+ Why is Tromsø the best place to see the magic Northern Lights?

Tromsø is a very big city in the Arctic

Located above the Arctic Circle(69 degrees north, 375 km inside it) it's considered in the heart of the Aurora Oval, along the gulf stream that gaves it such a pleasant temperatures and, neverthenless, have a network of surrounding microclimates perfects for the Northern Lights. Last but not the least, Tromø is very easy to reach by plane, boat or car. Hotels, pubs and restaurants are waiting for you!

Tromsø is located in the heart of the Aurora Oval. The Aurora Oval is an oval-shaped belt that runs around the earth around both the Polar Regions. The belt is the area where you can see activity depending on the KP. Higher is the KP value (from 0 to 9) higher are the chances to see the Northern Lights in the southern latidutes. As Tromsø remains in the heart of the belt, it is possible to see the Northern Lights even at a KP 1 or less.

Tromsø is 70 degrees north, this means that it's situated in the Aurora sweet spot where the nights are dark enough to see activity consistently from September until mid-April. In regards to the KP index, don’t worry too much about this. If there is any solar activity in the Northern hemisphere then we would see it here: remember that we need three main factors in orther to be able to see the Northern Lights in the sky. Whenever we might lack one of them, we cannot see the Northern Lights.

1. DARKNESS, basically from mid-september until beginnig-April, we have enough hours of darkness to spot the Aurora Borealis in the sky if...
2. we might get CLEAR SKY, and/or there are not so much clouds. That's why we usually chase the Northern Lights: we are looking for some spots in the sky;
3. the SOLAR ACTVITY is the last factor that we need. Unfortunatelly we cannot control this. But we are working on it 😎

+ When is the best time of the year to see the Northen Lights?

The Northern Lights season starts in mid-September beginning of April

From late August and lasts until the mid April but in both moments (starts and ends) the probability of seeing the Aurora Borealis are less then in the rest of the season. If you're planning to travel to Tromsø to see the Northern Lights, then be sure to come in between mid-September and beginning of April . We advise you to plan your trip based on other factors such as flight prices, tour availability, and your personal schedule. We also suggest, if possible, to plan multiple nights for attempting to see the lights (we are even here to assist your search as many nights as you wish!) to increase your chances in case of poor weather or low solar activity on a single night.

+ What can I expect on an Aurora Discover with us?

The first thing to understand about an Aurora Discover is that you are not chasing Northern Lights with rifles and or other things like that. Definetly not. The aurora activity occurs at least 80km above our biosphere, this means if we might have the three main factors, from Finland to Iceland we will see it because we are under the same sky (from different prospectives). Long story short: we are hunting ample gaps in the clouds. Northern Light tours are different every night, the conditions are ever-changing, this means that the locations change sometimes even during the evening. For this reason, we have broken the tour into three steps.

Step one: Pick – up

We ask all guests to arrive 15 minutes early at the pick–up point (usually Clarion Hotel The Edge). This is because we need to leave at departure time. If a guest is delayed, we cannot wait for them more then 5 minutes, as this may result in the group missing out on finding a parking spot for the camp and ultimately to miss valuable opportunities to see the Northern Lights.

The tour depends a lot on the distances (mostly between 35km and 200km aka between 30minutes and 3hrs)that need to be covered by the driver and the driving conditions experienced on the tour. Whenever the driving conditions are challenging or difficult, then the guide (who will be driving) will be required to focus on the driving, not providing a running commentary on the surroundings. This is for safety reasons. So please be patient. However, if you are in the minibus or bus, the guide will be able to communicate with you explaining everything about Northen Lights, photography tips and tricks and random comments about surrandings. This is a tour into the wilderness, please expect that there may not be toilet opportunities. You can always go into the wilderness and helps the trees to grow!.

We are not providing warm suits and boots becuase you should dress yourself properly (according with the weather). You might rent it out at Tromsø Outdoor

Step two: On location

Every evening is completely different and starts from 0. Some evenings the gaps in the clouds are predicted in one area, at one, therefore it makes the most sense to go there, secure a good parking spot and set up camp and wait, other evenings we need to depart succinctly and drive long distances, sometimes with only a toilet stop in order to find gaps in the clouds. REMEMBER: BEING PATIENT is the key for a good and enjoyable night chasing the Northen Lights. On some evenings the guide may be able to spend hours taking photos for guests and chatting, on other evenings they may be required more effort on checking the weather conditions reports somewhere else and be in contact with other local guides regarding what they are seeing or not seeing to make an assessment and decision on their hunt locations. During the evening the guide will decide the location to set the main camp. Here they will light a fire (conditions dependent) and serve the hot meal. This is a wonderful opportunity for travelers to mingle around the campfire, learn about the region, and of course to get to know each other.

