Tromsø city buses — routes, fares and how to use them
Tromsø: Fjellheisen Cable Car Tickets and Transfer
How much does a bus cost in Tromsø?
A single adult fare is 50 NOK (around €4), valid for 60 minutes. Buy it in the Svipper app or pay by Visa/Mastercard card on the bus (no cash). Children aged 6–17 pay half fare (25 NOK).
Getting around Tromsø without a car
Tromsø’s city-centre island (Tromsøya) is compact — roughly 4 km long and 1.5 km wide — and most of the main attractions are walkable from the harbour. That said, the bus network operated by Svipper (Troms fylkeskommune) is reliable, affordable, and worth understanding if you plan day trips, need to reach the airport, or want to cross to Kvaløya.
This guide covers the routes you actually need as a visitor, not the full regional timetable.
| Where | Tromsøya island and connections to the mainland |
| Cost | 50 NOK single fare; 140 NOK for a 24-hour pass (1 zone) |
| Time needed | Most in-city trips take 5–15 minutes |
| Getting there | Board at any marked stop; pay by the Svipper app or Visa/Mastercard card |
| Best time | Daytime (06:00–23:00) for full frequency |
Key routes for visitors
Bus 40 / 42 — airport and Kvaløya
Routes 40 and 42 are the most useful for arriving visitors. Both serve TOS Airport (50 NOK, 20–25 min from the city centre) and continue to or from Kvaløyvågen on Kvaløya island.
Route 40 runs: Tromsø Airport → Breivika → city centre (Prostneset) → Kvaløya Route 42 runs: Tromsø Airport → city centre (Prostneset) → Sandnessund → Kvaløya
Frequency: every 20–30 minutes during the day (roughly 06:00–23:00).
Bus 26 — Fjellheisen and inland Tromsøya
Route 26 runs from Prostneset through the city centre and up towards the Fjellheisen cable car lower station at Solliveien. If you want to ride the cable car to Storsteinen summit (421 m) for panoramic Arctic views, this is your bus. Journey time: 8–10 minutes from the terminal.
The 26 also serves Tromsdalstinden trailhead if you continue to the end of the line — useful for the multi-hour summit hike in summer.
Bus 20 / 24 / 37 — city loop
These routes circulate through the main city-centre streets (Storgata, Strandvegen, Fr. Langes gate). They pass within walking distance of:
- Polaria aquarium (lines 33, 34, 40 and 42 stop outside)
- Polar Museum / Polarmuseet (harbour area)
- Arctic Cathedral (bus 20, stop Ishavskatedralen)
- Mack Brewery / Ølhallen (city centre)
If you are staying in a hotel on the main island, you are unlikely to need buses for anything within the city-centre core — it is faster to walk.
Bus 44 — Tromsøya ring road
The 44 loops around the outer edge of Tromsøya, useful for reaching accommodation in Breivika (university area) or the Ishavshotel in the north of the island.
Fares in 2026
| Ticket type | Price (Svipper, 1 zone) |
|---|---|
| Adult single (18–66) | 50 NOK |
| Child (6–17) and senior (67+) | 25 NOK |
| Off-peak adult single (weekdays 09:00–14:00 and 17:00–01:00) | 30 NOK |
| 24-hour ticket, adult | 140 NOK |
Monthly passes are available for residents but rarely worth it for tourists unless you are staying for 3+ weeks.
60-minute rule: A single 1-zone ticket is valid for 60 minutes. If your sightseeing loop involves two bus rides within that window, you pay once.
How to pay
Svipper app (recommended)
Download before you travel. The app allows you to:
- Buy single or multi-trip tickets
- See real-time departures at any stop
Tickets activated in the app are scanned at a contactless reader when you board. This is the most reliable method, especially if your foreign bank card’s contactless fails on the bus terminal.
Contactless bank card
Buses accept Visa and Mastercard by card. Cash is not accepted on board.
Pitfall: Some foreign bank cards charge a foreign transaction fee per tap. If you are on a Wise, Revolut, or Monzo card, transactions will be in NOK at the live exchange rate with no fee. Traditional bank cards may add 1–3% per transaction.
Ticket machines and sales points
Tickets are also sold at ticket machines and sales points; see svipper.no for locations.
Real-time departures and apps
Use:
- Svipper (official, iOS and Android) — journey planning, tickets, real-time boards
- Google Maps or Apple Maps — both show real-time Svipper departures and are accurate enough for planning
Bus stop signs in Tromsø display the stop number (e.g. “Prostneset 190”). Enter this number into the Svipper app for live departures.
