Tromsø and other Troms Region, Norway Things to Do Tips

Tromsø, with 62000 inhabitants, is the largest city in the county of Troms and in all of northern Norway - the town is known as the "capital of northern Norway". This is where I've been living for the past few years, studying at the world's northernmost university... :o)

Tromsø is both a town and a municipality, situated in the north central part of Troms county - the municipality covers quite large areas outside of town. The town centre is on Tromsøya (Tromsø island) - a smallish island wedged between the mainland to the east and the large Kvaløya island to the west.

In Tromsø you'll find all kinds of "the world's northernmost" this and that - including the university, brewery, cathedral - and Burger King... The town is known as "the gateway to the Arctic", and has been the starting point for many Arctic expeditions - you'll find several museums here focusing on this part of the town's history. Among the museums, the most popular one is Polaria with its arctic aquariums and seal pool. The town has numerous cafés, pubs and restaurants - the nightlife is surprisingly good for such a small town, probably due to the large number of students in Tromsø.

Tromsø is a nice little town, worth a visit - but the main reasons for a trip to Tromsø should be the *amazing* nature in this area, you just *can't* travel all the way up here without exploring the stunning nature of northern Norway. Tromsø has midnight sun between May 21st and July 21st, and in winter (September - early April) you'll see the northern lights on practically every clear night. (The town is right in the middle of a zone with high auroral activity, and is one of the best places in the world for seeing the northern lights.)

If you want to know more about Tromsø, have a look at my Tromsø page.

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Website: http://www.destinasjontromso.no/english/index.html

About an hour's drive from Tromsø, off the large island of Kvaløya, you'll find the little islands of Sommarøy and Hillesøy. The islands are connected to Kvaløya and from there to the mainland by bridges - and to the west of these islands there's nothing but ocean... :o)

The scenery out here is amazing - lots of little, idyllic white-sand beaches, sheltered bays and numerous tiny islets - the small islands of Sommarøy & Hillesøy are very well worth a visit! Bring some good company, find your own, private little beach, have a barbecue and a glass (or a bottle!:o) of wine, and watch the midnight sun - ahhh perfect... :o)

If you want to spend the night on the islands, Sommarøy Kurs & Feriesenter (see link below) is a new, modern hotel, built in traditional North Norwegian style - in addition to ordinary rooms the hotel offers comfortable cottages by the sea. There's also a wood-fired sauna - and a popular outdoor bathtub where you can enjoy the view of snowcapped mountains while relaxing in the steaming hot water - perhaps with a pint of beer in your hand... :o)

Activities on the island varies with the season, but include sea rafting, whale watching, boating and of course fishing. The possibilities for fishing are *excellent* here (hire a boat, or go fishing from the shore), and fishing is still the most important industry on these islands. You'll see lots of warehouses on the quays, fishing boats - and in spring you might notice drying racks for stockfish.

From Brensholmen, on Kvaløya near Sommarøy, there's a ferry to Botnhamn on the island of Senja. The ferry ride takes approx 45 minutes, and the ferry usually operates from late May / early June until late August.

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Website: http://www.sommaroy.no/

The tiny little island of Husøy is situated in a fjord in the north-western part of Senja. Senja, to the south-west of Tromsø, is Norway's second largest island. Husøy is connected to Senja by a 300 m long pier.

Husøy translates to House-island - and this picturesque little island is almost completely covered with houses, over 230 people live on the 1 km long and 500 m wide island. Most of the people living here work in the fishing industry, and you'll see lots of fishing boats in the island's harbour, as well as fish processing factories. I was surprised to see that many of the houses here have been built quite recently - most such little coastal communities in Norway have a quickly declining number of inhabitants, but the number of people living on Husøy is actually rising.

You probably wonder why so many people have chosen to live on this tiny island...well, the open sea and the fishing fields are not far away, so this is a convenient base for fishermen - and in addition, Husøy can't be reached by the numerous avalanches that frequently sweep down the steep mountain sides of Senja during winter.

Husøy is one of the *very* few places in Norway where they actually have siesta! Between noon and 13 the local shop, school, post office and the fish processing factory is closed, and the Husøy folks go home to have dinner or lunch... :o)

There's a café at Husøy, Skarvesteinen kafé (great for seafood, obviously!:o), which also offers rooms for rent.

There are a few buses each day from Finnsnes to Husøy, journey time ca 2 hours. You can also go by express boat from Tromsø to Lysnes (a little over one hour), and from there by bus to Husøy (one hour).

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Senja, situated to the south-west of Tromsø, is Norway's second largest island, covering an area of almost 1600 km².

Senja is often described as a "Norway in miniature" - and that description isn't that far off, really - the landscapes of Senja are very varied, ranging from fjords and steep mountains, via lakes and pine forests, to idyllic beaches and sheltered bays. The outer side of Senja faces the open sea, and the weather here can be pretty rough during the winter months!

Visit the numerous small fishing villages, go hiking in Ånderdalen national park, and drive the scenic road along the outer side of Senja (which is being developed as a national tourist route, these are 18 different roads through the most spectacular countryside Norway has to offer).

How to travel to Senja:

There's a bridge from Finnsnes on the mainland, to Senja - there are buses to Finnsnes & on to Senja from various destinations in the county and beyond. Hurtigruten (The coastal voyage) calls at the port of Finnsnes, and so do the express boats that run between Tromsø and Harstad. There's also an express boat between Tromsø and Tennskjær, which calls at Lysnes on Senja.