Step three: return to Tromsø

Before departing for Tromsø the guide will retrieve all hire equipment (tripods and so on) from the guest. It is important for the guest to return the equipment undamaged to avoid replacement or damage charges. The guide will then pack the vehicle and you will depart for Tromsø. Where and if possible the guide will stop for a toilet break. You will arrive back in Tromsø between 00:00 and 01:30 (exceptional circumstances may arise to delay the return eg reduced visibility whilst driving). It is important for the guides to be back in order for their fatigue to be properly managed. On evenings where no activity for seen, the guides may stop on the return trip to see if they can see anything.

After returning to Tromsø you will be dropped off to your accommodation on Tromsø island (Tromsøya or Tromsdalen). Your guide will provide you with edited and watermarked jpg files in web-sized resolution within 3 days of the tour finishing, whenever the pictures are included. Portraits under the Northern Lights are never included because we are focused on the quality for it. All our portraits are available for purchase on the website the day after your tour and, if you like, you can print it out in poster size (up to 100x70cm, 300ppi).

+What do the Northern Lights look like?

Every single day they are different and in different parts of the world they can look different depending on the gases burning. It is true, many people do photoshop their images, however, FRAMTours do not excessively photoshop any photos policy on the photos is very strict: we in FRAMTours do not excessively photoshop any photos we like our style because we don't lie and you can see it on any of our media. We are not cheating: it is what it is! Some nights the Aurora display is simply awesome, other the Northern Lights are only whitish/greenish light across the sky towards north. Our purpose of taking photos is for our love of photography and because we wish our guests to be able to take with them beautiful photos of the evening to remember the experience and all the feelings that went along with it.

+ Are the Northern Lights exactly how we are able to see them on internet?

Well, we wish could be always like that but unfotunatelly is not always like that. Most of the pictures that you are able to see on Social Media world wide, are fake or high photoshoped pictures. So you do not expect that very pictures for shapes and colors that you have seen on Instagram: could be worse, but sometimes even better than that.

+ What is the "midnight sun"?

Most of the people belive that the Arctic seasons are two: 6 months of sun and 6 months of night. This is true just at the North Pole or South Pole. In Northern Norway we live most of the time in good lights conditions and from mid-March late august, we have more lights during the day than darkness. From mid-May until mid-July in Tromsø you can live "on your skin" the Midnight Sun experiece. The fenomena is, neverthenless, the part of the year where the Sun will never go under the horizon and will stay above it even during the night. Obviously, everyone deserve to see the sun in the perfect weather conditions but unluckyly we are on the norwegian arctic coastline and the weather is very often not so good. But anyway you will enjoy the daylight even when your clock will go above midnight.

No, we are so sorry to disappoint you, but there are no two suns.

+ Can we sleep in the night?

Sure you can! Hotels rooms have curtains made to avoid the sunrays inside the room for persons that have no experience about this fenomena. But remember that if might be your first time with the Midnight Sun, could be hard to sleep because you know that is night but still to much light outside to go to bed.

+ What should we do during the evening/night?

Besides get some proper rest, there are so many things that you might do during the night 😎

FRAMTours provides some tours during the Arctic Summer evening. Please check the relative page in order to understand witch one is the most suitable for you.

+ How many days in advance should I book the tours?

Well, to be honest: depends. If we should aware you, we definetelly suggest you to book our activities at least 30 days in advance (this is just a general rule). During the high season you might barely find something to do because the high demand, and many locals tours operators might not alloweds you to joind on the tour.

As a general rule we suggest you to book the tour(s) with us just after your booking for fly-tickets and hotel reservation. If you are a group of 4 or even more, do not wait to much or the missconseption of "I will book on the spots": is too risky and you might not find a tour(s) for you.

+ I have an allergy / vegetarian or vegan requirement, do you have food for me?

We can provide on request gluten-free, lactose-free, vegan, or vegetarian options. Please inform us well in advance about any allergies or special dietary requirements so we can do our best to cater to them. You cannot inform us about your special dietary less then 48hrs in advance because our meals and snacks are home made and it might takes time to prepare a special food for you, but we will try to do our best for you! In case you wanna know the ingredients list or allergy list, please, reach us out by email at framtoursas@gmail.com

+ What will happen if I miss the pick up time or am running late?