Night buses
Night services and their fares are not confirmed here; check svipper.no for current night departures.
If you are returning from an aurora tour that ends at 02:00–03:00, do not assume a night bus will be available — most organised aurora tours provide minibus return transport to the city centre. Check with your tour operator.
Winter bus operations
In heavy snowfall, buses in Tromsø continue to run — the city is well prepared for winter conditions. However:
- Delays of 10–20 minutes are common during snowstorms
- Some stops on steep inclines may be temporarily closed and the nearest alternative stop used
- Articulated buses occasionally run on icy routes, which can cause longer boarding times
If you are catching a bus to the airport for an early morning flight in winter, always add 20–30 minutes of buffer and have a taxi number saved as backup. Tromsø Taxi: +47 776 03 000.
Getting to the mainland (Lyngen, Senja, Breivikeidet)
City buses do not go to the mainland. For day trips to Lyngen (1.5–2 hours), Senja (2.5–3 hours), or Tamok Valley, you need a rental car or a organised day trip.
A few regional bus routes (not city buses) connect Tromsø to mainland towns, but they are infrequent and do not coordinate well with tourist itineraries. See car rental and winter driving for the self-drive option, or check our day trip guides for guided tour options:
Walking vs bus: honest assessment
For most visitors staying in the city centre, the bus is only necessary for:
- Airport transfers (40/42)
- Fjellheisen cable car (26)
- Cross-island trips to Kvaløya (40/42)
Everything else — Arctic Cathedral, Polaria, Polar Museum, the harbour, Storgata, Ølhallen — is walkable in under 20 minutes from any city-centre accommodation. In winter, walking on Tromsø’s lit pedestrian paths in proper winter footwear is often faster than waiting for a bus.
Do not, however, attempt to walk to the airport in winter. The bridge road has no sidewalk for most of its length and is dangerous at night.
Accessibility on Tromsø buses
All new-generation Svipper buses are low-floor with ramp access. Most stops in the city centre have raised kerbs to help wheelchair users board. Real-time audio announcements are provided on most routes. For specialised transport for passengers with reduced mobility, contact TT-transport (Transporttjenesten for funksjonshemmede) through the Troms county website.
Honest verdict
Frequently asked questions about Tromsø city buses
Can I use the Oslo Ruter app in Tromsø?
No. Ruter covers Oslo and Akershus only. In Tromsø use the Svipper app. Google Maps and Apple Maps both work for journey planning.
Is the city bus free on Sundays?
No. Standard fares apply seven days a week. There is no free public transport day in Tromsø.
What is the last bus from the city centre to the airport?
Bus 40 and 42 run until approximately 23:00–23:30 from the city. After that, taxis are the only option (250–400 NOK).
Do buses in Tromsø have WiFi?
A small number of newer Svipper coaches on longer regional routes have WiFi. City buses (40, 42, 26, etc.) generally do not have onboard WiFi. Mobile 4G coverage across Tromsøya is excellent with Telia or Telenor SIM cards.
How reliable are Tromsø buses in winter?
Very. The city has decades of experience operating buses in sub-zero conditions with heavy snowfall. Minor delays (5–15 minutes) occur in bad weather, but cancellations are rare. The road network within the city is gritted and ploughed continuously during snowstorms.
Is there a tourist day pass for the bus?
Svipper offers a 24-hour pass. As of 2026, this costs 140 NOK for adults (1 zone). It is only worthwhile if you plan four or more bus trips in a single day, which is unusual for most visitors.
Do buses stop at the Arctic Cathedral?
Bus 20 has a stop called “Ishavskatedralen” that is directly outside the Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen) on Hans Nilsen Hauge gate on the mainland side. The journey from the city centre takes about 5–8 minutes.
Do I need a rental car if I am only staying in Tromsø city?
No — for a stay confined to Tromsøya and organised day trips, city buses plus walking cover everything. See the getting around Tromsø guide for a fuller comparison of bus, taxi, and rental-car use cases.
Can I use city buses to reach whale watching or aurora tour departure points?
Most organised tours include pickup from central hotels, so a city bus is rarely needed for tour departures. If a specific meeting point is off the usual pickup route, check with the operator — city buses can supplement but should not be relied on as the sole way to reach a fixed tour departure time.
