Reindeer Camp and Sami Culture Tour with Lunch Tromso

Tromso, Gateway to the Arctic

Tromso lies on a small island about 350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle and is the largest city in northern Norway. For centuries it was the starting point for Arctic hunting and polar expeditions, and today it is the base for most winter and summer adventures in the region. The reindeer tour leaves from the Prostneset bus terminal on the harbour, right in the city centre.

Leaving the city, the drive crosses to the mainland or the neighbouring islands, and within minutes you are among snowy mountains, frozen lakes and birch forest in winter, or green slopes and quiet shores in summer. In the polar night, from late November to mid-January, the sun does not rise above the horizon, and the soft blue and pink light of the middle of the day makes the drive itself a highlight of this Tromso reindeer experience.

The Reindeer Camp and Hand-Feeding the Herd

At the camp you step into an enclosure with a large herd of reindeer, the animals that have shaped life in the far north for thousands of years. Your guide shows you how to hold the feed bucket, and the reindeer soon gather around, gently eating lichen pellets from your hands. Both males and females grow antlers, which makes reindeer unique among deer, and you can see their thick winter coats and broad hooves made for snow.

Reindeer feeding in Tromso is one of the most popular family activities in the region, and the camp lets you spend unhurried time with the herd, take photos and ask questions about how the animals are cared for. Children usually love this part, and the reindeer are calm and used to visitors. The best time to visit for snowy scenery is from November to April, though the camp welcomes guests all year.

The Sami Hut and a Lunch Cooked Over the Fire

After the feeding you are invited inside a traditional Sami hut, where a fire burns in the centre and reindeer skins cover the benches. Here you warm up with coffee, hot chocolate and snacks while your guide talks about daily life in a herding family, from moving with the reindeer between seasonal pastures to making clothing and tools from every part of the animal.

Lunch is a traditional Sami meal cooked over the open fire, the way food has been prepared on the tundra for generations. Sharing a hot meal in the smoky warmth of the hut, while snow lies outside, is one of the most memorable parts of the day. If you have dietary needs, let us know when booking and we will pass them on so the camp can try to help.

Stories and Joik in the Sami Tent

The final part of the visit takes place in a lavvu, the conical Sami tent once used by herding families on the move across the open plateau. Around the campfire your guide shares legends and family stories passed down through the generations, about the northern lights, the reindeer and the landscapes of the far north.

You also hear joik, the traditional vocal music of the Sami and one of the oldest song traditions in Europe. A joik is not so much a song about someone as a way of evoking a person, an animal or a place in sound, and each one is unique. Listening to it in the firelight, far from the city, gives a real sense of a culture that has lived with this land for thousands of years, before the drive back to Tromso.

Sami Culture and Reindeer Herding Today

The Sami are the Indigenous people of Sápmi, a region that stretches across the north of Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. They have their own languages, their own parliament in Norway and a national day on 6 February, when you may see the colourful traditional dress called gákti worn with pride. Reindeer herding remains a key part of Sami identity, and in Norway it is a livelihood reserved for Sami herders.

Many herds still follow a seasonal rhythm, grazing inland in winter and moving to the coast and islands around Tromso in summer. A Sami culture tour in Tromso is the most accessible way to learn about this living tradition directly from the people who keep it, and it pairs well with a whale or northern lights trip during your stay.