Tromso and Oslo

                                                                                                     Tromso Harbour, Norway

Alex Burridge- Managing Director Arctic Travel Centre July 2025

With many Arctic cruises heading to Longyearbyen it’s very easy, and worthwhile, to extend before, or after, your Svalbard cruise  with a few nights in both Tromso and Oslo.
Many flights from Oslo to Longyearbyen go via Tromso.

Part of any Arctic cruise is getting there and getting to Svalbard from Australia is a reasonable journey.  As the saying goes it’s not just the destination but the journey.   My recommendation is to break the outbound journey – or at the least give yourself a day or 3 to
overcome any jetlag, or tiredness so that you join the cruise well rested and adjusted to the local time zones.

There are many options including London and a stay either in Oslo, Tromso or even Longyearbyen, to me they are all great options.
I recommend staying in the port area in Tromso and near the Central square in Oslo.  The train is easily the best option for getting from Oslo airport into central Oslo.

                                                                                                     Three chickens, Youngstorget Square, Oslo

TROMSO

Tromso is a beautiful port town some 600km north of the Arctic Circle.  From 20th of May to 22nd of July the sun remains above the horizon (as it will be on your chosen cruise ship).  Tromso offers many beautiful walks around town as well as many fine restaurants offering local delicacies and seafood dishes.

For those interested in birdlife you’ll find kittiwakes, common gulls, herring gull, greater-black backed gulls and oystercatchers in the port area.  A hike up to Presvateen lake will offer Arctic terns, gulls, hooded crows and red-throated divers.

A hike across the bridge and a cable car ride is another great option.  The views from the top are stunning.  Another option we recommend are hiring a car and taking a drive out to Sommaroy a charming fishing village about 40km from Tromso.

OSLO

Norway’s capital is worth at least a couple of days to explore.  The central port area is a wonderful mix of beautiful grand old buildings and stunning modern architecture.  There are many galleries to while away a relaxing afternoon (Edvard Munch’s Lifeblood being not only an amazing exhibition (most famous for his artwork The Scream, one version of which sold in 2012 for approximately AUD$140,000,000) but also a stunning building).

1. East Greenland , 2. Nuuk Inuit art, 3. Skoguldgen East Greenland, 4. Polar bear, Scoreby Sund, 5. Flight into Kangerlussuaq, 6. XXXX

A short ferry ride from outside the town hall will take you to the Fram Museum – a museum that was built around the MS Fram.  To me it’s an awesome experience as you can go-aboard and get a feel of what it would have been like when trying to reach the North Pole in 1893.  The ship never made it and drifted in fast sea-ice for two years.  It will also hopefully make you appreciate you Arctic expedition cruise ship when you board.

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