Northern Lights and Whales in the Same Trip
Why they overlap
Both are winter phenomena at high latitude. Tromsø sits at about 69.65 degrees north, well inside the Arctic Circle, and the aurora needs darkness, which is the one thing this place has in abundance from November to January. The whales need herring, and the herring winter here in the same months. Nobody arranged this. It is just what the calendar does at this latitude.
What that means for a whale day
A whale tour is timed around the only usable light of the day, roughly 09:00 to 14:00 of blue twilight. That is the opposite of what an aurora needs. So the overlap is not that you watch whales under the lights — it is that the travelling happens in the dark, and the dark is when the sky can do something.
On the twelve-hour Skjervøy days that is four hours of coach in each direction, boarding from 04:45 or 05:20 in central Tromsø and coming home long after dark. I have been on that bus when the whole roof lit up and forty people got off at a lay-by in their thermal layers. I have also been on it when it snowed the entire way, both directions. The road itself is described on getting to Skjervøy.
Do not book a whale day and an aurora chase for the same night. A twelve-hour trip gets you back late and wrecked, and an aurora tour is its own late night out. Put them on separate days — which is the practical argument on how many days you need.
What nobody can promise you
What works
- The seasons genuinely overlap, so both are possible on one trip to Tromsø
- Travel to and from Skjervøy happens in darkness, which is when the sky is useful
- Long winter nights mean many chances across a few days
- The same latitude that gives you polar night gives you the aurora
Worth knowing
- A whale tour is timed for daylight and is not an aurora tour
- Cloud decides the aurora and nobody controls cloud
- No operator guarantees either sighting — see sightings and guarantees
- A twelve-hour day leaves very little of you for anything that evening
How to give yourself both
Come inside the whale season, which is about early November to late January, and stay long enough that a cloudy night or a blank boat trip is not the whole holiday. Three or four nights gives you multiple attempts at the sky and a spare day for a second whale trip if you want one. The season is on when to see orcas, and what the darkness is actually like is on polar night.
If you are choosing a whale trip partly for the drive, take one of the Skjervøy days rather than a boat out of the harbour, because the road hours are the dark hours. Those three are on the Skjervøy page.
Photographing both in one day
It is a harder ask than it sounds, because the two want opposite things from a camera: whales want speed, aurora wants a tripod and patience, and you will be holding both on a coach with a bag on your lap. What works in the twilight is covered on photography tips.
The long day with the dark at both ends
Twelve hours from Prostneset bus terminal on the red bus marked Whale Route Skjervøy, four hours of coach each way with Wi-Fi, toilets and USB charging, and 3 to 3.5 hours of cruising on a covered, heated boat with a captain and a nature guide. 4.7 from 261 reviews at the time of writing, the smallest sample of the six.
The three long days north
Warm all dayTromsø: Orca and Whale Watching Heated Boat Trip
Highest ratedTromsø: Skjervøy RIB Whale Watching Tour
Small RIB groupsFrom Tromsø: Whale Watching in Magic Skjervøy
Frequently asked questions
Can you see the northern lights and whales on the same day in Tromsø?
The seasons overlap almost exactly, so yes in principle. A whale tour is timed for the five hours of usable light and the travelling happens in darkness, which is why a Skjervøy day can start and end under aurora. Neither sighting is promised by anyone — see sightings and guarantees.
Is a whale watching tour a good way to see the aurora?
It is not sold as one and should not be booked as one. What it gives you is hours outdoors in the dark at about 69.65 degrees north, mostly on a coach, during aurora season. If the sky performs, you are in a good place for it. Plan them as separate outings — see how many days you need.
When is the northern lights season in Tromsø?
It overlaps the whale season almost exactly, which is the reason both are sold in the same months. The sun stays below the horizon from 27 November to 15 January, and mountains extend the practical darkness either side of that. What those weeks feel like is described on polar night.