Northern Norway in the Autumn

You'll land at Tromsø Airport (TOS) in the evening, which sits only about 5 km from the city center, so you can be dropping your bags at the hotel within half an hour of landing. (My pick for where to stay is in Recommended Stays at the bottom of this guide.)

But don't crash yet. Tromsø is small enough to walk end to end, so take a short loop and get your bearings. Wander through the clothing and souvenir stores on Storgata (the main street through the center), cut over to the harbor, and look across the water at the Arctic Cathedral and the mountain behind it. The Fjellheisen cable car climbs that mountain to Storsteinen, a ledge 421 m above the city, and if the sky is clear tonight, you could cross the bridge and ride it up!

If the grocery stores are still open, pick up some Real Turmat. It's a Norwegian brand of freeze-dried trail meals, made right here in Tromsø: tear open the pouch, pour in hot water up to the line, zip it shut, wait about 8 minutes, and eat straight from the bag. They're great for wilderness lunches at the top of a hike or for wilderness dinners during a Northern Lights chase.

Pick up your rental car at the airport and drive west over the Sandnessund Bridge and across Kvaløya to Brensholmen. It's roughly an hour of fjord-side driving with beautiful autumn foliage all around. But you have a ferry to catch, so try not to take too many stops along the side of the road (trust me, it's hard!).

The ferry from Brensholmen to Botnhamn on Senja takes about 45 minutes. It's first come, first served, and cars get left behind in busy months, so get there around 30 minutes before it leaves.

The ferry runs year-round, but autumn and winter have fewer departures, so check the current timetable before you go. A regular car was about 197 NOK one way when I went in 2024, and the full price is about 228 NOK now. If the weather looks bad, the local Facebook group "Går ferga Botnhamn-Brensholmen i dag?" is where people post whether it's running.

Once you're on board, take the opportunity to step out of the car and enjoy the views of the fjord. It's a magical scene with the sun shining overhead, reflecting over the Arctic waters. Don't forget to stop by the restaurant inside the ferry where you can try a classic Norwegian waffle with brunost, the sweet brown goat cheese Norwegians put on everything!

Once you're off the ferry, drive along the coast and check in to your place in Fjordgård. Fjordgård sits right on the water at the foot of Segla and Hesten, so the mornings here are magical. Wake up, open the curtains, and the mountains are just there. It's also right at the base of Hesten, the hike Senja is famous for. Stop by Snarkjøp Fjordgård to stock up. It's the village shop, open 24/7, and it even rents snowshoes and sells firewood. Groceries in Norway are expensive, but eating out on Senja is even more so, and there aren't many options in Fjordgård anyway.

It's a beautiful morning in Fjordgård! Either have breakfast at the lodging or walk over to Segla Grill & Pub for some food and a coffee. It's the local hangout in Fjordgård, with fjord and mountain views out the window, and it's a cozy place to plan the day. You're bound to run into other travelers there, since it's the only restaurant in Fjordgård. They also have a small section for souvenirs. I got a burger and fries when I was there (yes, I'm aware it's a heavy breakfast!)

Then, drive out to the fishing villages at the northern tip. Mefjordvær is a small working fishing village about 3.5 km past Senjahopen, at the very end of the road. Walk the harbor, look at the drying racks and the boats, and take it slow. This is the part of Senja that still feels like it's for the people who live here.

End the day with an easy walk on the Knuten trail in Mefjordvær. It starts by the village football field, climbs only about 70 m to a small knoll, and you can continue over the top and down to the lighthouse facing the open sea. Plan about an hour round trip.

In autumn, this is the spot for the sunset over the ocean. Stay for the views as it gets dark and the lights of the village come on below you. Then head back for dinner at the lodging in Fjordgård.

Of course, don't sleep too early because there's always a chance the Northern Lights will show up!

Get breakfast at the Airbnb or the good old reliable Segla Grill & Pub, then drive south along the west coast toward Hamn. This is the Norwegian Scenic Route Senja, and it's worth every minute you spend driving here.

You'll want to stop everywhere, but save that for another day. Today's plan is to get to Hamn i Senja for the 10 AM wildlife and fjord safari boat tour. Hamn is an old fishing settlement turned into a small resort, and they run boat trips, wildlife safaris, and fishing trips from the harbor. The boat tour was phenomenal and brought us to hard-to-reach places in the Norwegian fjords that you can't get to on land. We were lucky enough to see eagles and arctic foxes, but not any whales that day. Nevertheless, the speed of the boat and the experience of sailing the Norwegian fjords is something I would absolutely do again. Although, next time I would probably try to kayak there!

Get some lunch at Storbrygga Spiseri, right on the harbor. The menu is built around local Northern Norwegian ingredients. Book ahead, because it's one of the only real restaurants on this side of the island.

After warming up, drive about 5 minutes to the Sukkertoppen trailhead, about 1 km west of the village, and hike up for sunset. It's about 4 km round trip with 450 m of climbing, so give yourself around 2.5 hours. It starts muddy and overgrown, then gets steep and rocky, with one exposed section that has a chain to hold onto (slippery when it's wet). From the 456 m summit you look out over the Bergsøyan islets, northern Senja, and the mountain lakes below. Bring a headlamp for the way down!

