Reindeer Sledding with a Chance of Northern Lights and Bidos Dinner

The listed price is $233 per person for an evening of about 4.5 hours, door to door from central Tromsø. Pickup and drop-off are included, so you do not need a car. The rating stands at 4.5 from 1,018 reviews, which makes it one of the more tested evening options in the catalog.

The group is large, so expect a bus of fellow travellers rather than a small, private-feeling outing.

What is included

The listing spells out the full list. Note that professional pictures are part of the ticket, which not every camp offers.

• Guide and transportation with pickup and drop-off
• Reindeer sledding for a maximum of 30 minutes
• Feeding the herd
• A chance to see the northern lights
• Traditional Sámi bidos meal with vegetarian options
• Warm drinks, coffee and tea
• Professional pictures

What to bring and the rules

The operator asks for warm clothing, gloves and warm shoes, and you should treat that as serious at an outdoor camp after dark. Pets and strong fragrances are not allowed. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before the start, and you can reserve now and pay later.

The ride works as a raid, the traditional way of travelling here. Each reindeer and sled is tied to the next in one long row, with the lead reindeer in front and you seated in one of the sleds. The listed maximum is 30 minutes, and the operator states clearly that poor snow can shorten it.

Two conditions shape the ride. First, the weight limit of 100 kg (220 lb) is strict and exists to keep the reindeer safe and healthy, and the listing asks you to consider it when booking. Second, the activity is subject to good snow conditions.

If the snow does not allow the ride at all, the operator offers a partial refund and holds the rest of the evening as normal, and if the cancellation happens before the tour starts you can cancel completely for a full refund.

This is the same camp and the same raid format as the daytime Reindeer Sledding and Sami Cultural Tour with Lunch near the Lyngen Alps, so the evening is essentially that trip moved after dark with an aurora chance instead of daylight views.

Around the sled ride sits a cultural programme led by a Sámi guide, a member of the Indigenous people of Sápmi. The listing promises their past, present and future history, Sámi artifacts you can see, and traditional stories. You also feed the herd by hand.

The meal

Dinner is bidos, the Sámi reindeer stew served at celebrations, cooked with potatoes and carrots. A vegetarian option is available if you flag it. Coffee and tea are included to warm you up afterwards.

The meal is eaten in the warmth of the camp after your time outside, which matters on a night when temperatures can sit well below freezing.

The listing calls this a chance to see the northern lights, and that wording matters. Tromsø lies within the auroral zone, where the lights may appear from late August to early April, but clear skies and darkness are essential. The operator states plainly that sightings are not guaranteed, and you should book this trip for the sledding and the culture first, with the aurora as a bonus.

The evening format does help your odds in one way: you are at a camp outside the city, away from street light, so if the sky opens you are in the right place. In the polar night from about 27 November to about 14 January the nights are at their longest, which stretches that window further.

The Visit Tromsø northern lights page explains why clear skies and darkness decide a sighting.

Book this if you want one evening to cover sledding, a hot dinner and a shot at the aurora, and you would rather not plan a separate northern lights hunt. The included photos remove the problem of shooting in the dark yourself. It fits couples and solo travellers on a short Tromsø stay who have one evening slot free.

It does not fit everyone. People with mobility impairments and wheelchair users are explicitly named as not suitable, the sled ride rules out anyone over 100 kg (220 lb), and there is no stated minimum age or difficulty note, so families with small children may prefer a daytime option with a clearer setup. If you want a small group instead, the Sami Reindeer Sledding, Lasso and Lavvu Meal in Nordkjosbotn runs with a Sami family, though its ride is only 10 to 15 minutes.

This evening trip and the Reindeer Sledding and Sami Cultural Tour with Lunch near the Lyngen Alps go to the same camp at Ramfjordbotn, use the same raid of sleds behind a lead reindeer and cost the same $233. What changes is the light, the meal and one rule.

How to choose

Pick the evening if the aurora chance is worth more to you than seeing the Lyngen Alps in daylight, and if everyone in the group is under 100 kg (220 lb). Pick the day tour for mountain views from the sled and a slightly higher weight limit. In the polar night weeks, from about 27 November to about 14 January, the day tour also rides in twilight, so the gap between the two narrows.

Getting the most from the aurora chance

Clear sky decides everything, and nobody can promise it. Keep the booking flexible: free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start lets you watch the cloud forecast and move to a clearer night. Dress for standing still outside after dinner, not only for the ride, and charge your phone, since the included professional photos cover the reindeer and the camp rather than your own aurora shots.

If the lights do not appear, the evening still gives you the sled, the herd and the bidos dinner, which is the fair way to judge it. Groups with a traveller over 100 kg (220 lb) should look at the day tour from the same camp, which allows 110 kg (243 lb), or at the evening trip from the camp near the city, which states no weight limit. Both alternatives keep the bidos meal and the Sámi stories, so the evening changes less than the rule suggests.

This is one of two evening listings in the catalog, and the comparison with the other night trip is the closest call. The table below sets this listing against its main rivals on price, sled time and length. It costs more than the daytime classic but delivers more sled time than the cheaper night option from another camp.

Figures current for Q4 2026.