Bus routes and key attractions: a quick reference
For visitors who want a concise stop-by-stop reference without reading the full route descriptions:
| Attraction | Nearest bus stop | Route(s) | Walking from stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fjellheisen cable car | Solliveien | 26 | 1 min |
| Polaria aquarium | Strandvegen | 33, 34, 40, 42 | 3 min |
| Polar Museum | Fiskerikaien | 20, 26 | 2 min |
| Arctic Cathedral | Ishavskatedralen | 20 | 1 min |
| Mack Brewery / Ølhallen | Rådhuset | most routes | 4 min |
| Tromsø Airport | Tromsø Lufthavn | 40, 42 | 2 min |
| Breivika ferry terminal | Breivika | 40, 42 | 3 min |
Using buses for evening aurora preparation
One practical use case for the bus that visitors often overlook: taking the bus to a viewpoint at dusk to scout before the aurora tour later in the evening. The Fjellheisen area (reached by bus 26) gives an excellent preview of the night sky conditions from 300 metres altitude without the cable car cost.
If you board bus 26 at Prostneset around 17:00–18:00, you reach the cable car lower station in 8 minutes. You can walk the path up toward Storsteinen on foot in 45–60 minutes to check cloud cover from altitude — useful data for deciding whether to book a tour for that evening.
This walk back down in the dark requires a head torch. In winter (November–February), the descent path is icy — Brodder spike attachments are essential.
Buses and sustainable tourism
Tromsø’s public transport network has been steadily electrifying. As of 2026, Svipper operates a growing fleet of electric buses on city routes, reducing emissions from urban transit. Several of the routes 20–44 now run on electric buses.
For environmentally-conscious visitors, using the bus network instead of taxis for city movement is a practical step. The bus also reduces congestion in Tromsø’s city centre, which has limited parking capacity and traffic management challenges in peak tourist season.
The airport bus (40/42) remains a mix of electric and hybrid diesel depending on the current fleet rotation. Full electrification of the airport route is planned as the fleet renews.
Buses vs renting a car: which do you actually need
Most visitors overestimate how much they will use the bus network and underestimate how much they will walk. For a first-timer with a 2-day stopover sticking to the city centre and one Fjellheisen trip, city buses cover everything and a rental car is unnecessary expense. For anyone planning day trips to Lyngen or Senja, or a longer stay that includes self-drive aurora chasing, see the car rental and winter driving guide — the calculus changes once the mainland is on your list. The Tromsø daily budget guide has cost comparisons for both approaches across a typical multi-day stay.
Fitting bus travel around a Tromsø itinerary
If you are following a set plan such as the 3-days winter itinerary or the 4-days aurora itinerary, city buses handle the daytime sightseeing legs (Fjellheisen, Polaria, the Arctic Cathedral) while organised evening tours typically include their own transport for aurora chasing or whale watching further afield. Budget for the two separately rather than assuming one covers the other.
Pairing the bus with a cable car ride
Bus 26 and the Fjellheisen cable car make the easiest self-guided half day in town: the bus drops you at the lower station, so there is no walking up a hill in winter boots before you have even started. Many visitors prefer to book ahead so that the ride is settled before they leave the hotel, whether that is a standard ride up to the Storsteinen viewpoint or an option that lets you stay on the mountain after dark, such as an evening cable car ride for the lights of the city and the sky. Our Fjellheisen cable car guide, the Fjellheisen tickets guide and the Storsteinen hike write-up explain what to expect at the top and how to choose between the options.
Bus-friendly rainy-day and family stops
On a wet or very cold day the city loop routes are a comfortable way to reach indoor attractions without a long walk. Polaria is the obvious one, and if you already know you want to go in, you can pick up a ticket for the aquarium and Arctic exhibits before you travel. The Polaria aquarium guide, the Polaria tickets guide and the Polaria for families page cover timing and what children tend to enjoy most. For more indoor ideas along the same bus lines, see the Polar Museum guide and the Tromsø museums and tickets guide.
Related reading on getting around
Buses are only one piece of the picture. The public transport tickets guide goes deeper on how to pay, the airport transfer guide and the Tromsø airport guide compare the bus with taxis and other options, and the Tromsø city centre destination page shows what sits within walking distance of the harbour. If you are building a first visit around these routes, the one day in Tromsø guide, the how many days in Tromsø guide and the free things to do in Tromsø help you decide how much transport you really need. For cold-weather comfort while waiting at stops, read what to wear in Tromsø in winter and the Tromsø packing guide.
