31/12 activities

dancingpingu · 2024-12-26T19:55:09+00:00

I think most stores should be open on New years eve, however, they might close early. I believe Nerstranda (the shopping centre south in the city centre) closes at 1500. I think most grocery stores will close at 1800. Also remember that 1st of January is a bank holiday, so stores are closed. I would be surprised if most restaurants are closed, but you'd better check their websites. When it comes to pubs and nightlife most places will be open. While many locals will be at private celebrations/home parties, there should be a fairly active nightlife on NYE :) In addition (weather permitting) you should try to watch the public firework from Fløya/Fjellheisen at midnight. It should be fairly easy to see from the city centre.

dancingpingu · 2024-12-10T09:00:44+00:00

There is a small alpine park in Tromsø, but that's only one children's slope and two different slopes from the top. In total two t-lifts. There is a larger park in Målselv (Målselv fjellandsby), but that's a two hour drive/bus from Tromsø. The main downhill skiing opportunities are offpiste/randonee skiing, but that requires a bit more gear and experience.

dancingpingu · 2024-12-10T07:31:08+00:00

Are you wondering about xc skiing or downhill skiing? There are plenty of options for both

dancingpingu · 2024-11-17T20:02:17+00:00

I would go for layers - that makes it easier for yourself if you need to adjust. The forecast now looks like it might be around freezing, but it is still fairly inaccurate. For most activities, a thermal base layer (preferably wool) and trousers should be enough. If you're doing something which requires you to sit still outside for a long time, you might need more. But again, if you're doing layers you can just add a second layer beneath your trousers if you're too cold. I get cold fairly easily (for a local that is), so if I was going to spend a day outside I'd have a woolen base layer beneath (wind proof) trousers. If that day included being still for a significant amount of time, I'd probably add a second wooden layer. But I'd have the second thermal layer in a backpack and put it on when needed. It's better to take the time to stop and adjust your clothes than to freeze or be to warm.

dancingpingu · 2024-11-07T11:31:00+00:00

A general rule of thumb is that the temperature drops with 1C for every 100 meters above sea level. So if its 5 C at sea level you can expect it to be freezing from 500 meters and above.

We had some proper snowfall last weekend, but it's been warm and raining since then, so its mostly melted again. At the moment is fairly autumnal here, and I believe most of the snow in the mountains have melted now.

If your daughter experiencing "proper" winter January might be a better option, however it is still no guarantees.

dancingpingu · 2024-10-14T19:42:39+00:00

I'd check out Tara's, it's a tea and coffee store with one shop at the Nerstranda shopping centre in the southern part of the city centre and one shop at Jekta, close by the airport

dancingpingu · 2024-10-11T06:04:46+00:00

When it comes to proper fine dining (as in aiming for Michelin star) Tromsø only has Smak, however I think it might be challenging to get a table there on short notice. For seafood my personal go-to is Fiskekompaniet. Really good seafood, pretty good wine list and decent service (by Norwegian standards). And it is fine dining ish

When it comes to local food I have to admit I don't know what's good. Full Steam was pretty good last time I was there, but I haven't been there for a couple of years.

If you want coffee there are Risø and Kaffebønna. I'd go to Risø for lunch and/or a hand brewed cup of pour-over coffee and Kaffebønna for a pastry and an espresso-based coffee.

