Overview
The "Arctic Roadtrip · New Year" roadtrip by Altervan is an organised 9-day van trip (destination: Norway), departing 28 Dec 2026 and returning 5 Jan 2027. Group of up to 16 people with an Altervan trip leader. Price €1,890 per person. This departure is sold out — a waitlist is available.
Sommarøy, Senja, Tromsø, the Polar Night, the Northern Lights, and Sami reindeer are just some of what we'll experience. Get ready for a one-of-a-kind New Year with the Altervan van in the most cinematic landscapes of northern Norway.
There are trips you fill with a packed schedule so you don't have to think. And there are trips you take precisely for that. This is the second kind. In the Arctic Circle, during the polar night, the sun never rises. It's a slow roadtrip for people who know that the best moments aren't the ones you plan, they're the ones you let happen.
| Destination | Norway |
|---|---|
| Dates | 28 Dec 2026 – 5 Jan 2027 |
| Duration | 9 days |
| Group size | up to 16 people |
| Price | €1,890 / person |
| Availability | Sold out — waitlist |
Included
Flights Athens – Tromsø – Athens
Ferry
Airport taxes
Public liability insurance
Local taxes
Fuel
All transfers by nine-seater van
2 guides from our team
7 nights
3 breakfasts
Not included
Personal expenses
Optional activities:
Visit to a Sámi community ~€180/person
Fjellheisen cable car ~€40/person
Moments
81 storiesItinerary · day by day
128 December · The start of the darkness
The plane lands in Tromsø late in the afternoon. If "afternoon" even means anything here, it's already dark outside, and it will stay dark for the next eight days. We don't linger in the city. We load up the van and head straight out, through Kvaløya, along the Ersfjord, until we reach Sommarøy. A tiny island at the edge of the earth, connected by a bridge, with wooden houses gazing straight out at the open ocean and windows that fill the whole wall. The first night: we cook together, let the sound of the water drift in, and look out. If the sky opens, and it often does, the first aurora is right there in front of us, no need to step outside at all.
229 December · Fjords and frozen beaches
Today we don't go far. There's no need. We move along Kvaløya, Kaldfjord, Ersfjordbotn, the island's outer reaches, stopping wherever something catches the eye. Around 10 in the morning the sky begins to turn deep blue. Around 14:00 it's dark again. Everything fits into those few hours. The beaches here are white, but from snow, not sand. The mountains drop straight into the sea. There's almost no one else around. Later we return to the houses, check the aurora forecast, and if conditions look good, we head out in our parkas with hands deep in our pockets.
330 December · Ferry to Senja
Today begins with a ferry. We board the boat at Brensholmen and the road becomes the sea. Around us, frozen waters and mountains vanishing into the mist. It's one of those moments you don't photograph, you just look. We arrive on Senja. And right away you understand why this island has the reputation it does. There's no town, no noise. There are mountains, fjords, sea, and a deep Arctic darkness that feels like a blanket. We settle into our little cabins facing the fjord. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve.
431 December · Senja – New Year's Eve
The day belongs to Senja. The Okshornan, mountains rising straight from the sea like teeth, are among the most cinematic landscapes in all of Norway. The viewpoint at Tungeneset leaves you speechless. In Mefjordvær, a tiny fishing village with red rorbuer cabins lost in the winter, time isn't measured by a clock. In the evening we change years inside the Arctic. There are no fireworks. There's fire, warm food, our company, and if the sky opens, the Northern Lights will put on their own show above the fjords. The best New Year's crossing you've ever made.
51 January · Frozen landscapes & Bardufoss
First day of the year and we're back on the road. We leave Senja behind and head inland. The route through Målselv is pure Arctic: frozen rivers, snow-covered forests, landscapes with nothing to prove. Just nature, just silence. The day rolls by slowly. And that's exactly the point.
62 January · Tromsø
We return to the city. Tromsø up close is a pleasant surprise: small, warm, full of character. We walk the harbor, sip coffee downtown, ride the Fjellheisen up for a panoramic view over the fjords and the city wrapped in polar-night blue. In the evening: an aurora outing or simply a wander through the Arctic town. Whatever comes.
73 January · Sámi & reindeer
The last full day closes the only way that fits this trip. We're just outside Tromsø, at a Sami camp in the snow. The Sami have lived in these lands for thousands of years; their bond with the reindeer, the language, the Arctic winter is something you won't find in any museum. You live it up close. We feed reindeer, sit in lavvu tents around a lit fire, and listen to stories. And just like that, amid snow and smoke and warmth, this Arctic roadtrip comes to a close.
84 January · Last morning in Tromsø
The last day has no schedule. It has only a few hours left. A final coffee downtown, a last walk along the harbor with the cold nipping at your face, one more glance at the sky that has turned again that deep blue you don't know how to describe to anyone else. There's no rush, the flight is in the evening. At 19:20 the plane lifts off and you leave behind the darkness, the snow, and the sound of frozen water. You're leaving the Arctic. But a piece of the Arctic comes with you.
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