Tromsø Aurora Borealis ToursThermal Suit on a Tromso Northern Lights Tour: Included or Rented?
Last reviewed August 2026
Searching for a thermal suit Northern Lights tour Tromso option turns up five very different arrangements: a suit handed over at check-in on some, a paid rental on the cheapest, and two more that only include it if you submitted your sizes after booking. What's on you either way is shorter than a full winter packing list, and this page sets out exactly what that is.
Quick answer
Four of the five Tromso aurora chases hand over a thermal suit as part of the fare; the fifth, the cheapest, sells it as a separate rental. Two of the four that include it only do so if you submit your clothing and boot sizes after booking, which means 'included' still requires a step on your part before the night arrives.
Key takeaways
- Arctic Breeze's minibus includes the suit outright, no sizes form required.
- Jeshua As's coach is the one that rents the suit, at a price the listing does not publish.
- Northern Horizon's premium seat hands over both boots and a suit; its classic seat rents the suit instead.
- The two chases on the other booking platform only include the suit if you submit sizes after booking; miss that step and you're on your own.
- Nobody supplies socks, a hat, gloves or a scarf on any of the five.
- Tromso runs between −5 °C and −20 °C in December and January, which is why the suit question isn't cosmetic.
What Each Listing Actually Gives You
The suit is not the same commitment on every listing
The gear question splits the five listings into three groups. Two hand over a thermal suit with no strings attached: the seat that hands over boots and suit is one of them, on its premium option only. Two more include the suit, but only once you've submitted sizes after booking. The chase that rents the suit is the outlier: no suit in the fare at all, just a rental you add separately.
None of the five sells the suit as a keepsake or lets you keep it after the tour; every arrangement here is a loan for the length of the evening, handed back at drop-off along with the boots where boots are part of the deal.
| Tour | Thermal Suit | Boots | What You Still Bring |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minibus with photos (Arctic Breeze) | Included, no conditions | Not listed | Base layers, socks, hat, gloves |
| Coach expedition (Jeshua As) | Rental, advance reservation recommended | Rental, subject to availability | Hat, gloves, scarf (excluded outright), ice cleats |
| Premium small group (Northern Horizon) | Included on the premium seat; rented on the classic seat | Included on the premium seat | Base layers, socks, gloves |
| Minibus chase (Chasing Lights) | Included if sizes sent after booking | Included if sizes sent after booking | Warm layers, socks; alcohol banned on board |
| 4WD minivan (Greenlander) | Included if sizes sent at booking | Included if sizes sent at booking | Base layers, socks, passport |
Reading the table correctly
The table above is a snapshot of what each listing states in August 2026, not a promise that travels with your specific booking date. "Included, no conditions" is the simplest row to trust, because nothing has to happen between booking and boarding for the gear to be there. Every other row carries either a form to fill in, a rental to reserve, or an availability caveat that the listing itself flags rather than hides.
Read the row for the tour you're actually considering before assuming any of the others apply to it.
The Sizes Trap on the Two Chases That Ask for Sizes
What each listing asks for
The chase that needs your sizes at booking states it plainly: all passengers' clothing sizes, boot sizing, contact details and hotel name must be advised at the time of booking, not the day before departure. Chasing Lights runs the same system through a link the operator sends after booking, which also collects meal preferences and hotel details.
The documented failure
Julia_G, a reviewer on the other booking platform, booked the 4WD minivan in January 2025 for a party of six that included children aged 8 to 15. Sizes had been submitted as requested. On the night, in −28 °C, no suits or shoes were available for the children.
It is one review among more than 1,500 mostly five-star ones for that listing, but it is the exact failure the sizing system exists to prevent, and it is worth reading before assuming the form alone guarantees the gear turns up on the night.
What actually reduces the risk
Submitting sizes the day you book, rather than the day before you fly, gives an operator the widest possible window to source the right gear, particularly in children's sizes, which reviewers across both listings mention more often than adult ones. Confirming the submission went through, by email or through the booking platform's messaging, is a second step worth taking rather than assuming a form was received and filed correctly.
What the Suit Does, and What It Cannot Do
It traps heat, it doesn't generate it
A thermal suit worn over your own clothes is windproof and heavily insulated, and it is the reason someone can stand still outdoors for an hour in a Tromso winter. It traps the heat your body is already producing; it does not generate any of its own. That's why Katerina_L, reviewing the 4WD minivan in January 2026, wrote that despite the thermal suits provided, she would still recommend dressing very warmly underneath.
Standing still is colder than moving
Megan_S, reviewing the same tour in February 2026, made a related point: you aren't moving around a lot, so the cold seeps in, and she recommended warm socks specifically. An aurora chase is mostly standing at a roadside pull-off waiting for a gap in the cloud, which is a colder way to spend an hour than walking, even inside a good suit.
What to Wear Underneath
Base layers first
Wool or synthetic base layers, top and bottom, go on first. Cotton holds sweat against the skin and then the sweat freezes, which is the opposite of what a suit is meant to solve. A mid layer of fleece or wool goes over that, and the suit goes over everything.
The reference numbers
Tromso runs between −5 °C and −20 °C through December and January, and the suit is doing its job against that range, not against a mild autumn evening. Layer for the coldest end of it regardless of the date on your booking, since the route and the stop location for the night are both decided after you've already dressed.