After a quick hike to see the sunset, warm up in the outdoor hot tub and sauna at Hamn, looking out over the water and the mountains. It's a fantastic way to wind down and relax after the past few days. If the sky is clear, this is the move: Northern Lights from the hot tub.

Have dinner at Storbrygga Spiseri again, or drive the hour back to Fjordgård. It's dark, the roads are narrow, and there's wildlife around, so take it slow and keep an eye on the sky. Pull over at appropriate pull-out spots (never in the middle of the road) if the Lady Aurora does decide to show herself. If not, try your luck from Fjordgård!

Every trip up here needs a weather day. The forecast in northern Norway changes by the hour, so I always leave one day open, and this was it. When the weather turned, we leaned into it.

Sleep in and enjoy a long breakfast. Then, walk over to Damperiet, a floating sauna at the north end of the Fjordgård harbor, right under Segla. It's a Scandinavian tradition to partake in contrast therapy by jumping straight into the fjord, and then heating back up in the sauna (do this a few times!). It's open year-round, and you can pre-book a drop-in spot or rent the whole sauna for your group on their website.

Nate's Note A fun activity I did with my friends was challenge each other to stay in the water for as long as we possibly can. The longest we had done it was 5 minutes, and after that we had to stay in the sauna for 15 minutes!

Drive to Husøy and explore the fishing village. It takes up its entire tiny island, connected to Senja by a 300 m causeway. Pick up coals at the grocery store there and go find the hut at Storvatnet to shelter from the weather. Light a fire, cook, and just hang out with your friends.

Drive back to Fjordgård for your last night in the town and just wind down and relax, and try to find the Northern Lights from your backyard. Alternatively, you could do what me and my friends did, which was drive to a random beach in the middle of the night and find crabs using our headlights and stargaze under the dark sky!

Take the 2 PM ferry from Botnhamn back to Brensholmen. Same rules as before: no reservations, so get in line early. And leave yourself a buffer on the drive to the terminal. One morning on our trip, the road out of Fjordgård was closed for almost an hour, and up here there's no other way around.

You'll get back to Tromsø with not much time before the Aurora tour, so keep dinner quick and cheap: McDonald's, Burger King, or a 7-Eleven hot dog. Norway is expensive enough, so save the money for tomorrow.

Every Aurora tour I've ever booked has been with Chasing Lights. I know the guides there well, and they've become good friends of mine over the years.

Grab breakfast pastries at Backstube, a bakery café that's a go-to for a quick, cheap breakfast before an early tour.

Then, head out on Chasing Lights' Arctic Fjords Road Trip. It's a guided day trip of about 6 hours out to Kvaløya, the big island west of Tromsø, and the fjords and fishing villages around it. Leaving the driving to someone else after five days on Senja is a nice change. Along the way, keep an eye out for reindeer, sea eagles, and seals. From mid-October, whales start showing up in the fjords too.

The tour stops for lunch and hot drinks around a campfire in Grotfjord, then winds back through the fjords and fishing houses on Kvaløya. My favorite stop was a plateau where we could wander around and explore, and it gave us some phenomenal shots of the surrounding landscapes.

Go for a second Aurora tour with Chasing Lights. Two nights of chasing doubles your odds, and that's the whole point of doing this trip around the equinox.

Start with coffee at Risø, a favorite with coffee people in Tromsø. It's casual and cozy, and they take their coffee seriously.

Then, wander down Storgata for souvenirs and visit Polaria, the Arctic aquarium and experience center. You can't miss the building; it's shaped like ice floes pushed up onto the shore. Inside are bearded seals, which you won't see up close many other places. Try to time your visit for a feeding at 10:30, 12:30, or 3:30.

Try out more food at Smørtorget in the city center, known for open sandwiches, baked goods, and coffee, and then FINT kafé & bar for their bruschetta toast. If you're walking the main street, grab a crêpe from the Nordens Paris Crêperie stand too. My go-to order is the Fly Me to the Moon: banana and Nutella!

Last dinner in Tromsø is at Bread & Wine, a small Norwegian restaurant in the center. The menu changes with the seasons and leans on Northern Norwegian ingredients: Arctic cod and salmon, fish soup, scallops, and reindeer from Finnmark. I loved this place. Up here we usually ate reindeer in stews, but Bread & Wine serves it as a steak, so you can really taste the quality. It's leaner than beef but not gamey at all, and it pairs super well with the red wine gravy. The perfect way to close out the trip!

It's closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays and opens at 3 PM the rest of the week, so book a table ahead on their website.

End the trip the way Norwegians would: sauna and cold plunge at Sauna Pust, a floating sauna in the Tromsø harbor. Same deal as Damperiet in Fjordgård—sweat it out, then jump into the sea from the swim deck. If the sky cooperates, you might get one last look at the Aurora from the water like we did!

Head to Tromsø Airport and fly home. It's only about 10 minutes from the center, so you can squeeze in one last coffee before you go.

On the flight, look back through your photos and start planning the next one. The Arctic has a way of pulling you back!