Your cruise ship docked in Tromso, Norway…now what?
Tromso, Norway, also known as the “gateway to the arctic” is an active fishing town with a lot of bucket list activities to experience. Some of main ticket items include, seeing the Northern Lights, Reindeer or Dog Sledding, and Snowmobiling.
Now all of those activities are right up my alley, but unless you book a tour, you likely won’t be able to do them if you’re just visiting for the day when docked for 8 hours.
Let me give you the rundown of what I did and if it was worth it to explore the town or perhaps enjoy an empty ship all to yourself for the day.
Getting There
The ship docked at 10 a.m. in an industrial port located about 10 min. drive from Tromso city center. Not ideal, but at least the ship provided a *paid* shuttle service which ran pretty frequently back and forth.
The shuttle bus dropped us off right in the city center, at the Troll Museum.
You could walk outside the port to find…well not much but maybe the local Super Supermarket and a cafe. I don’t really think its feasible to walk to the city center. Though, Tromso does have Uber which you could take.
Recommendations
Activities:
• Tromsø Harbour
• Tromsø Cathedral
• Shops along Storgata
• Sweetheart – Norwegian Candy Store
Museums:
• Troll Museum
• Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum – Northern Norwegian Art Museum
• Perspective Museum – Photography Exhibit
• The Polar Museum – History Museum
• Polaria aquarium
Food:
• Raketten Bar & Pølse – HotDog Stand
Bar:
• Magic Ice Bar
Roaming Route
I started off with a slow morning and disembarked at noon.
Once I got to the city center I walked to Raketten Bar & Pølse. Marketed as the “tiniest bar in the universe”, this place really was iconic. Located on Storgata street.
I ordered the Reindeer & Beef Hot Dog with all the fixings; crispy onions, beets, pickled onion, ketchup, mayo, and sweet mustard. 10/10 recommend!
The kind worker offered to make top it off with a shrimp/mayo salad, except I opted out for the surf & turn “experience” this time around.
Behind this tiny bar was a perfect cabana to sit and enjoy all the deliciousness.
After filling my belly, I walked to the Tromsø Harbour where I enjoyed the view across the water of the snow capped mountains and the Arctic Cathedral.
There are a few waterfront restaurants in the harbour that looked appealing as well and filled with local patrons.
After admiring these pretty views, I walked back along Storgata street where I passed the Perspective Museum, Tourist and Clothing Shops, and their visitor center is located on this street as well.
I peeked inside Sweetheart which is a Norwegian Candy store…loads of licorice, then passed by the Tromsø Cathedral. This main road isn’t very long and they were redoing all of the sidewalks. The construction wasn’t very pleasant to walk through so I made my way back to the shuttle bus.
While on my way back I passed the Magic Ice Bar which I would have loved to experience, but it was closed on the day that I went.
Impressions
Worth it! Get off the ship and enjoy yourself 🙂
I wish I had taken more advantage of the time and done more.