Tromsø Transportation

Tromsø lufthavn Langnes is the Tromsø Airport
and it is situated just 5 km from the citycentre. Most flights are domestic flights including those to Longyearbyen in Svalbard / Spitzbergen. Some of the few international flights from Tromsoe are flying to Murmansk in Russia, London Gatwick and Riga.
How to get to the airport : take flybussen
it is 55 NOK one way from the city to the airport and running from 05.40am till midnight, traveltime is ca. 20 min.
Or you take the public buses #40 or #42 operate between 6.25 a.m. and 11. 50 p.m., it will take ca. 25 min and cost NOK 26,- per person.
Taxis from the citycentre are between NOK 120,- and NOK 150 !

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Dont worry, when you get to Tromsoe by a cruiseship, there is no need to book any of the - mostly quite expensive -tours that are offered by your cruiseline. You will be able to do everything that you find in my page here, on your own and you will need something like 3-4 hours for it. In addition it might make sense to take the funicular up the hill, that would add at least another 90 minutes, as the cablecar is leaving every 30 minutes.
I also missed the Polaria-museum, but thats also quite close to the ship.
Cruiseships of all sizes are docked in the very centre of Tromsoe, in a distance of just about 200 meters from the main shopping-street and within walkingtime to the giant bridge of not more than maybe 5-10 minutes, and you will pass by some really great old wooden buildings that are worth seeing as well.

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Hurtigruten is the name of the famous post-ships cruising every day of the year along the norwegian coast on a fixed schedule between Bergen and Kirkenes.
The Hurtigruten are NOT a real cruise and in most ports you will stay for just about 30-60 minutes in the port, but here in Tromsoe they stay for a longer time, see below! The ship will open the gangway for passengers to go ashore and they will also start to unload and load all sorts of goods, cars, different articles from small boxes to giant machineries. In case that you like to see more of the places closeby, you have to book one of their excursions and join the ship again at the next port.
Cars can be taken onboard of a Hurtigruten-ship, when they are not higher than 2,5 meters and not wider than 2,45 meters.
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Northbound the Hurtigruten-ship is docked in Tromsoe
for 4 hours from 02.30pm till 06.30pm
and Southbound : 11.45pm till 01.30am
they will offer a midnight-concert in the Arctic Cathedral then !

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Take the bus #26 in order to get over the bridge, that is fast and easy and buses are running every 15 minutes or so. I did walk TO the Arctic cathedral, but for the way back I had chosen the bus, because it is not really very comfortable to walk on that bridge, when it is windy and the road is wet and cars are rushing by splashing the rain on your coat...
The bus will start directely at the church !

Fjellheisen :
the cablecar to Storsteinen
This cablecar will get you to the very best viewpoint of Tromsoe, 418 meters above sea-level and it will start just about 200 meters from the Arctic Cathedral. The cablecar runs all year long and is open daily between 10.00am and 05.00pm, always at the full and at the half hours there is a cablecar leaving,the last one at 04.30pm.
Up there is a Cafe as well, that is open every day.
99 kronen is the return-ticket
50 kronen is a singleticket down !

click here for a webcam from Fjellheisen

click here for the weather of Fjellheisen

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Northbound coastal steamers arrive daily at 2:30PM, departing for Kirkenes at 6:30PM. Southbound steamers arrive daily at 11:45PM, departing for the journey to Bergen at 1:30AM.

To get to or from Tromsø, you'll normally take a "port-to-port" trip. The website has a list of up-to-date fares and cabin options. Online booking is possible, but for those living outside Scandinavia, your best bet is to email Hurtigruten directly if you want a cabin. Book well in advance if you're traveling in June or July.

Also check the website for the latest specials. For example, in September 2006, you can take a "round trip" journey from Tromsø to Kirkenes and back for NOK 1720 per person double occupancy, including cabin and breakfast.

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There is cable car that will take you to the top of the mountain in few minutes. However, we decided to take the path to the top which took us about an hour. The ride down the mountain with the cable care is for free, and that is the ONLY free ride you will ever get in Norway ;-)

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The Hirtigruten Coastal 'steamer' which pulls into every sizable port between Bergen and Kirkenes, passing some of Scandanavia's best scenery along the way arrives, on its northbound route, at 245pm each day and departs at 630 which gives a good amount of time to see quite a bit of Tromso.
Even during my visit arriving with about 45 minutes of daylight but 4 good hours of walking i managed to see a lot: the streets and their wooden period and impressive modernist buildings around the city centre, up and over the 1km long bridge to the Arctic cathedral, back to a recommended restaurant for its recommended desserts and wine!, and a quick meal, writing and posting of the all important postcards!, and back to the boat all without quite freezing!

The southbound times allow only time for transfers of passengers and goods arriving at 1145 pm and departing at 130 am.

In Tromso, up in the Arctic Circle, in winter the sun stays below the horizon from 25 November to 16 January and in summer the 'midnight sun' stays above the horizon from 17 May to 25 July.