Whales at midday, northern lights after dark in Alta
Alta's whale trips are short, a few hours rather than a whole day, so the evening stays free. That makes the town one of the easier places to try for whales and the aurora on the same day. Whether you should is another matter.
A town known for the aurora
Alta calls itself the city of the northern lights, and it has some history behind the name. The first northern lights observatory was built at Haldde, on a mountain above the Altafjord.
The town sits at the head of the fjord with a drier climate than the outer coast. Clouds still decide every night, and no tour can promise an aurora any more than a whale.
Whales and aurora share the same dark months. The whale season on the listings runs November to January, and the long nights of those weeks give the lights plenty of dark sky to show in.
Why short whale trips help
The whale tours on this site last about 3.5 to 4.5 hours in all, including any drive to the harbor. That leaves far less transit than a long whale day from Tromsø.
You are back in town with time for a meal and a rest before an evening tour. The finnmark moods listing, for instance, says it has cruise guests back at the harbor by 2 pm.
A daytime trip makes the most of the midday twilight, the only light the polar night allows. The aurora needs the opposite, so the two activities fall neatly into different halves of the day.
How one long day can look
Late morning and midday go to the whale boat, while the twilight lasts. The afternoon goes to a meal and a nap at the hotel. The aurora tour fills the evening.
Aurora tours usually leave in the evening and can run late, so check the start time and the return before you book. Don't stack the two so tightly that a late boat makes you miss the bus.
It is a long day in the cold. Change into dry layers between the two, because damp clothes from the boat will chill you fast on a frozen field later.
A whale trip that comes to your hotel
The pickup makes Alta Adventure's small-group whale trip, from ~$279, easy to fit into a two-tour day. Its pickup points include Thon Hotel Alta and Scandic Alta as well as Alta Havn and the airport. About 3 hours of its 4.5 are on the water.
Collected from your hotel, warm clothes waiting
Alta Adventure lends warm outdoor clothes at its office, which can keep your own layers drier for the night ahead. There is coffee and cookies in a warm cabin, and the trip holds 4.9 from 17+ reviews on GetYourGuide. From ~$279.
It needs at least two people and a booking one day ahead. Children under 12 cannot join. Families with younger kids should read our page on whale watching in Alta with children first.
If you would rather sail from the harbor in town, the finnmark moods heated boat from ~$268 uses Havneveien 24 as its start and end point. It has no hotel pickup, so plan a short taxi or walk.
Can you see the aurora from the whale boat?
Perhaps now and then. In the polar night the afternoon is already dark, and a trip that ends in the dusk could catch an early glow under a clear sky.
Treat that as a bonus, never as the plan. A moving hull makes long exposures close to impossible, so a proper tour on land does far better for photos.
Choosing an aurora tour to pair with it
Aurora tours from Alta usually drive away from the town lights to look for a clear patch of sky. Check how long the drive can be and whether warm clothing is lent, since that changes what you need to carry.
Book it for an evening with a decent gap after the whale trip. If wind moves the boat to another day, you want the aurora booking to move too, so free cancellation on both helps.
Some travelers try for the lights on their own from a dark spot near their lodging. That can work on a clear night, but a guide usually knows where the clouds are thinner.
Two days beat one
If your stay allows, split the two. Put the whale trip on day one or two, since wind can cancel boats and you want room to rebook, and try for the aurora on more than one night.
Cloud is the aurora's enemy, just as storms are the whale boat's. Several evenings give you far better odds than one, and a free day can go to a second whale try instead.
Our page on what to do when the fjord comes up empty covers the whale side, and the month-by-month season guide helps you pick the week.
Dressing for day and night
The same base layers serve both tours, so pack once. Wool next to the skin under a warm jacket and a windproof shell, then a hat that covers your ears and two pairs of gloves.
Standing still in snow at night feels much colder than sitting in a heated cabin, and Alta's inland air is often colder than the coast. Our clothing guide has the full list.
Sleep matters more than people expect. After a late aurora night an early pickup feels brutal, so put the whales first and the aurora after. The cost comparison helps you budget for two tours.