Explore the Arctic
Explore the Arctic
5
Boat ToursFishing Charters & ToursDolphin & Whale Watching
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Monday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Tuesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Wednesday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Thursday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Friday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Saturday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Sunday
12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
Full view
About
We are a small activity company with 18 years of experience with guided outdoor trips around Tromsø. We are here because we do what we love and love what we do. So let’s discover northern Norway, let’s explore the arctic. Hope to see you soon!
Tromso, Norway
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
5.0
489 reviews
Excellent
461
Very good
21
Average
2
Poor
2
Terrible
3
Sanjay K
2 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
We had booked with Explore the Arctic, for the whale watching tour on the 1st of February and northern lights on 2nd February 2016.
An avalanche had closed the road on 1st; because of very heavy snowfall the previous evening; so the company picked us up a little late in the morning. We also had to take a detour because of the avalanche and the drive took us 90 minutes instead of the usual 40. But we did not regret it. .. The driver was helpful and explained the problem, pointing out wildlife all along.. The longer Route was so sceneic and beautiful that we did not mind the xtra time to reach the boat. Once we reached the boat. . Our whale safari guide. . Welcomed us, gave us all the needed gear - boots, wind sheeters etc. He was helpful with the camera settings, gave an intro to whales and their behavior patterns.I forget his name ... He was very helpful and extremely friendly. He and the boat captain...took lot of pains to search for great sightings. We spotted lots of humpbacks. Unfortunately could not get killer whales in spite of our guide trying hard and taking us out further. They took us out longer as we had had a late start. .very patient and very helpful. Enjoyed a lot. I am a vegetarian and they had arranged for good vegetarian sandwiches when we got back.
The Northern lights tour started @ 630 pm on 2nd February. Marcus our guide was just terrific. He knew the right spots to go to ; no other tours were there;, helped us with everything. . You name it. He had hand and feet warmers, boots , coats, gloves,( the temperature was a freezing -15) tripods for our cameras, he helped us with our camera settings and focus. ..prepared or meals , got a campfire going with our driver ( who ensured speed and surety) . We visited 3 locations in all and got to see the lights at her best. We had a transcendental experience. Marcus clicked pics of as well and shared it with us.
There might be times when nature may not afford visitors the sighting opportunity we got, that Is beyond anyone's control; but what makes this tour stand out are its people, their commitment, knowledge and cheer. Highly recommended. ..explore the Arctic. ..
An avalanche had closed the road on 1st; because of very heavy snowfall the previous evening; so the company picked us up a little late in the morning. We also had to take a detour because of the avalanche and the drive took us 90 minutes instead of the usual 40. But we did not regret it. .. The driver was helpful and explained the problem, pointing out wildlife all along.. The longer Route was so sceneic and beautiful that we did not mind the xtra time to reach the boat. Once we reached the boat. . Our whale safari guide. . Welcomed us, gave us all the needed gear - boots, wind sheeters etc. He was helpful with the camera settings, gave an intro to whales and their behavior patterns.I forget his name ... He was very helpful and extremely friendly. He and the boat captain...took lot of pains to search for great sightings. We spotted lots of humpbacks. Unfortunately could not get killer whales in spite of our guide trying hard and taking us out further. They took us out longer as we had had a late start. .very patient and very helpful. Enjoyed a lot. I am a vegetarian and they had arranged for good vegetarian sandwiches when we got back.
The Northern lights tour started @ 630 pm on 2nd February. Marcus our guide was just terrific. He knew the right spots to go to ; no other tours were there;, helped us with everything. . You name it. He had hand and feet warmers, boots , coats, gloves,( the temperature was a freezing -15) tripods for our cameras, he helped us with our camera settings and focus. ..prepared or meals , got a campfire going with our driver ( who ensured speed and surety) . We visited 3 locations in all and got to see the lights at her best. We had a transcendental experience. Marcus clicked pics of as well and shared it with us.
There might be times when nature may not afford visitors the sighting opportunity we got, that Is beyond anyone's control; but what makes this tour stand out are its people, their commitment, knowledge and cheer. Highly recommended. ..explore the Arctic. ..
Written February 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Samir D
3 contributions
Feb 2019 • Friends
We were four friends chasing the northern lights and Marcus made our dream to see them true.
A really nice tour in some quiet and dark spots, best conditions for the lights. And a good firecamp and diner to warm you up.
Thank you 😊
A really nice tour in some quiet and dark spots, best conditions for the lights. And a good firecamp and diner to warm you up.
