As I pack my suitcase for our ‘Follow The Lights: Cruise & Tour’, I realise that I don’t know where to start. I could really do with a packing list to follow…. What’s the weather going to be like? How cold is it going to be? Is it casual? Will I need something dressy? Lots of questions entered my head so in order to help others with the same dilemma, thought I’d prepare this packing list.
The main piece of advice for packing for the cold is layers. When you travel to Norway with us, you will most likely be crossing over the Arctic Circle, and the majority of our customers travel during winter to see the Northern Lights… so that means its going to be cold. Sub zero temperatures. So layer up!
Here is the average minimum and maximum temperatures in a few of the main cities from November to January:
NOVEMBER
Oslo: Min 0 | Max 5
Bergen: Min 3 | Max 7
Tromso: Min -2 | Max 2
Kirkenes: Min -7 | Max -2
Rovaniemi: Min -6 | Max -1
Helsinki: Min 0 | Max 4
DECEMBER
Oslo: Min -4 | Max 1
Bergen: Min 0 | Max 4
Tromso: Min -4 | Max 0
Kirkenes: Min -12 | Max -5
Rovaniemi: Min -11 | Max -4
Helsinki: Min -4 | Max 1
JANUARY
Oslo: Min -5 | Max 0
Bergen: Min -1| Max 3
Tromso: Min -5 | Max -1
Kirkenes: Min -14 | Max -7
Rovaniemi: Min -15 | Max -7
Helsinki: Min -7 | Max -1
With wind chill on top of that, it can feel a good few degrees colder as well… yikes…that’s cold! So here’s my list of essentials:
Thermal top and bottoms – 100% Marino Wool only [poly/mix wool blend won’t cut the mustard]
Ski Pants
Basic long sleeved shirts to layer up
- Jumpers
Fleece layer
Warm jacket / coat
- Body warmer / Gilet
Wind / water proof shell jacket
Liner gloves
Outer gloves
Liner socks
Wool socks
Comfy warm snow boots
Buff / scarf
Beanie / wooly hat
- Swimmers [fun tip: there are more saunas than people in Finland so you may want to take advantage of them]
- Moisturiser for those who get dry skin and are not used to the cold!
- Cameras (& tripod) to capture the Northern Lights
The Hurtigruten vessels are warm, so you can wear normal casual clothes on board, same for the hotels, but when you step outside on the deck of the ship, during husky sled rides, walking around Santas village – you must layer up!
Norway and Finland in general are casual so you can get away with casual attire for most things including dining out in restaurants.
I hope this has helped. Most flights have 23kg luggage limit and my case is 23.4kg with all of the above so wish me luck….
– Gemma
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