If you are renting a car in winter, get an SUV and make sure you get the extended insurance!

If you’re looking to change up your routine, whatever your routine is, make a trip to north of the arctic circle. It’s an experience that will leave you wondering why anyone would choose to live this far north and at the same time speechless looking out at the untouched rugged landscape. While there’s so much to say about Tromso and the arctic circle, a lot of those stories and tips for navigating around are mentioned in some of the other blogs under “Norway”.

 We decided to rent a car in Tromso to be able to drive around and explore on our own in addition to walking around the city and taking part in a northern lights tour (highly recommended even if you rent a car).

Tromso is a small city, and the best way if you are renting a car is to make a reservation prior to arriving at the airport. I noticed a few people trying to get a last minute car on arrival, which can be extremely hit or miss in terms of getting a palatable price. The car rental wing of the airport is essentially in an outhouse that is a 2-3 minute walk from the main terminal. If you have time to kill or cannot walk the distance, there is also a free shuttle that runs between the two points. Having rented a car in other places before, the sign in process was fairly standard. You talk to the service desk representative and they go through standard items such as ID verification and details of the car. If you have not driven in snow before, I highly recommend getting an SUV for the additional stability and traction that they provide. One thing to look out for, even with SUVs, is all wheel/4 wheel drive. The SUV I rented happened to not have an all wheel drive option, which is an important detail for later. The next step when renting a car is to choose the appropriate level of insurance. Usually I skip on travel insurance through the car rental companies, but if you are driving in snow I highly recommend opting in. In this case, I chose the tier with Roadside assistance included at no additional cost. I HIGHLY recommend choosing this option, regardless of which car rental company you go with. In the arctic, weather conditions can change in an instant, and the last thing you want to do is be on the hook for the cost of a damaged vehicle or the cost of a tow truck.  Read on to find out how I learned this through an unwanted personal experience.

On our second night, coming off the high of seeing the northern lights in the most vivid way possible the previous night (see the northern lights experience blog here), we decided to be brave and venture out to find the darkest and most isolated spot possible. After around 2 hours of driving to escape any signs of light pollution, we located an area that seemed dark and isolated enough, a small road branching off of the main highway. After pulling into the side road, the next few hours were spent with the car off waiting for the Nothern lights. After only a glimpse of green light, the sky remained fairly grey, and since it was getting late, it was time to head back to Tromso. 

But as I turned the key, the car refused to budge. The tires spun uselessly, slipping on the icy patches beneath them. That’s when I realized: no all-wheel drive. We tried everything, from putting the winter mats under the tires to carefully adjusting the SUV’s various modes, hoping something would help us get traction. But nothing worked. We were stuck.

It was now past 1 am, and reality settled in: we were stranded, hours from the city, with temperatures dropping. Thankfully, the insurance package I’d chosen included roadside assistance, so I called for help. The tow truck’s estimated arrival was two hours, leaving us to sit in complete darkness, surrounded by vast, frozen silence.

Eventually, headlights cut through the night, illuminating the road as the tow truck pulled up. In that moment, the isolation of the Arctic felt all too real. But as we made it back to our Airbnb, exhausted but safe, it was clear that unpredictable moments like this made the Arctic unforgettable. So if you go, don’t just chase the Northern Lights; be prepared for all that nature can throw at you, and make sure you get the right vehicle and insurance!