Thank you 😊
Written February 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fernando S
Buenos Aires, Argentina23 contributions
Dec 2018 • Solo
Yesterday night we went out for searching the Northern Lights. Marcus and his colleague took us outside the city (Very outside the city) where the darkness was 100%. We lived a wonderful experience, Marcus is a great guy, he helped us in every single moment, with the cameras, with the pictures, with the food, with our extreme cold. He was amazing as well as the Northern Lights. We waited for less than one hour and we had lucky; from a second to the other one, they appeared in the great dark sky, dancing and showing their majestic.
If you're looking for a company for making this tour, do not hesitate. Go with them.
Btw, Northern Lights may appear or not. You need luck for that. Of course, if you go in winter, your chances grow more.
If you're looking for a company for making this tour, do not hesitate. Go with them.
Btw, Northern Lights may appear or not. You need luck for that. Of course, if you go in winter, your chances grow more.
Written February 1, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
reblii
Singapore2 contributions
Jan 2014 • Couples
I have no idea how this company can have so many good reviews. While doing research for our second visit to Tromso I discovered that the tour my husband and I had the worst experience with last time is the top rated attraction on Tripadvisor.
We booked this tour through the tourism office in Tromso. The British gentlemen made every effort in praising the tour and together with reading the reviews on here in the last days I expected the following:
A fun and personal night out with a small group, a tour that provides warm clothes (we visited in January when it was very cold), sharing of interesting stories from the guide and hopefully northern lights. We were told they would take pictures of us with a technique called "light painting".
We got some things like good food and northern lights, but we could have gotten this without spending so much money, and as far as I know everyone saw the northern lights in that night because the sky was so incredibly clear, but this is not what I blame the company for.
We were picked up at our hotel Radisson, the bus seemed to be late and the driver unprepared. After our names were crossed out and we took the last two seats the driver started scratching the ice off the windows while the guide was talking. He couldnt have done this earlier? The guide Markus, a local who was praised to heaven by the gentlemen in the tourism office, made a few comments, but although I was sitting front row next to the door I could not hear a thing thanks to the ice scratching.
After that we started driving and Markus started a 3 minutes long movie that we seen on Youtube a million times before coming to Norway. This was all the introduction there was the entire evening for the northern lights. He then said we would go to a place called whale island where the weather would be best and whales could be seen sometimes. He mentioned how long the whales are that can be seen here, and after that he said nothing anymore to the group. He started chattiig and giggling with the girls sitting behind him. After half an hour we reached a spot where everyone got off.
I managed to take a picture with some northern lights in it, which I found very nice, since it seemed to be another successful night. Markus walked by, and after proudly showing him my picture he said "yeah, almost nothing", and walked by.
The complete evening there was an quiet and eerie atmosphere on this tour. Nobody talked to each other, nobody laughed or enjoyed themselves and the one who did the least was the guide. It was about -20 degrees or so outside and we were freezing. At some point two or three people were wearing suits, but we dont know where they got them. We were told they would provide suits but at no point did Markus talk to the group about this. We overheard another couple (in chinese) asking each other why they suddenly had suits, so we were not the only ones confused.
We visited 4 or 5 more or less interesting spots during the night, which is good, but its something everyone does. Actually I think we saw about 5 other companys, sometimes someone in front of us, sometimes behind us.
At one point we stopped at a beach where the driver led a few people down to a beach where several of them slipped and fell. When we saw this we walked back to the bus. Markus was shaking hand warmer packs to activate them but did no effort at all talking to anyone or sharing interesting stories. It was really the clearest night we had in Norway and it was one of the most beautiful starry skies I have seen in my life. He could have explained the stars and constellations or could have explained more about the area, but he was quiet and never talked to the group.
Later we stopped at a mountain range where the driver led us up an hill. By now we walked up there, not because we wanted to, but because the tour was so incredibly boring that it could only get better. The driver said something about the mountain we are on and that there is a village nearby with two people living there. Behind another mountain there was a yellow glow and I knew that it was the lights from Tromso, since we were at this exact same spot with another company before, so I asked the driver what this is, to test his knowledge and see if he knows more than the guide, and he said "thats the moon rising", although it was a new moon night and so obvious that this was not the moon!!
