Night Reindeer Sledding with a 3-Course Sami Dinner and a Chance of Northern Lights

This listing charges $222 per person. For that you get return transport by bus from central Tromsø, guiding in English, the reindeer feeding, the night sled ride, the three-course dinner with coffee, tea or hot chocolate and snacks, the storytelling and the joik. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the start, and the reserve now pay later option lets you hold a seat without paying on the day you book.

What is not included and what to know

Hotel pickup is not included, so you make your own way to the bus terminal at Prostneset. Baby seats are not on the buses beyond a few boosters, which is the one rule that catches families out. Difficulty is rated easy, and guests of all ages can join.

No wheelchair access is stated. Bring warm clothing, since much of the evening happens outdoors.

• Return transportation by bus
• Guiding in English
• 3-course dinner with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options
• Reindeer feeding and night sledding
• Storytelling and a joik
• Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and snacks
• Warm clothing (pack at least two layers, a hat, gloves and winter boots)
• Your own baby seat if travelling with an infant

The camp keeps a herd of about 300 reindeer, and you feed them by hand. Because this is a night departure, the feeding happens after dark, which is harder for photos than the daytime version of the same visit.

How the sled ride works

Reindeer sledding near Tromsø runs in a caravan: each reindeer and its sled are tied in a row behind a lead reindeer led by a herder, so you ride rather than steer. The animals move slowly and calmly, and the ride is quiet. On thin or icy snow the operator can shorten or cancel the ride, and one recent reviewer lost the sled ride to conditions and still rated the evening 5 stars on the strength of the rest of it.

Group sizes are large and shared, so expect company at the feeding pen and at the sleds.

After the sled, you warm up inside a candlelit gamme, a turf hut, with hot tea, coffee or hot chocolate. The main event is a three-course dinner that includes bidos, the traditional Sami reindeer stew cooked over the open fire and often served at Sami weddings and other special occasions. The kitchen caters for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free diets, so tell the operator when you book.

Stories and a joik in the lavvu

Dinner flows into the culture part of the evening. You gather in a lavvu, the Sami tent with a fire in the middle, and listen to the herders talk about Sami culture, herding life and their beliefs. Your host performs a joik, the traditional Sami song form.

The last stage takes you back outside to see whether the northern lights appear above the camp. The listing is honest about this: it is a chance, not a promise. The lights need dark, clear skies and solar activity, and the operator cannot control any of the three.

On a cloudy night you still keep the sled ride, the dinner and the stories.

If the aurora is the main reason for your trip, treat this as a bonus and plan a dedicated hunt as well. Sami Reindeer Camp Visit and Northern Lights Night in the Wilderness runs 9 hours with a guide who photographs you under the lights, though it has no sled ride. The Tromsø season for night tours runs from autumn to early April, and December to March is the most reliable stretch for snow at the camps.

Dark hours in Tromsø depend on the season: the Tromsø climate and daylight figures show the polar night from about 26 November to 15 January.

For the months when dark skies and camp snow overlap, see the best time for reindeer sledding in Tromsø.

Pick this listing if you want one evening that covers sledding, a big herd, a proper hot dinner and Sami culture without booking anything else. It works well for couples and groups with one free evening in Tromsø, and for anyone arriving on a short winter stay who wants the night version of the classic camp visit. All ages can join, and the pace is easy.

Think twice in two cases. Families with infants should plan the seat question before booking, because the buses carry only a few booster seats and the listing tells you to bring your own car seat or take a taxi with the proper seat. And if you dislike crowds, note the group sizes are large and shared.

For a smaller format, Small-Group Visit to a Sami Family Reindeer Camp with Lasso Throwing caps groups at 16, though it has no sledding and no dinner. For a budget pick with the same after-dark idea, compare the prices below.

The evening departure changes how you plan the rest of the day. From about 26 November to 15 January the sun stays below the horizon in Tromsø, so the camp is dark from the moment you arrive, and even in February and March the bus reaches the camp after sunset. That is the whole point of this listing: the sled ride, the fire and the sky all happen in the dark.

If you want to see the herd in daylight as well, the Reindeer Sledding, Feeding and Sami Storytelling from Tromsø runs a daytime version of the same camp visit from the same bus terminal.

Eat lightly before you go

Dinner is the centre of the evening, three courses with bidos cooked over the fire, so there is no need for a big meal before the bus. Tell the operator about a vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or dairy-free diet when you book, because the kitchen prepares those options in advance. Hot tea, coffee and hot chocolate come first, in the candlelit gamme.

Clothing for a night outdoors

This listing does not lend winter clothing. The feeding, the sled ride and the aurora watch are all outdoors, and the temperature in Tromsø averages around -1°C (30°F) as a January high and lower at night, often colder still at the camps outside the city. Wear a thermal base layer, a warm mid layer, an insulated jacket, a hat, mittens and winter boots, and keep a spare phone battery in an inside pocket, because cold drains batteries fast.

If the sky stays cloudy

A cloudy night does not cancel the tour, and you keep the sled ride, the dinner and the stories. Because the listing allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, some travellers watch the forecast and keep this evening for a clear night later in their stay. If the aurora is the main reason for your trip, a longer night built around it, the Sami Reindeer Camp Visit and Northern Lights Night in the Wilderness, gives the sky more time.

It costs more than the daytime version of the same camp visit, and the dinner plus the night departure explain the gap. The table shows where it sits against the closest alternatives in the catalog. Figures current for Q4 2026.

Read the full breakdowns on Reindeer Sledding, Feeding and Sami Storytelling from Tromsø or the budget option at Reindeer Sledding or Feeding at a Sami Camp with Camp Photos if the dinner is not what you are after.