What Nobody Provides
The items every listing leaves off
None of the five operators supply a hat, gloves, a neck gaiter or scarf. Jeshua As excludes them explicitly in its own listing text; the other four simply don't mention them, which amounts to the same thing once you're standing at a roadside stop.
What you bring yourself, regardless of which listing you book
The suit and boots question varies by listing. This list doesn't.
- Wool or synthetic base layers: the suit traps heat, it doesn't add any
- Thick wool socks, plus a spare pair: cold reaches your feet first
- A warm hat: no operator supplies one
- Two pairs of gloves, thin and thick: for handling a camera, then warmth
- A neck gaiter or scarf: excluded outright by name on one listing
- Ice cleats: recommended by one operator, rented by none
- A power bank: cold drains a phone battery fast at a roadside stop
- Hand warmers: cheap insurance for a night that can run past midnight
- Your passport, if driving into Finland or Sweden is a real possibility on your chase
Items no listing rents
A short list of what's genuinely unavailable to rent from any of the five, so you know what has to travel with you.
| Item | Rented by any of the five? | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Hat | No | Bring from home |
| Gloves | No | Bring from home |
| Neck gaiter / scarf | No | Bring from home |
| Wool socks | No | Bring from home |
| Ice cleats | No; one operator recommends them, none rent them | Buy before you travel |
Which Gear Arrangement Fits What You Packed
If You already own wool base layers, a windproof outer and proper winter boots
Any listing works, including the chase that rents the suit. You are the traveller its fare is built for, and skipping the rental keeps the saving intact.
If You are arriving from a warm country with a city coat and trainers
Take a listing that includes the suit outright rather than renting it. Boots matter as much as the suit, so check which seat hands those over too.
If You are booking one of the two chases that collect sizes after booking
Fill the form the day you book, then message the operator to confirm. The chase that asks for sizes at booking is where a reviewer found nothing waiting for their children.
If You are travelling with children
Confirm child sizes separately in writing. Adult inclusions do not guarantee a child-sized suit, and no listing publishes its size range.
If You want the least to think about
The seat that hands over boots and suit takes both items off your list, though it is adults only.
Reading the Fare Once the Rental Is In It
The rental price nobody publishes
Jeshua As lists its suit as a rental with advance reservation recommended and its boots as a separate rental subject to availability, but the price for either sits off the listing entirely. That makes the $59 fare a genuine bargain only for someone who already owns proper winter clothing; anyone starting from a city coat is comparing an unpriced add-on against four listings that already include the suit in their sticker price.
The figure is not published anywhere on the listing, which means the true cost of the cheapest chase cannot be quoted in advance. Budget for it as an unknown rather than as zero, and ask the operator before you decide the cheap seat is the cheap option.
What the comparison actually costs
What the fare really costs once the rental is in it works through the full price ladder across all five listings, including the discounts live on the two cheapest fares in August 2026. The short version for gear alone: an unpublished rental fee narrows the gap between the $59 coach and the $133 minibus that already includes the suit, sometimes by more than it looks like on the booking page.
The gear comparison, in one place
The gear comparison on the homepage sets all five listings side by side on suit, boots and what's excluded, alongside the price and guarantee terms this page doesn't cover. It's the page to check before narrowing down to one listing.
Gear is one line item, not the whole decision
A cheaper fare with an unpriced rental attached is not automatically the worse choice, and a pricier fare that hands over the suit outright is not automatically the better one. Group size, return time, cancellation terms and the meal included all move independently of the gear question, which is why this page treats the suit as one column in a longer comparison rather than the deciding factor on its own.
Gear Questions Travellers Ask
Which Tromso aurora tours include a thermal suit outright?
Arctic Breeze's minibus includes it with no conditions. Northern Horizon includes it on its premium seat only; the classic seat on the same listing rents it instead.
Which tours rent the suit instead of including it?
Only Jeshua As's coach sells the suit as a separate rental, with advance reservation recommended. Its winter boots are a second, separate rental subject to availability.
What happens if I don't submit my sizes on the two chases that ask for them?
Both the 4WD minivan and the minibus chase only include a suit and boots if sizes are submitted after booking. One documented case, on the 4WD minivan in January 2025, describes children's suits and shoes not being available at −28 °C despite sizes having been sent, so submitting them the day you book rather than the day before you fly is the safer route.
Do the tours provide boots?
On the same terms as the suit: included outright on the premium small-group seat, included if sizes were sent on the two chases that use that system, not mentioned on the minibus with photos, and a separate rental on the coach.
What should I wear under a thermal suit?
Wool or synthetic base layers, top and bottom, with a fleece or wool mid layer over them. Cotton holds sweat and then freezes it against your skin, which the suit does nothing to fix.
Do I need ice cleats for a Tromso aurora tour?
One operator, the coach, recommends them in its own packing advice. None of the five rent them, so a pair bought before you travel is the only way to have them on the night, and the stops happen on packed snow and roadside ice in the dark.
How cold does it actually get on an aurora chase?
Tromso runs between −5 °C and −20 °C through December and January, the coldest and busiest stretch of the season. The suit is built for that range, not for a mild September evening, so dress for the cold end of it regardless of the date on your booking.
None of this settles which fare is the better value: that's a question of price, guarantee and group size as much as gear. Aurora tours from Tromso compared sets all five side by side, and the suit is only one line in that comparison.