We walked back down where Markus was standing alone and talking on the phone, obviously a private conversation as there was nothing to discuss about positions for better weather. We were so cold that we sat down in the bus, there was about 10 people sitting there, all quiet, no one said a word, they were so bored an so were we. The guide prepared a meal for us which was the only good thing on this trip, something with fish, we really enjoyed it. Only minutes later we got a few minutes of northern lights. Not as spectacular as what we have seen before and nobodys fault, but again, no explanation or any words from the guide.
We sat down at a camp fire they made for us. Some Italian older men came out of the bus shouting for us "Do you want to sit here all night? Is this what you paid for?". I couldnt blame him for this, he was one of the many bored to death people on this tour. Markus ignored him and we took all the shouting for sitting there. We made Markus aware of what had just happened and he ignored us and talked to his driver in Norwegian! This was the most unbelievable moment of the trip!!
Everytime we stopped at a point Markus would say "I will see if there is northern lights. You can sit here and wait". In the beginning everyone went out with him to look, with every hour passing it got so boring and disappointing that less and less people went out. He didnt even try to animate people or tell stories. At the last spot no one left the bus. Some people had fallen asleep and he stood outside for a whole 20 minutes looking at the sky. It was awkward!
He came back in with the words "There was no more activity, we will drive back now". We only thought "THANK GOD!". We arrived at the hotel at 1 or so, he turned around to the group and said "I hope you enjoyed the night". Nobody said a word, I think in the back I heard people laughing out of irony. He opened the doors, everyone went out, I stood there and waited to look at peoples faces, just to make sure all others felt as cheated as we did, and not one single person said goodbye or thank you. Everyone was grumpy, tired, bored to death and incredibly disappointed.
Maybe I would have just not left a review if this company had more bad reviews, but it has 188 mostly excellent ones!! Its just unbelievable. And what is even more unbelievable is that one person had the gutts to leave a bad review and the owners response is to tell him that he is lying!!! Quote: "not a single word in this review is correct."
I know that my review will not change a thing anytime soon about the success of this terrible company, but I hope that Markus starts thinking about his way of acting towards his guests and rather tries to improve if somebody leaves a bad review instead of saying the person is lying!!
My idea on why this company is so well rated is that he only encourages people to leave a review if they had a good night with lots of northern lights, which was not the case (and nobodys fault) on our night. Most people probably book through the tourism office like we did and dont even know about their opportunity to leave a review here, good for Markus and his company!!
What I will maybe never understand is why people write about the suits, about the nice pictures he sent them together with details on where they went, about how he shared interesting stories and was such a lovely guide, because compared to what we and 13 other people in that bus experienced that night, it was completely the opposite!!
I hope that in future my review encourages people that were as dissapointed as we were to share theire experience online instead of making it look like this tour deserves its position.
Overall it was a terrible experience, not only compared to the other tours we had in Tromso but in all our many years traveling. The guide was not making any effort to entertain anyone and we never received any pictures or details or anything that was promised us by the tourism office. For the same money we could have rented a car and rent suits and buy food ourselves. We wouldnt have had any guide that cared about us or shared interesting stories with us, but neither did we have on this tour.
We booked this tour through the tourism office in Tromso. The British gentlemen made every effort in praising the tour and together with reading the reviews on here in the last days I expected the following:
A fun and personal night out with a small group, a tour that provides warm clothes (we visited in January when it was very cold), sharing of interesting stories from the guide and hopefully northern lights. We were told they would take pictures of us with a technique called "light painting".
We got some things like good food and northern lights, but we could have gotten this without spending so much money, and as far as I know everyone saw the northern lights in that night because the sky was so incredibly clear, but this is not what I blame the company for.
We were picked up at our hotel Radisson, the bus seemed to be late and the driver unprepared. After our names were crossed out and we took the last two seats the driver started scratching the ice off the windows while the guide was talking. He couldnt have done this earlier? The guide Markus, a local who was praised to heaven by the gentlemen in the tourism office, made a few comments, but although I was sitting front row next to the door I could not hear a thing thanks to the ice scratching.
After that we started driving and Markus started a 3 minutes long movie that we seen on Youtube a million times before coming to Norway. This was all the introduction there was the entire evening for the northern lights. He then said we would go to a place called whale island where the weather would be best and whales could be seen sometimes. He mentioned how long the whales are that can be seen here, and after that he said nothing anymore to the group. He started chattiig and giggling with the girls sitting behind him. After half an hour we reached a spot where everyone got off.
I managed to take a picture with some northern lights in it, which I found very nice, since it seemed to be another successful night. Markus walked by, and after proudly showing him my picture he said "yeah, almost nothing", and walked by.
