alternative spaces.

Additionally, out of respect for our Guiding Team and the other guests on the tour, we can not delay their experience and not meet their expectations.

As we have been very clear about our Terms and Conditions and our departure times, we will not offer rebooking or refunds for any guest who does not make the departure. You will need to seek reimbursement from your Travel Insurance provider.

Wandering Owl has a quality assurance policy designed to ensure that guests are receiving the tour that they have been promised. This policy is to ensure guests know that they can trust that when they book an activity or workshop with Wandering Owl, they will receive the activity they have purchased. 

If such a circumstance arises where the activity was not as the guests expected, you can be assured we have procedures in place to follow up, assess, and grow.

Learn more about who we are and why quality is so important to us here.

Below is a little information about our recent results from our secret shopper testers.

By air. Tromsø hosts an international airport, with aircraft incoming direct from Finland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, and Spain. This is the easiest and fastest way to arrive in Tromsø, please consider carbon offsetting your flights as a measure to protect our beautiful polar regions. 

By sea. Tromsø has large ports suitable for all kinds of vessels. As Norway is traditionally a seafaring nation, the region is easily connected by ferries. Travelling by sea is the most scenic way to arrive in Tromsø. You can come from Denmark or Oslo via the sea on board one of the Hurtigruten ships, you could combine this with the train from Stockholm – Narvik and board a vessel from Narvik to Tromsø. 

By land. Arriving at Tromsø by land is the best way to come in terms of leaving a minimal carbon footprint. You can reach Tromsø relatively easily by land, however, it does take time. A sleeper train departs Stockholm twice daily to Kiruna and connects to Norway to the small city of Narvik. From Narvik, it is a simple bus ride north (approximately 5 hours). This route is long, about 18 hrs, but it is comfortable and very scenic. 

Follow this link to learn more about Tromsø 🙂

To enjoy your time in Tromsø as much as possible, we recommend you choose function over fashion. Below is a summary of the information that comes from our blog.

Shoes: Try to wear loose-fitting enclosed shoes. We’d suggest bringing crampons or purchasing them locally when you arrive, as often the city centre is very icy and windy!
Base layer: This layer needs to be wool (merino wool is best) and not synthetic; it might be itchy, but you’ll get used to it pretty quickly! Ensure your socks are the thickest loose-fitting merino wool socks you can find.
Mid-layers: to be fleecy or wool with plenty of breathing room
Top layers: Down jacket and a softshell over the top.

Tips:
1. Layers are key because they may be +2 degrees in the city and -10 degrees just outside the city center.
2. A softshell over the top keeps the harsh arctic wind out and your body heat in
3. It is friction that warms the air up. This means the layers need to be loose-fitting with air moving between them
4. If you remain motionless, no matter how good your equipment is, you will still be ice cold. Move your body, your hands, and keep wiggling your toes!
5. Keeping warm can also be a mind over matter! If you tell yourself you are cold, you will experience this feeling more; if you move about and trust that you are safe and secure and soon will be warm, you will warm up faster.
6. Safety first – wear your crampons!

On the Aurora Hunt, we will provide you with a coverall-style thermal suit that will help to protect you from the wind and help you stay warmer.

If you are feeling excessively cold at any point during a tour, please communicate this very clearly with your guide for them to help offer a solution.

Home-made meals, with love. We know our food is good! We make all our own soups, sandwiches, hot chocolate and cookies. We cater to vegan and gluten-free, of course! All our soups are already gluten-free and vegan, and all our sandwiches and biscuits are vegan. Read our full blog post about our food here.

Lentil Soup (gluten free, vegan & delicious!) 

Ingredients
5L (10 pax)
Carrots 1,5kg | Onions 0,5kg | Lentils 500g | Olive oil | Tomato sauce | Aurora juice | Curry Garam Masala | Paprika powder | Cumin powder 

Pepper | Chili | SaltWater
Preparation
Peel onions and carrots, and cube into cubes with slicing machine. In a pot, warm the olive oil at low temperatures. Add the spices (curry, gran masala, and cumin powder). Fry spices for 5 min at low temperature and then add onions. Fry onions at higher temperatures. When soft and transparent, add carrots. Continue to fry vegetables for some minutes and add tomato sauce. Add 3L of boiling water. Rinse lentils and add to the pot. Add paprika powder. Let boil until carrots and lentils are soft. Add salt and pepper and chili if needed. Add any additional water as needed to reach the desired volume (consider the texture of soup & do not add too much/little).   