FRAMTours has a strict departure time for all tours especially our Aurora Discover, and we have a reputation for providing organized tours and activities, which means we must ensure they depart on time. This is primarily because there are many companies in Tromsø going on tours at the same time, it is important that we have a succinct departure to ensure we have enough time to get away from the city lights for when activity is most likely to begin.

Additionally, is a form of respect for our Guiding Team and the other guests on the tour, we can not delay their experience and not meet their expectations.

As we have been very clear about our Terms and Conditions and our departure times, we will not offer rebooking or refunds for any guest who does not make the departure. You will need to seek reimbursement from your Travel Insurance provider.

+ What Quality assurance is there? And what do you mean for "ECO" company?

FRAMTours has a very high quality standard policy. We have designed our tours to ensure that every single guest is receiving the tour that he/she has booked. This policy is to ensure guests know that they can trust that when they book an activity or workshop with us, they will receive the activity they have purchased.

If such as circumstance arises where the activity was not as the guests expected, you can be assured we have procedures in place to follow up, assess, and grow.

FRAMTours is a local tour operator, setting the benchmark for quality, all-inclusive tours and very enviromentally oriented company. We try to do our best to reduce the impact into local eco-systems whilst maintaining our quality, destination authority and our signature attention to detail. We try to use only eco-friendly vehicles (as hybrid minivan), and we ask to our guests to help us to preserv the enviroment as it is. We do recycling on our tours and in 2019 WE recycled 85% on our tours.

Our mission is to linked our guest with our enviroment, in hoping they take these connections and lessons with them and strive to help protect it for future generations.

#savethearctic to #savetheworld

+ How to dress in winter in Tromsø

To enjoy your time in Tromsø as much as possible, we recommend you chose function over fashion. Quality over cheap.

Layers is the key word. Try dress up as warm and wind&waterproof as possible you can always take off clothes when you are too warm. Base layer (very important): This layer needs to be wool (merino wool is the best) and not synthetic, it might be itchy but it will takes your body warm! Ensure that even your socks are the thickest loose-fitting merino wool socks you can find, but be aware: do to use more the two pairs of socks! your feet needs circulation. If might be too tight, you will feel colder than in real.

Mid-layers: to be fleecy or wool (yes, wool still always better than synthetic) with plenty of breathing room.

Top layers: Down jacket and a softshell over the top. Our raccomandation is to wear both downjacket and pants. Windproof and waterproof are a must when you are travveling in the Arctic during winter.

Shoes: Try to wear loose-fitting enclosed shoes, we’d suggest bringing crampons or purchasing them locally when you arrive as often the city centre is very icy and windy!

Please, use wool hat, gloves or mittens, scarf if necessary.

If you are feeling excessively cold at any point during a tour please communicate this very clearly with your guide for them to help offer a solution.

+ Can I get some help with my camera?

Of course! All our guides are even professional photographer with specific approach to the Aurora Borealis. During the tour, your guide will help you to set your camera in order to take stunning pictures!

Keep in mind that our photography tips are general rules. If you would like know more in-depth, we can suggest that you sign up for our Online Photography Workshop.

+ Are the photos of the tour included in the price?

Unfortunately our pictures are not free. All our guides are professional photographers and this means that we can provide only the best quality pictures. Usually after 24h from the tour you can find the pictures of your activity on our website under pictures. in the calendar you can select the date and chose the picture(s) you like and follow the instructions for purchase them. If you like more than 3 pictures (in the same tour or differents) you are eligible for asking a discout between 5% and 15% (the more you buy the more discount you get)

Portraits under the Northern Lights are available for purchase at 290,-kr each and you will get the full resolution file (up to 4000px long side, 300ppi) so you can print it up to a poster size (100x70cm). If you wandering to have a portraits, please inform your guide: he/she will be happy to take a portraits and you will decide later if you like it or not. If you do, it will be availbale for purchase. If you don't, no one will ask you more.

NOTE: All our guides are professional photographers and we strongly believe that every good work should be paid. We do not provide all the pictures included because keeping a very high quality standard for the pictures required equipment, study and perserverance.

+ Can I purchase the photo(s)?

Sure you can. And do it it's very simple:

1. go to "pictures";
2. in the calendar that will appear, select the date or your tour;
3. select the tour type (if there might be more the one);
4. find your portraits and/or the landscapes that you like;
5. add it/them int the chart and follow the instructions for the payments with credit card

You will receive the link with the pictures digitally in full resolution in a bit.

+ I am member of photo club, can you offer customized photography tours for us?

A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y-!

We LOVE our guest when they are asking for pictures, but we love them more even when they are asking to join our tours specifically for that! Just write us an email at framtoursas@gmail.com for more details.