8 Lapland Travel Tips: How We Prepared for Tromso’s Arctic Winter (And Nailed It)
- Shal & James
- Feb 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 7
Lapland travel tips for first-timers heading to Tromso and the Arctic Circle. Consider this your friendly briefing on how to stay upright, properly warm and quietly smug while everyone else is sliding past you.
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8 LAPLAND TRAVEL TIPS
Buy micro cleats before you arrive. Not after you fall
If pavements aren’t heated, they turn into compacted ice.
In Tromso, very few are heated. The streets don’t look dramatic. They look manageable. They are not manageable.
We saw people slip daily. Hard slips. Head-thudding slips. The sort that make everyone nearby wince in collective sympathy.
We wore micro cleats (often called microspikes, spikes or crampons) everywhere. Even for a two-minute walk. Even on tours. Yes, it’s mildly annoying. No, we did not fall once. You do have to take them off before going indoors, as they ruin floors and turn treacherous on smooth surfaces, sliding about like ice skates on marble.
The irony? A month before our trip to Tromso, Shal fell on an icy London pavement while wearing trainers and broke a finger. Lesson learned.
Crucially, the walk to buy micro cleats locally is itself extremely icy. Arrive with them. Ours were from Amazon and other tourists repeatedly looked at them with envy.
If you skim every other word in these Lapland travel tips, fine — but at the very least take this first tip seriously, because your dignity and bones will thank you.
Wear proper snow boots. Trainers are not brave, They’re reckless
We saw fashion boots. We saw trainers. We saw optimism.
Here’s the problem:
Most everyday shoes have zero grip.
They are nowhere near warm enough.
Arctic cold seeps upward from the ground.
At night, temperatures hovered around -15°C (5°F).
James wore Sorel 1964 Pac nylon waterproof boots, a gold standard for heavy snow. Shal wore more budget-friendly Mountain Warehouse Snowflake mid-calf snow boots rated to -30°C (-22°F). Both of us were perfectly comfortable.
The secret wasn’t just the boots though. It was the system:
Merino wool or synthetic sock liners
Heat Company chemical toe warmers (stick to top of socks) and/or insole warmers
Toasty. Not tolerable. Toasty.
Master arctic layering (and don't wing it)
Standing outside for hours waiting for the northern lights in -15°C (5°F) is not the time to discover your coat is “cute but inadequate.”
Layering is everything.
Our formula:
Merino base layers (top and bottom)
Mid-layer of wool or cashmere sweater(s)
Windproof, water-resistant down jacket
Waterproof shell (just in case)
Waterproof snow trousers
Hat, merino buff, glove liners, mittens
Ladies, if you don't fancy a technical jacket, check out Mackage. Shal's been obsessed with this Canadian coat brand since it launched in the US in 2004, currently owns 3 of their coats and wore an older model of the Adali in Tromso. It's rated for -20°C (-4°F) and is windproof and water-resistant!
We comfortably stayed outside for hours in the middle of the night. No shivering or numb fingers or toes.
If you want the full breakdown of exactly what we packed and wore, read our Lapland packing list where we detail how we stayed warm without resembling overstuffed marshmallows.
Keep your phone warm (and your power bank warmer)
Arctic cold is brutal on lithium batteries. At around -15°C (5°F), the chemical reactions inside your phone slow down, which makes the battery drain frighteningly fast, even if you’re barely using it.
We kept our phones in our jacket pockets whenever we weren’t actively filming, photographing or using Google maps so they stayed warmer.
We also kept a compact wireless power bank in a jacket or trouser pocket for the same reason. The ones we left in our backpack got so cold their charge drained and they became dead weight.
Charging doesn’t work properly when both devices are freezing, so warm them up in your pocket first.
Our iPhone 15 Pro handled photographing the aurora in -15°C (5°F) surprisingly well, but toward the end the battery suddenly plummeted and the phone refused to cooperate. In the Arctic, warmth equals battery life.
Bring a reusable water bottle
Tours provide endless hot drinks. Tea. Coffee. Hot chocolate. Possibly enough to float a small canoe.
Water? Oddly elusive.
Only one tour handed out bottled water. Everywhere else, you could likely ask, but it wasn’t proactively offered.
We each brought a reusable metal bottle and filled them at the hotel tap before heading out. There was a refill station in the lobby, and we topped up before every tour.
Norwegian tap water is famously clean and safe to drink. There’s even a long-running joke that expensive bottled water brands source from Norway’s pristine water reserves. In other words, your tap water in Tromso is about as premium as it gets.
We were never thirsty, and we avoided buying single-use plastic bottles in sub-zero temperatures.
Book northern lights tours with strategy
If we were doing it again, we’d book two tours with the same company, at least 48 hours apart, ensuring there’s a 24-hour cancellation policy. That way you have flexibility if conditions improve later in your trip.
It’s not pessimistic. It’s tactical.
Before you book anything, read Tromso Northern Lights Tours: Which One We’d Book Again — it might save you time, money and feeling short-changed.
Give yourself enough nights
Weather shifts. Clouds move. Tours get rescheduled.
3 nights minimum is comfortable. 4 or 5 is ideal if the northern lights are a priority. Arctic travel rewards patience. We did 5 nights and felt it was the perfect amount of time.
Budget more than you think
Lapland is not subtle about being expensive.
Meals, tours and even casual snacks add up quickly. You can see our total trip spend in Our 5 Day Tromso Itinerary for Winter post.
Factor in proper winter gear if you don’t already own it. We spent over £1,000 (converted: €1,144 / US$1,357) gearing up.
Alcohol is eye-wateringly expensive in Norway in particular, largely due to high government taxes designed as a public health measure to curb excessive drinking. We spent £18 (converted: €20.63 / US$24.42) on a third of a pint of stout at a pub!
But here’s the thing: Lapland delivers. The landscapes, the stillness, the scale of the sky when the aurora appears — it earns its price tag.
NOT QUITE DONE EXPLORING?
What to Wear in Lapland in Winter: Our Lapland Packing List & Learnings at -15°C
Luxury Hotels in Tromso: Where We Stayed & What It Was Really Like
Best Restaurants in Tromso: Where We Actually Ate & Would Return To
21 Things to Do in Tromso We Loved (After 6 Days in Lapland)
We Swam a Fjord in Winter & Lived to Eat Waffles: The Truth About Arctic Floating
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