From Botnhamn, Senja there's a ferry to Brensholmen on Kvaløya, operating during the summer months (early June - late August). There's also a ferry between Gryllefjord on Senja and Andenes (only in summer) - according to Lonely Planet this ferry ride offers excellent views of *the* most magnificent coastal scenery in Norway.

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Polar Zoo is the "world's northernmost zoo" - situated in Bardu, about 180 km to the south of Tromsø, and 60 km to the north of Narvik, near E6.

At Polar Zoo you'll see animals native to the arctic region - brown bear, wolf, wolverine, lynx, elk, reindeer, musk ox, arctic fox - and a few other species. When we visited in May 2006 two *gorgeous* little bear cubs were the stars of the show - but you should know that like in many zoos around the world, the beautiful little cubs are usually killed when they've grown too big to draw in the crowds! The zoos haven't got room for a large number of grown bears - so unless they can sell the bear to another zoo it will be put to sleep.

Polar Zoo is not really an ordinary zoo - the animals here live in quite natural surroundings, and they've got lots of space, the park covers an area equivalent to 108 football (soccer) fields;o). We didn't even see the lynx when we visited, it was probably hiding somewhere in the forest... ;o) It's a really nice park, with several barbecue spots and picnic areas - you can easily spend several hours here. Go fishing in the river that runs through the park - fishing permits can be purchased in the souvenir shop.

Opening hours:
June - August: 9 - 18
May and September: 9 - 16

Admission prices:
Adults: NOK 160
Children / Senior citizens: NOK 90
Family (parents + children under 16): NOK 375
Children under 3: Free

There are some more pics in my "Polar Zoo" travelogue.

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Phone: +47 77186630
Address: Salangsdalen, Bardu
Website: http://www.polarzoo.no/innhold.html
Other Contact: Email: kontakt@polarzoo.no

Norwegians like to choose all sorts of "national" this and "national" that - and Målselvfossen - the Målselv waterfall - has been voted "national waterfall of Norway". (!) I don't *quite* understand why, though, as there are loads of waterfalls in Norway, and many of them are much more spectacular than this one (mainly in the fjord region of western Norway) - but ok, this area is lovely, and Målselvfossen is well worth a visit if you're in the Bardu area. (And you will be, if you're driving the E6 between northern and southern Troms) Målselvfossen is not very high at all (less than 25 metres) - but it is quite long, almost 600 metres, and the water flow is really amazing.

The Målselv river is one of the very best salmon (and sea trout) rivers in Norway, and a 400 metres long salmon ladder runs alongside the waterfall - there's an aquarium-like viewing area, where you can watch the salmon during their migration up the waterfall. (Salmon season mid-June - August.) There are various accommodation options in the area, fishing licences are available from several companies, and can also be purchased online. (See link below, but unfortunately the web site is in Norwegian only.)

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Address: Bardu
Website: http://www.maalselva.no/

Lyngen is a municipality situated in the northernmost parts of Troms county - around 70 km from the town of Tromsø. Travelling to Lyngen from Tromsø takes about 45 minutes by car, followed by a short ferry ride.

There are only a little over 3000 inhabitants in Lyngen - living in an area covering 810 km2, making this peninsula quite far from crowded...;o) Lyngen municipality's administrative centre is at Lyngseidet. Lyngen is all about wild, varied nature: the most prominent feature of the Lyngen peninsula is the mountains known as "the Lyngen alps" - Norway's wildest, most spectacular mountains, with peaks rising almost 2000 metres above the fjord. (The highest peak is Jiehkkevarri, at 1833 metres) The Lyngen peninsula is situated between two fjords: Ullsfjorden and Lyngenfjorden, and the ferry rides across the fjords (to Svensby from Breivikeidet, and to Lyngseidet from Olderdalen) offer some excellent views of the steep mountains.

There are several small glaciers on the peninsula, there are mountain lakes, waterfalls and rivers, and the opportunities for outdoor activities are pretty much endless: hiking, glacier walking, skiing and snowboarding, mountain climbing, horse riding, dog sledding, snow mobile riding, canoeing, fishing in lakes, rivers or sea - Lyngen is a paradise for those who enjoy playing outdoors.

How to get here:
From Tromsø, 45 minutes by car to Breivikeidet - ferry from Breivikeidet to Svensby (20 minutes). You can also go by car to Olderdalen (on the E6) and from there catch a ferry (30 minutes) to Lyngseidet, or drive on the western side of Storfjorden (via Nordkjosbotn). (This option doesn't involve ferries) See my transportation tip for more detailed info about the ferries.

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Website: http://www.destinasjontromso.no/english/lyngen.html

Navnesteinen (translates into *the name stone*) is a huge block of stone, situated by the road near Nordkjosbotn. The almost 10m high rock ended up on this field after a rock slide, and has been *decorated* by passing travellers (and lovestruck locals...:o). The colourful Navnesteinen has become a bit of a tourist attraction - bring along some paint and write your message to the world....;o)

When driving from Nordkjosbotn, Navnesteinen is easily spotted (on the left side of the road). It is a bit more difficult to locate it when you're driving in the opposite direction.

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Directions: A few km from Nordkjosbotn, on the road between Nordkjosbotn and Skibotn.