Overnight Stay and Winter Activities at Camp Tamok –  Tromsø, Norway

Overnight Stay and Winter Activities at Camp Tamok –  Tromsø, Norway

Even though our trip to Tromso was short, I really wanted to squeeze in an overnight experience at Camp Tamok. This winter wonderland is located outside of Tromso and takes you into the Tamok Valley for an arctic wilderness experience. While there are many day trip options to visit Camp Tamok, something about the overnight option was very attractive, especially as it added another chance to see the Northern Lights. The journey to Camp Tamok is 90 minutes each way so it made the most sense to get our time and money’s worth by staying. 

In order to secure your spot for any of the activities, including overnight, is done through Norwegian Travel and for us, they have an overnight package option that allows you to customize your stay, including the activities you want to participate in while you are there. The evening activity option includes Snowmobiling, Reindeer Sledding, Dog sledding and Northern Lights Visit, snowshoeing. Then you select your accommodation which includes either the Arctic Glamping, Aurora Chalet, Char Cabin, and Wilderness Cabin. Then a morning activity is selected between Dog Sledding, Ice Domes Visit, Snowmobiling, and Reindeer sledding. Meals are included and span dinner the first night and then breakfast and lunch the second day. 

We opted for a selection of things we have done and not done before. Since we already visited the reindeer at the Sami Reindeer Camp, we skipped this one. We instead went snowmobiling at night, followed by staying at an Aurora Chalet, then dog sledding in the morning followed by a visit to the Ice Domes. 

We were picked up in Tromso at 5PM on a bus full of people and by observation, almost everyone was doing an excursion for the evening of snowmobiling or dog sledding. Camp Tamok is an hour and a half drive away from Tromso – that is 3 hours round trip. And that 3 hours on a bus is then met with 2 hours, maybe less, of the activity. I found it odd that people would select this for those activities at Camp Tamok as opposed to a closer spot given the time spent just on commuting. 

Anyway, we were part of a small group that were actually staying over at Camp Tamok. When we arrived, we were instructed to go straight to the snowmobiling changing room to get gear on for the activity. We dropped our bags in the changing room then used one of the few bathrooms that everyone on the bus was also now using – definitely set our start time back a bit but we also had nowhere else to be. If you are visiting just for one of the activities, make sure to go directly to the bathrooms before the changing rooms to beat the crowd. Our gear included a thermal one piece bodysuit, thermal boots, baklava head and face cover, helmet, and gloves. We certainly looked ready for the part of being in the Arctic and this gear was so great in keeping us warm.

Read about our snowmobile experience at Camp Tamok here!

At our return to the Camp, we parked our snowmobiles and removed all our gear in the changing room. The thermal suit was so effective I wanted to take one for the road, I would never be cold again! We were instructed to gather our backpacks and head into the Camp for our dinner. It was 9:30PM and once again, I found myself happy we ate a full meal before embarking on this excursion.

Dinner was inside one of the many tents at the Camp with fellow snowmobilers. Inside was super cozy with long tables and a blazing fire and wood burning stove inside. We were offered a hot beverage of coffee, tea, or a Norwegian berry currant drink which everyone opted for – it was super tasty and we kept the refills going with that drink. There are no cooking facilities at the Camp so they get food from a nearby (20 km away) family owned restaurant that makes traditional Norwegian dishes. For tonight, we were offered reindeer stew. I looked at Kevin and figured we would have a repeat meal – we had it the night before at the Sami Reindeer Experience. But this version was different and more of a stew than a soup – it was very tasty and we preferred this version to the one we had last night. We were also offered additional helpings of the stew as well. Additionally, we had unlimited traditional bread that we were able to toast on the wood burning stove. 

After our meal, a host instructed us on the rest of the evening and activities for the morning. We were shown our chalet, the bathrooms facilities, a shower (to which our host indicated no one uses since you have to walk outdoors to access it) and a lounge for access to hot beverages. Breakfast would be served in the morning, followed by dog sledding, lunch, then a visit to the Ice Domes before departing back to Tromso. 