The complete evening there was an quiet and eerie atmosphere on this tour. Nobody talked to each other, nobody laughed or enjoyed themselves and the one who did the least was the guide. It was about -20 degrees or so outside and we were freezing. At some point two or three people were wearing suits, but we dont know where they got them. We were told they would provide suits but at no point did Markus talk to the group about this. We overheard another couple (in chinese) asking each other why they suddenly had suits, so we were not the only ones confused.
We visited 4 or 5 more or less interesting spots during the night, which is good, but its something everyone does. Actually I think we saw about 5 other companys, sometimes someone in front of us, sometimes behind us.
At one point we stopped at a beach where the driver led a few people down to a beach where several of them slipped and fell. When we saw this we walked back to the bus. Markus was shaking hand warmer packs to activate them but did no effort at all talking to anyone or sharing interesting stories. It was really the clearest night we had in Norway and it was one of the most beautiful starry skies I have seen in my life. He could have explained the stars and constellations or could have explained more about the area, but he was quiet and never talked to the group.
Later we stopped at a mountain range where the driver led us up an hill. By now we walked up there, not because we wanted to, but because the tour was so incredibly boring that it could only get better. The driver said something about the mountain we are on and that there is a village nearby with two people living there. Behind another mountain there was a yellow glow and I knew that it was the lights from Tromso, since we were at this exact same spot with another company before, so I asked the driver what this is, to test his knowledge and see if he knows more than the guide, and he said "thats the moon rising", although it was a new moon night and so obvious that this was not the moon!!
We walked back down where Markus was standing alone and talking on the phone, obviously a private conversation as there was nothing to discuss about positions for better weather. We were so cold that we sat down in the bus, there was about 10 people sitting there, all quiet, no one said a word, they were so bored an so were we. The guide prepared a meal for us which was the only good thing on this trip, something with fish, we really enjoyed it. Only minutes later we got a few minutes of northern lights. Not as spectacular as what we have seen before and nobodys fault, but again, no explanation or any words from the guide.
We sat down at a camp fire they made for us. Some Italian older men came out of the bus shouting for us "Do you want to sit here all night? Is this what you paid for?". I couldnt blame him for this, he was one of the many bored to death people on this tour. Markus ignored him and we took all the shouting for sitting there. We made Markus aware of what had just happened and he ignored us and talked to his driver in Norwegian! This was the most unbelievable moment of the trip!!
Everytime we stopped at a point Markus would say "I will see if there is northern lights. You can sit here and wait". In the beginning everyone went out with him to look, with every hour passing it got so boring and disappointing that less and less people went out. He didnt even try to animate people or tell stories. At the last spot no one left the bus. Some people had fallen asleep and he stood outside for a whole 20 minutes looking at the sky. It was awkward!
He came back in with the words "There was no more activity, we will drive back now". We only thought "THANK GOD!". We arrived at the hotel at 1 or so, he turned around to the group and said "I hope you enjoyed the night". Nobody said a word, I think in the back I heard people laughing out of irony. He opened the doors, everyone went out, I stood there and waited to look at peoples faces, just to make sure all others felt as cheated as we did, and not one single person said goodbye or thank you. Everyone was grumpy, tired, bored to death and incredibly disappointed.
Maybe I would have just not left a review if this company had more bad reviews, but it has 188 mostly excellent ones!! Its just unbelievable. And what is even more unbelievable is that one person had the gutts to leave a bad review and the owners response is to tell him that he is lying!!! Quote: "not a single word in this review is correct."
I know that my review will not change a thing anytime soon about the success of this terrible company, but I hope that Markus starts thinking about his way of acting towards his guests and rather tries to improve if somebody leaves a bad review instead of saying the person is lying!!
My idea on why this company is so well rated is that he only encourages people to leave a review if they had a good night with lots of northern lights, which was not the case (and nobodys fault) on our night. Most people probably book through the tourism office like we did and dont even know about their opportunity to leave a review here, good for Markus and his company!!
What I will maybe never understand is why people write about the suits, about the nice pictures he sent them together with details on where they went, about how he shared interesting stories and was such a lovely guide, because compared to what we and 13 other people in that bus experienced that night, it was completely the opposite!!
I hope that in future my review encourages people that were as dissapointed as we were to share theire experience online instead of making it look like this tour deserves its position.
