Sommarøy

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Sommarøy is a fishing village on a cluster of islands west of Tromsø, roughly 300 km inside the Arctic Circle — and it looks nothing like what that sentence suggests. The beaches are white shell sand, the water turns turquoise in clear weather, and the whole place is often described as an Arctic Caribbean. What makes it remarkable is the light: from late May to late July the sun does not set at all, and from late November to mid-January it does not rise. The village is joined to the mainland by bridge, so it is reachable year-round by car in about an hour from Tromsø.

A village that proposed abolishing time

In 2019 Sommarøy made headlines around the world by campaigning to become a 'time-free zone' — abolishing clocks during the midnight sun. It turned out to be a tourism campaign rather than a formal petition, but it captured something true: with 69 days of continuous daylight, the local relationship with the clock genuinely is different. People mow lawns at two in the morning because it is bright and they feel like it.

Underneath the story is an ordinary working village of a few hundred people, built on cod and now partly on visitors. That mix is the appeal — this is not a resort, and outside the two hotels there is little infrastructure. Bring what you need, and expect the shop to keep village hours.

Two islands in one, depending on the month

From late May to late July the sun never sets. Hiking at midnight, kayaking at three in the morning, photographing beaches in golden light that lasts all night — this is the season most people come for, and the one where an eye mask is genuinely useful.

From late September to late March the aurora is possible on any clear, dark night, and Sommarøy's distance from Tromsø's light pollution makes it one of the better places nearby to watch it. The polar night itself, from late November to mid-January, brings no sunrise at all but several hours of blue twilight — strange, photogenic, and much quieter than the summer.

Getting there, and what to expect

The drive from Tromsø takes about an hour on the Kvaløya coastal road, and the road is open all year — winter tyres and a cautious pace are simply normal here. Bus 420 runs from Tromsø several times a day, but the timetable is built for residents rather than day-trippers, so check the last return carefully.

Accommodation is limited to a small hotel, rorbuer — converted fishermen's cabins on the water — and a handful of rentals. Book well ahead for the midnight-sun weeks. And take the weather seriously: this is an exposed Arctic coast, the wind can be fierce, and the turquoise water in the photographs is around 8 °C in August.

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