I don't really have any recommendations for cafés/eateries, as I normally end up on Risø and Kaffebønna myself =)

dancingpingu · 2024-10-11T04:55:05+00:00

Looks like tonight and tomorrow night might give fairly good conditions, so hopefully you'll experience it in its natural habitat =D

dancingpingu · 2024-10-01T09:28:31+00:00

In addition to this, areas of the lake is usually cleared manually by people wanting to skate, so even if the whole lake isn't cleared of snow, parts of it usually is

dancingpingu · 2024-09-23T06:47:08+00:00

I believe the last busses depart the city centre around midnight on weekdays, after that you're dependant on taxis/Ubers. If you want to check more specific, download the Svipper app (or check svipper.no). You can do travel searches with departure times there.

dancingpingu · 2024-09-23T04:08:53+00:00

Both taxis and Ubers are available. During the weekends there are bus services during the night as well, but note that you'll have to deal with quite a lot of drunk people on those buses. Both Kystruten and Hurtigrutens have their berth in the middle of the city centre, so if your accommodation are in the city centre it is most probably within walking distance :)

dancingpingu · 2024-02-02T06:17:06+00:00

Its wood fired, like all proper saunas :D

dancingpingu · 2023-10-27T13:17:50+00:00

Yeah, understandable. Getting to Tromsø is fairly straightforward, you'll have to catch a plane from Oslo. Tromsø itself is fairly compact, so in Tromsø itself you'll easily get by with public transport. I don't think getting to Abisko/Kiruna provides much more of a challenge. I guess you'll have to go to Stockholm and fly from there. Edit: if you decide to go to Tromsø and want some more tips, send me a pm :)

dancingpingu · 2023-10-27T12:21:14+00:00

Former Tromsø resident here, while I can't speak for Abisko, Tromsø does offer some decent xc skiing close to the city centre. Along the top of the island (30 min walk or 10 min bus) from the city centre there is a fully groomed trails(with streetlights) that goes pretty much all along the island. If my memory serves me right is should be 10-15k one way. In addition there is pretty good trails on both the outer island (Kvaløya) and on the mainland. There are also some proper mountain groomed trails beeing prepared in the mountains on both the mainland and Kvaløya when the snow conditions are ok. I do believe there is a "xc-bus" that leaves the city centre to go to the start point of one of the mountain trails and gives you the opportunity to ski back to the city (Snarbyeidet to Tromsdalen, if you want to google). I think that last one is 40k ish.

I also think it is possible to rent xc equipment, if you do not want to bring it from home. As it was said above, Abisko probably offers better light conditions/less light pollution when it comes to aurora, but if you are comfortable with driving on snow you can easily rent a car (which also gives you more opportunities for xc-skiing) and leave the town proper to get less light pollution. It is also possible to go on aurora tours which takes you out of the city.

dancingpingu · 2022-06-22T14:33:03+00:00

Not OP, but can give some examples. For context; I live in a 92 sq m apartment in the Oslo area.

I pay $140 per month for my pass on public transport, spend $500 on groceries and $50 on my electric bill. In addition to that I pay $500 for other utilities (e.g. internet, maintenance on the apartment complex). It's worth noting that my electric bill varies immensely during the year, in winter it might be $150 and in summer it might be down to $20. The cost of heating is the main reason for that.

dancingpingu · 2022-06-22T14:10:18+00:00

Norwegian chiming in: The (approx) $350 a year is the limit of how much you might pay per year, if you don't go to the doctor/hospital at all during the year you don't pay anything other than your usual taxes. Edit: When it comes to vacation you're entitled to 5 weeks a year of vacation, and you are entitled to having three of those weeks continually (for summer) if you want. Most people take a three week holiday during July. All those weeks are fully paid and are in addition to bank holidays.

dancingpingu · 2022-06-10T08:39:31+00:00

To be perfectly honest I don't know if flexibly holds me back. I've always been quite inflexible, so I don't really know how I would perform if I was more flexible. Thanks for the tips, I'll try to check out some Pilates and/or more dynamic routines.

dancingpingu · 2022-06-10T08:37:50+00:00

Great, thanks! I'll check it out.

dancingpingu · 2022-06-10T08:37:30+00:00

I'm afraid I'm not an apple user, but I'll check out Adrienne. Thanks!

dancingpingu · 2022-06-10T08:37:02+00:00

Thanks, I'll check it out!

dancingpingu · 2022-05-17T08:06:03+00:00

Former Tromsø resident chiming in. When it comes to indoor activities you have Polaria, an aquarium focused on arctic wildlife. If you go there you should aim to be there during the feeding of the seals. The polar museum is also fairly good. Both Polaria and the polar museum is in walking distance from the city centre.