Carrot Soup (Gluten free, vegan & extra love)  

Ingredients
5L (10 pax) 
Carrot 2kg | Sweet potato 1 small | Ginger 1/3 root | Coconut milk 1 can | Lemon 1/2  

Preparation  
Peel carrots and sweet potatoes. In a pot, add the olive oil, grind the ginger and fry it for a while at low temperature. Add the vegetables in the pot and let it fry until vegetables are at least partially cooked. Boil water and add it to vegetables with salt. Cook until vegetables are soft. Blend with an immersion blender until completely smooth (no chunks or pieces). Add lemon juice and coconut milk.   

 Oat biscuits (can be made to be gf & vegan) 

Ingredients 
Butter 500g | Sugar 1kg | Oat flakes 1kg | Flour 10 tbs | Baking powder 3 tbs | Eggs 10  

Preparation  
Melt butter, mix in sugar, then add oat flakes, flour, and baking powder (in this order). When well mixed, add eggs. Lay the dough on a baking sheet with baking paper. Use a teaspoon to make separate biscuits. NB. They spread when heating, so leave enough space between the biscuits. Bake at 205ºC for about 5-10 min until golden. NB. Keep an eye on them because they turn fast from golden into burned. 

It can be made vegan or gluten-free by swapping the ingredients for vegan or gluten-free versions. If making both gluten-free and vegan we suggest adding a little oat milk to make them moister.

 

Yes! You can 🙂  Here is a link to an album containing photos taken during blue hour.

The sun disappears from sight in mid-November and gradually reappears in mid-January. Due to the high mountains and fjords around Tromsø it takes some time for the sun to sneak past it. During this period the light becomes less and less. Around Christmas time it is the darkest it will get, though as you can see in the album that there is still enough light to go on a day tour and see things.

You can have a look here to see the sunset and set times for the year.

Photo & Photography

Yes, we offer help and advice on all our tours for our guests.

You will get photography tips on all our tours. We will help you set up your own camera and assist you to take your own photos of auroras and landscapes. The guide will also take photographs during the tours, which will be sent to you after the trip at no extra cost. Note the images included for free are in web-sized resolution.

If you would like more in-depth training we can suggest that you sign up for our Night Photography Workshop or one of our Multi-day Photography Workshops.

If you have the option to choose between different lenses we would suggest a lens that can go to a low aperture.

If you have the option to choose between different lenses we would suggest a lens that can go to a low aperture. A wide angle lens will also help you capture more of the landscape and let more light in. Our guides can help you take the best images possible with the equipment you already have, they will also be there taking photos of guests so don’t miss your opportunity to get a photo underneath the Aurora’s.

We have tripods available for use inside the vehicle – please reach out to the office directly to reserve a tripod.

We have a few tips we can offer guests for camera maintenance and minimising fogging.

We have a few tips we can offer guests for Aurora photography and for camera maintenance. Please understand that these tips are general, not specific to the exact conditions that you may experience on your trip with us. Your guide is a skilled photographer with plenty of experience capturing the Aurora and will be able to offer more assistance and helpful advice specific to your needs and your camera.

We suggest that to avoid fogging on the lens; keep your camera in it’s bag until you are ready to take it out and shoot, then put it away when finished. This protects the camera and battery from cold air and moisture. We would always suggest that you have a silica pack or similar inside your camera bag at all times to absorb moisture inside. Do not take it out in the warm vehicle during the tour or it will fog.

If the lens does begin to fog you will need to just wait it out. It will unfog by itself. Our experienced guides may have so more advice on this but generally they are dealing with the same problem.

Most of our tours include photos, however not all our tours do. Please check the tour on our website for it’s listed inclusions. Our Express tours do not include photos, however the guide can take some if requested and they can be purchased after the tour.

Our guides are professional photographers and on each tour, they will take photos of the guests and the landscapes, including a portrait of each guest with the northern lights, when possible, and if the guest permits. These pictures will be selected and edited by our photographer and sent within 3 days after the tour.

If you have not received the pictures within three days, please contact us. We may lack your email address, especially if you have not booked directly on our website.