Overall it was a terrible experience, not only compared to the other tours we had in Tromso but in all our many years traveling. The guide was not making any effort to entertain anyone and we never received any pictures or details or anything that was promised us by the tourism office. For the same money we could have rented a car and rent suits and buy food ourselves. We wouldnt have had any guide that cared about us or shared interesting stories with us, but neither did we have on this tour.
Written August 20, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for your review. Sorry to hear that you did not like the trip. We always try to do everything we can to give our guests a perfect experience, but this time it was apparently not enough.
Quote 1:
We were picked up at our hotel Radisson, the bus seemed to be late and the driver unprepared. After our names were crossed out and we took the last two seats the driver started scratching the ice off the windows while the guide was talking. He couldnt have done this earlier? The guide Markus, a local who was praised to heaven by the gentlemen in the tourism office, made a few comments, but although I was sitting front row next to the door I could not hear a thing thanks to the ice scratching.
Our answer:
I agree that the timing was bad if one of us scraped the ice while the other was talking to the guests. Too bad you didn’t let me know that you couldn’t hear me, then I could have repeated it.
Quote 2:
It was about -20 degrees or so outside and we were freezing. At some point two or three people were wearing suits, but we dont know where they got them. We were told they would provide suits but at no point did Markus talk to the group about this. We overheard another couple (in chinese) asking each other why they suddenly had suits, so we were not the only ones confused.
Our answer:
It may have been cold, but it has never been -20 degrees on Whale Island. I really do not understand how you could have missed the information about the clothing. We always encourage our guests to put on our warm thermal suits. We continually ask our guests if they are cold or in need of thermal suits, hand warmers and feet warmers. At every stop we make on the way, we ask our guests if they need warmer clothing.
Quote 3:
We visited 4 or 5 more or less interesting spots during the night, which is good, but its something everyone does. Actually I think we saw about 5 other companys, sometimes someone in front of us, sometimes behind us.
Our answer:
You say it is something that everyone does, however this is not correct. Almost all other guides stay at only one single location throughout the tour. For us it is important to take our guests to different locations with different sceneries so they will have a good experience with many different views and backgrounds.
Quote 4:
Markus was shaking hand warmer packs to activate them but did no effort at all talking to anyone or sharing interesting stories. It was really the clearest night we had in Norway and it was one of the most beautiful starry skies I have seen in my life. He could have explained the stars and constellations or could have explained more about the area, but he was quiet and never talked to the group.
Our answer:
It seems like you have missed everything that’s been said on this tour. All the information about the Northern lights, the areas we visited, information about clothes, pictures, etc. I’m sorry, but I do not understand how this is possible.
Quote 5:
We walked back down where Markus was standing alone and talking on the phone, obviously a private conversation as there was nothing to discuss about positions for better weather.
Our answer:
We never make private calls during the trips. But we talk a lot to other guides that we cooperate with. Not only about the weather, but locations, expected activity, how long they will be out and so on.
Quote 6:
Everytime we stopped at a point Markus would say "I will see if there is northern lights. You can sit here and wait". In the beginning everyone went out with him to look, with every hour passing it got so boring and disappointing that less and less people went out. He didnt even try to animate people or tell stories. At the last spot no one left the bus. Some people had fallen asleep and he stood outside for a whole 20 minutes looking at the sky. It was awkward!
Our answer:
We have never understood why people travel as far as Tromso to sit inside a bus most of the time during the trip. I know other guides who sit inside the bus waiting, but this is something we will never do. As long as there is a chance to see something, we will always stay outside. Sometimes we get good northern lights shows that just last for seconds. If we had been sitting inside the bus we would had missed this. We think that it is a service that guests can take a break and sit down in the bus while we stay outside. I know we are a little more extreme and stay out longer than most other tours. But as long as there is a chance to see something we do not want to go back.
Quote 7:
He came back in with the words "There was no more activity, we will drive back now". We only thought "THANK GOD!". We arrived at the hotel at 1 or so, he turned around to the group and said "I hope you enjoyed the night".
Our answer:
I'm very glad that this was not one of the evenings when we stayed out until 04:00.
Quote 8:
Maybe I would have just not left a review if this company had more bad reviews, but it has 188 mostly excellent ones!! Its just unbelievable. And what is even more unbelievable is that one person had the gutts to leave a bad review and the owners response is to tell him that he is lying!!! Quote: "not a single word in this review is correct." I know that my review will not change a thing anytime soon about the success of this terrible company, but I hope that Markus starts thinking about his way of acting towards his guests and rather tries to improve if somebody leaves a bad review instead of saying the person is lying!!