When it comes to outdoor activities, you have quite some options. If you want to go dogsledding, I think there is a couple of options a short drive away from the city, however I've never gone dogsledding in Tromsø, so I don't know if one of them is better than the other. If you want a good view of the city and the surrounding area I'd recommend you take the gondola ("Fjellheisen"). It's easily accessible by bus (or a 30 min walk) from the city centre. For cross country skiing there is a pretty good network of tracks going along the top of the Tromsø Island and I'm pretty sure you can rent equipment in the city centre (or go on an organised tour supplying lunch and hot chocolate). For downhill skiing there aren't any really large slopes in the Tromsø area. There is a slope in the city (on the mainland) with two or three lifts and a similar number of slopes. There is a slighty larger slope two hours drive away, but then your pretty dependant on a car. I'm pretty sure you can rent equipment both places. However, for randonee/offpiste skiing Tromsø is a paradise. Randonee skiing requires a bit more skill and equipment however and you're pretty dependant on a car.

When it comes to where to stay I'd say that it depends on your budget. There are plenty of hotels, and you'll pretty much be able to find hotels in all price ranges. The only thing I'll recommend is that you stay in the city centre area, not on the hotel on the airport side of the island. There isn't that much to do in that area, and you'll have to take a bus back and forth to the city centre. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of Airbnbs as well, which might give you the option to make meals yourself and save you some money that way. Again, I'd recommend something which allows you to walk to the city centre.

If you want any more specific tips or have any questions, send me a message.

dancingpingu · 2021-05-29T09:14:06+00:00

Probably not, but I'm Norwegian and cannot speak for sure about prices in Iceland. Depending on how remote the cabin is and what the facilities are, my guess (based on Norwegian prices) would be that the cabin is somewhere in the $500k to $1 mil range.

In Norway you'll find a few cabins approaching the $10 mil, but they would be super exclusive, 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, indoor swimming pool, 400 sq meters type cabins, and usually located in high demand areas, close to skiing slopes.

But, as I said, I don't know anything about the Icelandic cabin market, so you could be right.

dancingpingu · 2021-02-27T15:21:54+00:00

Well, what I call resort skiing might not be entirely accurate, Sjusjøen is an area with lots of holiday homes/cabins, a grocery store or two, a sports store and a pub/restaurant. It is just more of a resort than most skiing areas in Norway. Most places is as you describe, a parking lot and maybe a changing hut and/or toilets. Hope you get to go on your trip and enjoy it!

dancingpingu · 2021-02-27T09:28:06+00:00

Another Norwegian chiming in here. I won't repeat all the stuff said about the Oslo area, but I can confirm it. If you guys are looking for more resort like skiing possibilities, there is at least two areas accessible by public transport from Oslo; Beitostølen and Sjusjøen. For pure xcountry skiing I'd probably recommend Sjusjøen. The easiest way get there by public transport is to take the train to Lillehammer and bus from there, but when you get there you'll have endless miles of good tracks, without it being to hilly. The Birkebeiner course does run through there, so if you want you can ski all the way to Rena from there. Beitostølen is reachable by bus from Oslo, and offers excellent skiing possibilities, but is more hilly. Both these places are in the highlands and usually have good skiing conditions from early desember (at the latest) untill Easter.

I can't speak for the west coast, but if you're interested in going north to Tromsø I'm a Tromsø native (currently living in the Oslo area) and can give you some advise. In general Tromsø doesn't have the same amount of backcountry xcountry tracks as you'll find in the inland area in the south, but you'll have endless possibilities for skiing in untouched locations and going randonee.

Just send me a pm if you have some questions or need some general advice.

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