Our chalet was so comfortable and warm, and somehow the size was an upgrade from our first Airbnb stay. There was enough room for two people to be comfortable and a viewing window for those Northern Lights that were definitely out of reach for this visit (darn clouds!).  Inside the chalet was a bed, table and chairs, hooks for winter gear, small shelf, outlet and light. We had to be strategic about the bathrooms – showering did not feel like a viable option as logistics with the Arctic winter did not seem inviting to an outdoor shower, no blow dryer, and a small towel. For now, we focused on bathroom operations. Funny that after experiencing camping in the Grand Canyon, the Arctic tundra did not feel as difficult – we at least had a bathroom to use so we were already ahead. We kept the winter gear on and made our way to the bathroom to get ready for bed, then upon return to our chalet we were able to shed the layers once we were done going outside for the evening. Sleep was fine but not great as the wind was so loud it sounded like it was going to knock things over – strong gusts actually escaped through the tiny seams of the door frame and rattled things inside. Luckily, it was a wake up and go back to sleep situation, it just happened many times. I am sure if the wind wasn’t an issue the sleep would have been very easy, or if the Northern Lights were shining through that rooftop window.

Day 3

Breakfast was at 730AM so we reversed our getting ready routine by winterizing our clothes then getting washed up for the day in the bathroom – the shower would just have to wait until Tromso. It was great to be able to see the entire camp in daylight so we could explore a bit more. The property here is quite impressive for what they are able to offer day and overnight guests.

Breakfast was an awesome display continental style – breads, meats, cheeses, butter, nutella, jams, porridge, yogurt, and most importantly – brown cheese.  Also called gudbrandsdalen, brown cheese is not cheese at all but actually whey made from goat and cow’s milk that has a sweet caramel flavor but looks just like a slice of cheese. You have to try this on your Norway trip. I had a feeling lunch would be light so I took the opportunity to load up on the many options. There were only a few of us that stayed overnight – a group from Mexico that stays in one of the domes, and a couple from India would stayed in another chalet – so breakfast was an inviting way to get to know everyone who braved staying overnight at the camp. 

At 830AM, it was time to suit up for our dog sledding experience. We had done this experience before in Quebec and had so much fun that we had to try it here in the Arctic Circle.

Read about our dog sledding experience at Camp Tamok here!

We had some time before lunch so we visited the husky puppies that were anxiously awaiting their turn to become sledding dogs. While they were certainly not young puppies, I expect they were coming up on a year and their time to train would be soon. We also explored a bit more of the camp and got a better look around now that we had ample light.

After a power nap back in our chalet, we returned to the tent for lunch but this time we had more company as bus loads of people began to arrive at the Camp. Lunch was the same offerings of hot beverages followed by lamb stew which was our favorite stew of the trip. It was super hearty and full of vegetables. Along with some toasted traditional bread, we were good to go. 

We gathered our backpacks and walked to the Tromso Ice Domes for our tour. As we walked by, we noted the reindeer for the Camp’s reindeer experiences and this was definitely disappointing and a bit depressing. These reindeer are in such a small enclosure so I would not recommend the reindeer experiences at the Camp – go to the Sami Reindeer Camp instead if you want to interact with the reindeer. 

Read about our visit to the Tromso Ice Domes at Camp Tamok here!

I have to say, I could not imagine getting on a bus for 3 hours round trip just to see the Ice Domes. I think your time is better spent doing something else in the Tromso area. It was a great experience to fill our time before getting back on the bus to Tromso and would say to definitely do it if you are staying over. 

Overall, we had a fantastic time at Camp Tamok and if you have time in your itinerary, would highly recommend staying overnight to get the most out of the visit. If you do not have time, I may suggest going to experiences that are closer to Tromso for activities such as snowmobiling or dog sledding to avoid an extensive amount of time on a bus. There are many companies that offer these so definitely take a look before making the decision to go to Camp Tamok for a singular experience. The area surrounding the Camp is really gorgeous and I am sure it would have only improved if the weather was better. Based on our experience and the offerings, I would definitely do the snowmobiling at night, followed by dog sledding in the morning with the Ice Dome add on and I would not recommend reindeer sledding. I think the overnight package is definitely worth it and also gives you a great opportunity to try your luck at seeing the Northern Lights.

Continue reading about our trip to the Arctic Circle here!

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