Our answer:
If you take the time to read through the review you will quickly realize that there is something wrong with it. It was either written by someone who has never been on one of our tours or someone who just wants to give us a bad reputation.
We always want to improve and get better at what we do. We appreciate very much all feedback from our guests. However, the contents in the review mentioned above have no roots to reality.
Quote 9:
My idea on why this company is so well rated is that he only encourages people to leave a review if they had a good night with lots of northern lights, which was not the case (and nobodys fault) on our night. Most people probably book through the tourism office like we did and dont even know about their opportunity to leave a review here, good for Markus and his company!!
Our answer:
If you take the time to read some reviews you'll see that it's from guests who have seen northern lights on our tour, but also from guests who have not been so fortunate to see the lights. We encourage all our guests to leave their feedback after the trip, positive or negative. We especially appreciate advices on things we can improve. The main thing is not to be on top of Tripadvisor, but to give our guests an experience as good as possible.
Quote 10:
What I will maybe never understand is why people write about the suits, about the nice pictures he sent them together with details on where they went, about how he shared interesting stories and was such a lovely guide, because compared to what we and 13 other people in that bus experienced that night, it was completely the opposite!!
Our answer:
As I wrote earlier, I do not understand how it is possible that you may have missed all this. We always encourage our guests to put on our warm thermal suits. We continually ask our guests if they are cold or in need of thermal suits, hand warmers and feet warmers. At every stop we make on the way, we ask our guests if they need warmer clothing.
At the end of the trips, before the guests leave the bus we ask everyone who wants photos from the trip and a map of where we've been to send us an e-mail. The reason why we do this is because we do not have e-mail addresses for everyone on the trip. We also hand out our e-mail address to anyone who does not have it.
Again, we are sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy the trip with us. If you have sent us an e-mail after the trip, we have unfortunately not received it. If you want the pictures and a map, please send us an e-mail and you will receive an answer the same day with the attached files.
Best regards
Marcus Åhlund
Arctic Fishing Adventures
Written September 18, 2014
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Anna
4 contributions
Jan 2019 • Friends
I went on the Northern Lights tour on January 23, 2019 and all I can say is WOW!!!
The tour was absolutely fantastic. Marcus who was our guide told us some really interesting facts about NL and history behind them. We were also shown a video in the minibus. When we arrived at the first location those who wanted could dress in really warm clothing and shoes. And that was really good because you stand still quite a bit so being warm is essential.
Marcus and driver (totally forgot his name, sorry) made a camp fire and served the most delicious soup I have eaten in a long time. While we ate the Northern lights were dancing above us. Spectacular!!!
We had the chance to lend tripods and Marcus gave us great tips on how to capture the Northern lights on our cameras. After a while we changed location to another place with a new background. It was really nice to move around a bit so that you got another scenery in your pictures.
All in all we were really lucky with the Northern lights as it was a fantastic evening and the show we saw was something I will remember for the rest of my life!!!! The colors and the movement of the lights is something you have to witness for yourself. So do yourself a favor and book this tour with Marcus! He will take super care of you and I guarantee you will not regret it!!
Tack Marcus! :)
The tour was absolutely fantastic. Marcus who was our guide told us some really interesting facts about NL and history behind them. We were also shown a video in the minibus. When we arrived at the first location those who wanted could dress in really warm clothing and shoes. And that was really good because you stand still quite a bit so being warm is essential.
Marcus and driver (totally forgot his name, sorry) made a camp fire and served the most delicious soup I have eaten in a long time. While we ate the Northern lights were dancing above us. Spectacular!!!
We had the chance to lend tripods and Marcus gave us great tips on how to capture the Northern lights on our cameras. After a while we changed location to another place with a new background. It was really nice to move around a bit so that you got another scenery in your pictures.
All in all we were really lucky with the Northern lights as it was a fantastic evening and the show we saw was something I will remember for the rest of my life!!!! The colors and the movement of the lights is something you have to witness for yourself. So do yourself a favor and book this tour with Marcus! He will take super care of you and I guarantee you will not regret it!!
Tack Marcus! :)
Written January 28, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter H
1 contribution
Mar 2018 • Friends
During our stay in Tromso we joined 4 different companies on Northern Lights trips. We preferred this company for many reasons. The driver and guide were very motivated and friendly. They served the tastiest food, went to the most scenic spots, offered us the best clothing and most importantly, they use a local driver and a local guide. Unfortunately the other companies we went with use foreign guides without any knowledge of the area.
