Tips for Lapland: 8 Things Nobody Tells You (2026)
Updated: 2 days ago
From treacherous pavements to -15°C temperatures and £18 beers, our Arctic adventure was full of surprises. Here are our 8 tips for Lapland to help you arrive prepared for yours.
A month before our trip to Tromso, I slipped on an icy pavement in London and broke my finger.
Not exactly ideal preparation for a holiday in the Arctic, where temperatures can plunge to -15°C (5°F) and entire streets turn into ice rinks.
Determined not to repeat the experience, we invested in proper snow boots, enough thermal layers to survive a small expedition and, most importantly, micro cleats for our shoes.
And thank goodness we did.
Within hours of arriving in Tromso, we watched tourists sliding across pavements, grabbing desperately at one another and occasionally landing rather spectacularly on their backsides. Meanwhile, we didn't slip once and felt pretty smug about it.
But icy pavements weren't the only challenge. Freezing temperatures can render power banks useless, northern lights tours require a little strategy and even a modest drink in a Norwegian pub can be financially distressing.
So, whether you're heading to Finnish Lapland or Arctic Norway, here are our 8 tips for Lapland to help you stay warm, avoid expensive mistakes and make the most of your Arctic adventure.
8 Tips for Lapland
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01 Buy micro cleats before you arrive
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 everywhere (also called microspikes, spikes or crampons). Even for a 2-minute walk. Even on tours. Yes, it’s mildly annoying. We did not fall once. You do have to remove micro cleats before going indoors, as they ruin floors and turn treacherous on smooth surfaces, sliding about like ice skates on marble.
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 and asked where we got them.
02 Wear proper snow boots
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, temps hovered around -15°C (5°F).
James wore Sorel 1964 Pac nylon waterproof boots, a gold standard for heavy snow. I 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. It was the system:
Merino wool or synthetic sock liners
Merino wool socks
Heat Company toe warmers (stick to top of socks) and/or insole warmers (stick to bottom of socks)
Toasty. Not tolerable. Toasty.
03 Master arctic layering
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. I've been obsessed with this Canadian coat brand since it launched in the US in 2004, currently own 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.
04 Keep phones & power banks warm
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 larger older 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.
05 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.
06 Northern lights need planning
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, please read our post: Tromso Northern Lights Tours: Which One We’d Book Again (& Which We'd Skip). It will save you time, money and feeling short-changed.
07 Give yourself enough nights
If seeing the northern lights are high on your bucket list, don't plan your entire Arctic adventure around a single evening.
Weather changes quickly this far north. Clouds roll in, snowstorms appear and excursions occasionally need to be rescheduled.
We spent 5 nights in Tromso, which gave us enough time to enjoy the destination without feeling that every evening depended on the aurora making an appearance.
And frankly, we could have happily stayed longer. Between chasing the northern lights, exploring snowy landscapes and squeezing in Arctic adventures, 5 nights flew by. We left with plenty still on our wish list.
For most first-time visitors, we'd suggest:
3 nights: A reasonable minimum for a short Arctic break.
4–5 nights: Our preferred amount of time, if seeing the northern lights is a priority.
Longer: Worth considering if you're planning multiple winter activities or want additional flexibility around the weather.
More nights don't guarantee an aurora sighting, but they do give you more opportunities.
And frankly, there's so much more to Arctic Norway than staring hopefully at the night sky.
From floating in a freezing fjord to exploring snowy landscapes and sampling excellent Nordic food, we found plenty to keep ourselves entertained.
You can see exactly how we spent our time in our 5 day Tromso itinerary.
08 Prepare for eye-watering prices
There's no particularly delicate way to put this: Tromso is extraordinarily expensive.
And that's coming from 2 people who live in London and previously lived in New York City.
Between accommodation, excursions, restaurants and the proper winter clothing you'll need, the costs accumulate remarkably quickly.
We spent over £1,000 just preparing our wardrobes for the trip. Admittedly, much of that gear can be used again, but it's an expense worth factoring into your budget before booking.
Then there's eating and drinking.
Norway is expensive at the best of times, but alcohol prices are particularly painful thanks in part to substantial government taxes.
We paid £18 for a third of a pint of stout in a pub. Yes, a third. Not even enough beer to properly console ourselves about the price.
And while Finnish Lapland and Arctic Norway aren't identical when it comes to costs, neither is generally considered a bargain winter destination.
Our advice is to research accommodation and excursion prices before committing to flights, and budget for proper winter clothing if you don't already own it.
Despite the eye-watering prices and a few challenges covered in our tips for Lapland, we'd return to Tromso, or anywhere else in Lapland, without hesitation.
There's something extraordinary about standing beneath the northern lights, surrounded by snow-covered mountains, with the Arctic wilderness stretching out around you.
It's just considerably more enjoyable when your feet are warm, your phone still works and you've budgeted for that celebratory drink.