Polar night in Tromsø 2026-27

When is the polar night in Tromsø in 2026-27?

From about 27 November 2026 to 15 January 2027. The last sunrise is around 26 November and the first is around 16 January.

Visit Tromsø gives "approximately from 27 November to 15 January". Those dates assume a flat horizon. Tromsø has mountains on every side, so in town the sun stays hidden for several more days in January, and the city waits for it.

The times below are calculated for Tromsø centre, in local time. timeanddate.com has the minute-by-minute table for any date.

What does midday look like during the polar night?

Blue, with a pink or orange band on the southern horizon. Bright enough to see the trail and the dogs without a headlamp.

Polar night does not mean 24 hours of black. Around noon the sun is only a few degrees below the horizon, and the sky goes through deep blue to pastel and back. On a clear day the snow reflects it and the landscape looks lit from inside. On a cloudy day it is grey and short.

Photographers love it. Phone cameras struggle a little. Hold still and use night mode for the dogs.

How does the polar night change dog sledding departure times?

Daytime trips are built around the twilight window. Buses leave Tromsø early or late in the morning, and you sled between about 09:30 and 14:00.

Most kennels sit 25 to 95 minutes from town. A morning bus leaves in the dark, you suit up, and you are on the runners as the light comes up. Kvaløya Adventure, for example, lists departures at 07:45 and 12:15. The later one sleds in the last of the light and comes home in the dark.

Our advice: in December, take the earliest departure that fits. You get the full twilight on the trail. After 14:00 it is evening, which suits the evening sledding trip with dinner and a chance of the aurora.

Kvaløya, 30 to 45 minutes from town: you drive the team in the midday blue light, then warm up with cake in a lavvo.

★ 4.9 · 4 hours · from $351

Explore the Kvaløya self-drive trip → Tour details

How busy are Christmas and New Year in Tromsø?

Very. The week from about 21 December to 2 January is the busiest of the polar night for hotels and sled trips.

Dark-season travel has grown fast, and the holidays stack Norwegian and international visitors on top of each other. Book sled trips for those dates as soon as your flights are set. Expect some shops and restaurants to close or shorten hours on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January.

Early December and the first half of January are quieter, just as dark, and the snow is usually better by January.

When does the sun come back to Tromsø?

The sun is back above the horizon from around 16 January, but the town sees it from about 21 January, which locals celebrate as Soldagen.

Mountains block the low sun at first. The tradition, as Visit Northern Norway describes it, is to eat solboller (sun buns) on 21 January, with bakeries working through the night to make them.

From then the light comes back quickly. By 1 February you get a sunrise at about 09:30, and by mid February there are more than seven hours of sun. For many visitors, late January to February is the best mix of snow, light and dark skies.

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