Written October 17, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rosa-malaysia
kuala lumpur26 contributions
Mar 2016
Unfortunately we didnt get to see a spectacular display of the northern lights merely because of the weather as it was cloudy and there was little activity that night. Nevertheless it was worth the experience as our guide Marcus was very diligent and really tried to chase the lights for us.
Written March 17, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jeppe K
Vra, Denmark12 contributions
Feb 2016 • Solo
Marcus and team made a wonderful northern light tour. Very informative, great help with the camera, good pictures and very dedicated. The camp fire and hot meal was a fantastic end of the chase.
The benefit of a local guide clearly showed on our night out. It was a day with thick clouds and some show. Still Marcus managed to find plenty of good openings in the sky for us to get a full northen light show with wonderful waves of green and pink.
Highly recommended.
The benefit of a local guide clearly showed on our night out. It was a day with thick clouds and some show. Still Marcus managed to find plenty of good openings in the sky for us to get a full northen light show with wonderful waves of green and pink.
Highly recommended.
Written March 5, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Suzana P
Paris, France1 contribution
Dec 2015 • Solo
The tour with "Explore The Artic" is a tour to remember.
A must-do. Absolutely.
At least once in a life-time, but why not several times !
I had some great expectations, all of them were met.
It was a real magic, warm, even though it was minus 10°C.
Tromso, a heartfelt city.
I felt I was an Aurora Borealis Hunter. :-)
When I saw the first one, after I took my first ever picture, I was touched deep inside my heart. I was moved to tears. Something unspeakable...
Dear Marcus,
Tusen Takk :
- for all the great organisation (I felt safe and at ease)
- for all the info you gave us while driving (I knew precisely where we were)
- for the campfire (the last time I saw one, I was ten years old...)
- for the wonderful dinner we had (please thank the cook for that)
- for warm drinks
- for the hand warmers (amazing stuff, I never saw such a thing before)
- for your patience, time, and answers to my questions (I'm sorry for having bothered you)
- for your kind help with my camera
- for lending me a tripod for the whole evening
- for your advices to take good pictures
- for helping me to my first-ever “let go”, (because I always need to organize myself all the details of the things I do, of the places I visit, to know precisely where I go, etc…).
In your guided tour, I did know nothing (apart meeting point Radisson Blu), and all went so well…
I need to learn to have confidence into someone, which is the toughest point in life for me...
With all my gratitude.
Sincerely,
Suzana Petkovic
A must-do. Absolutely.
At least once in a life-time, but why not several times !
I had some great expectations, all of them were met.
It was a real magic, warm, even though it was minus 10°C.
Tromso, a heartfelt city.
I felt I was an Aurora Borealis Hunter. :-)
When I saw the first one, after I took my first ever picture, I was touched deep inside my heart. I was moved to tears. Something unspeakable...
Dear Marcus,
Tusen Takk :
- for all the great organisation (I felt safe and at ease)
- for all the info you gave us while driving (I knew precisely where we were)
- for the campfire (the last time I saw one, I was ten years old...)
- for the wonderful dinner we had (please thank the cook for that)
- for warm drinks
- for the hand warmers (amazing stuff, I never saw such a thing before)
- for your patience, time, and answers to my questions (I'm sorry for having bothered you)
- for your kind help with my camera
- for lending me a tripod for the whole evening
- for your advices to take good pictures
- for helping me to my first-ever “let go”, (because I always need to organize myself all the details of the things I do, of the places I visit, to know precisely where I go, etc…).
In your guided tour, I did know nothing (apart meeting point Radisson Blu), and all went so well…
I need to learn to have confidence into someone, which is the toughest point in life for me...
With all my gratitude.
Sincerely,
Suzana Petkovic
Written March 1, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sally H
Southampton, UK7 contributions
Feb 2016 • Couples
Marcus was such an excellent guide. We had thick snow all day so didn't hold out much hope for viewing the Northern Lights that evening. Ever optimistic Marcus was determined to find them for us, and his perseverance paid off. The clouds parted in one spot that we stopped in, just as the Aurora started to become active. We were delighted to see a thin green line and thought that would be it. However it then became a huge colourful flame-like display right across the sky which simply took our breath away. Marcus had worked out where the clouds would part due to his experience of wind direction in that area. I'm not sure we would have found them with a usual coach tour under that evening's difficult conditions. The campfire, fish stew and hot chocolate were the icing on the cake - a really incredible experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives! I totally recommend this trip.