Note that our photographers are professionals. They will shoot many photographs but will send only the ones that they deem to be of professional quality, the number of which will depend on the conditions. Any photo that does not meet our quality standards will be deleted and not archived. We never share the raw, unedited photos with guests, nor do we share images that are without watermarks.

The pictures you will receive are in web-sized resolution, ideal for sharing on social media or showing on screens. They are in 300 dpi, and the resolution is larger than what you see on our website. If you want to print them larger than A4, you may need to purchase the original resolution. All proceeds from the sale of original resolution images go to the photographer.

If you decide to purchase the original resolution images, you will receive the digital format of the original resolution taken with our professional cameras for prints in large sizes. You can follow the instructions on the album shared with you after the tour.

Please see our pricelist for our photos that are for sale.

If you decide to purchase the original resolution images, you will receive the digital format of the original resolution taken with our professional cameras for prints in large sizes. You can follow the instructions on the album shared with you after the tour. All proceeds from the sale of original resolution images go to the photographer.

All you need to do is:
1. Go to the album 🙂
2. Select the photo (or first image, if you wish to purchase more then one) and select the shopping cart icon (looks like a shopping trolley)
3. You will then be able to purchase a single photo or a package 🙂
4. Once payment is complete you will be sent an email with the original resolution image. This email should arrive fairly quickly, generally in about 15 minutes.

If you have any questions or other issues (technology sometimes has a mind of its own!) please feel welcome to reach out and we’ll find a solution.

Absolutely!

We LOVE to take keen photographers into the Arctic wilderness. Take a moment to have a browse at our Multi-day tours & workshops and let us know what you think. Once you have had a look feel welcome to reach out, we can discuss your specific interests/groups interest and begin planning.

You’re welcome to try! We are noticing year after year improvements to smartphone cameras and we are often surprised. Samsung and iPhone, in particular, have phones with cameras that have some manual function.

To take good pictures of Northern Lights you will need a camera that is able to take long time exposure pictures and where you can change the ISO settings. DSLR cameras can do this in general, but there are a lot of new mirrorless cameras that are smaller and also do an exceptional job.

Yes, we do! For those not wishing to bring their own tripods, we completely understand and you are welcome to use ours. However, please consider that they are Hire Department equipment and they have a tough life. We do our best to maintain them and service them however, if you are a serious photographer and are used to your own professional-grade tripod, we would suggest bringing your own to avoid any chances of disappointment.

We do not have unlimited tripods, so please contact us in advance to reserve your tripod.

Generally within 1 – 3 days. During peak season our team is working hard night after night so there are occasional delays with sharing photos. If you have not received the images by day 3 please contact our Office Owls and we will follow up for you.

Our guides are professional photographers; they take photos with quality in mind and not quantity. They may take many shots during the tour, but they only edit the ones that fulfil their quality criteria. All the other pictures are therefore deleted.

We know that some of you would also like to receive the “not so good pictures” to have a couple more, but we have to respect the work of our photographers and consider the number of hours it takes to edit the photos. On tours where photos are included in the tour price, please consider it reasonable to receive one photo of the group you booked with, one landscape/nightscape and one photo of the scenery. Some evenings the guides can take more photos, if they do, please consider this as an exception – not standard operating.

A quick summary:

  • The pricelist does not indicate the number of photos the guide might take.
  • Any additional images are at the guide’s availability and discretion and based on what is possible for them.
    For example, some groups require less assistance from our guide, freeing the guide up to take more photographs, or some nights there is a long wait in one location for gaps in the sky, making more opportunities for the guide to take photos. There are more reasons, but these are the most common.
  • The “size” of the photo refers literally to the size, not the file weight or the resolution.
  • The resolution remains 300dpi regardless of whether the resolution is in web-sized or the original resolution available for purchase after the tour.
  • The original resolution depends on the camera, the shape of the image and other factors. It varies image to image.
  • Photos typically are shared within 3 days of the tour finishing
  • The majority of the payment for photos goes to the guide, minus the software services fees and taxes.
  • You will be offered photos during the evening. If you decline the photos, no refunds for not receiving photos are offered
  • In the instance that Wandering Owl is at fault for you not receiving photos (i.e. equipment failure), then Wandering Owl will refund you NOK 450 of the booking via the method you paid.
  • All images have the Wandering Owl watermark on them.

 

Thank you for your understanding!

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