Written February 27, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi we are group of 7 looking to book the whale watching on 9 feb. is it still possible from tromso ? Thanks
Written February 3, 2019
Hola, que tal. Quiero viajar a ver la aurora en diciembre, del 4 al 7. Algún guía en español? Mil gracias
Written October 18, 2018
Hello. Im sorry, we speak English during the trips.
Written November 12, 2018
A Tripadvisor member
Dresden, Germany
Hallo, wir sind in Oktober in Tromsö. Wir sind auf der Suche nach deutschsprachigen Touren. Können Sie mir was empfehlen?? Vielen herzlichen Dank.
Written August 31, 2018
Hola Anny, podrías por favor darme el correo del guía?? Aunque no te acuerdes de su nombre, supongo que estarías refiriéndote a Marcus, porque cuadra perfectamente lo que tú dices de él con la mayoría de las opiniones y con mi experiencia. Me dejé su tarjeta en el hotel y me gustaría contactar con él para pedirle las fotos. Gracias y saludos.Gracias y saludos
Written January 6, 2018
Bonjour
nous aimerions reserver des excursions avec vous pour voir les aurores boreales, ces dernières années quelle a etait la periode ideale pour les voir? fin janvier? mi fevrier? nous allons rapidement acheter nos billets d avion et nous reviendrons vers vous pour reserver les excursions au plus vite merci beaucoup pour votre reponse julie
Written June 5, 2017
dro53
Wiesbaden, Germany
Can you please help to remove a duplicated reservation/confirmation for the Fjord Cruise for 20 FEB 2017? We do NOT wish to cancel our cruise reservation. We are only requesting to remove the duplicate booking confirmation.
******
I have sent three written requests via post@explorethearctic.no by email and the Explore the Arctic contact website, but have not received any response or confirmation of receipt of my request.
The problem arose when attempting to enter all of the data for the reservation. One of the reservation data fields requests a credit card verification code. As we awaited the code message, the Explore the Arctic reservation website cleared, and the Home page opened. We assumed the reservation was lost as not all of the reservation data fields were completed. So, we commenced entering the reservation information, this time, with the credit card verification code, and completed all of the reservation data fields.
Subsequently, we received two booking confirmations for the same Fjord Cruise tour. I don't understand why since the first reservation request was incomplete and appeared to be lost as all data in the fields were deleted.
I again am asking if one of the booking confirmations can be removed/credited as we only require one. We wish to attend the tour, but we only need one of the reservations.
Please help!! Please respond at your soonest convenience!! My contact information has been provided via the email messages and the website contact message.
Thank you in advance for all your assistance!!
If anyone else has experienced this issue, please advise on your resolve!
Written January 18, 2017
This is address I have : post@explorethearctic.no
I had been sent email to them for request photos from them and I got qucik responsed from them .
I hope it would help you.
Written January 19, 2017
Hi! We would like to take a whale watching tour end of January (January 31st). Is it still possible to see the whales as they started to migrate?
Written January 8, 2017
We did a whale watching cruise on 3 Jan from Tromso in Norway and saw lots of humpbacks and orcas. I don't know how much longer they are there.
Written January 9, 2017
I'm in Northern Norway deciding whether to sign up for a whale watching Safari with Explore the Arctic in Tromsø later this week. I imagine it will be dark there as it is early January. How do you see the whales if it's dark?
Written January 1, 2017
Hello. During your stay we have approx. 3,5 hours of daylight and its during these hours the boat trip take part.
Written January 2, 2017
I want to visit the arctic. Better to go to Greenland and Iceland or svslberg and Tromso?
Thanks
Written November 29, 2016
Hi , i live in Tromsø and i never visited other places above you mentioned So i can only recommend Tromsø !
If you like to see northern lights, humpback whales, orka , and winter activities like dog sled and ski meny more here, you will find plenty of them !
The City of tromsø is lively and it has lots of good restaurant, cafes /bars and hotels . City with it own Charme Welcome to Tromsø
Written November 30, 2016
Stavo pensando di venire il 4,5 gennaio 2017. Ci sono dei tour programmati per quei giorni?
E' un buon periodo per vedere l'aurora boreale?
Quanto costa (saremo io e mia nipote, 16 anni)
Grazie
Written November 26, 2016
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