There are some travel experiences that are difficult to capture in a photograph. The Northern Lights are one of them.
You can see countless images of brilliant green, purple and pink ribbons stretching across a dark sky, but standing beneath the aurora borealis as it moves overhead is something entirely different. It is unpredictable, fleeting and never exactly the same twice.
For many travelers, seeing the Northern Lights is firmly planted on the bucket list. But here’s the good news: you have choices. A Northern Lights vacation doesn’t have to mean traveling to the farthest reaches of Scandinavia. You can chase the aurora as close to home as Alaska or build an entire Arctic adventure around it in Iceland, Norway, Sweden or Finland.
The question isn’t simply where can I see the Northern Lights?
It’s what kind of Northern Lights vacation do I want?
Alaska: An Aurora Adventure Without Leaving the United States
For U.S. travelers who want to experience the Northern Lights without traveling internationally, Alaska is an excellent place to start.
Fairbanks sits beneath the auroral oval and is one of Alaska’s best-known bases for aurora viewing. Winter brings the long, dark nights necessary for spotting the lights, but a Northern Lights trip here doesn’t have to consist of sitting outside every night waiting for the sky to cooperate.
One particularly interesting way to experience winter in Alaska is aboard the Alaska Railroad’s Aurora Winter Train, which travels between Anchorage and Fairbanks on select days during the winter season. Instead of seeing Alaska only during its enormously popular summer cruise season, travelers get a completely different view: snowy landscapes, frozen wilderness and a much quieter side of the state.
Combine the rail journey with several nights around Fairbanks for aurora viewing, and Alaska becomes a full winter adventure.
Dog sledding, hot springs, snowmobiling and other winter activities can turn the trip into much more than an aurora hunt.
And because you’re still in the United States, there’s no passport required for U.S. citizens.
Iceland: Northern Lights With a Side of Fire and Ice
Iceland works particularly well for travelers who want the Northern Lights to be one part of a larger vacation.
By day, you might explore waterfalls, glaciers, black-sand beaches, volcanic landscapes and geothermal areas. At night, you head away from the lights of Reykjavík and look toward the sky.
There are numerous ways to hunt for the aurora, from guided excursions departing Reykjavík to stays in countryside hotels where darkness is right outside your door.
Iceland also illustrates one of the most important things to understand about Northern Lights travel: there are no guarantees.
The aurora is a natural phenomenon. You need solar activity, darkness and cooperative weather. Clouds can hide a perfectly active aurora.
That’s why I prefer building a trip with multiple opportunities to see the lights rather than staking an entire vacation on a single evening.
If the aurora appears, wonderful. If it doesn’t, you have still spent your days exploring one of the world’s most extraordinary landscapes.
Norway: Chase the Lights Above the Arctic Circle
Travel farther north and Norway offers a very different Arctic experience.
Tromsø is one of the best-known Northern Lights destinations in northern Norway and makes an excellent base for exploring above the Arctic Circle. From here, travelers can join aurora excursions that venture away from city lights—and sometimes travel considerable distances in search of clearer skies.
But Norway gives you another intriguing option: search for the Northern Lights from the water.
Norway’s dramatic coastline can be explored by ship, combining Arctic scenery, coastal communities and the possibility of seeing the aurora overhead. Depending on the itinerary and season, a Northern Lights trip can become as much about experiencing Norway’s remote coastline as seeing the lights themselves.
For someone who loves the idea of an Arctic voyage but doesn’t necessarily want a traditional land-based winter vacation, Norway deserves serious consideration.
Sweden: Aurora Viewing With an Arctic Twist
Swedish Lapland offers another approach entirely.
One of its most famous destinations is Abisko, an area renowned for Northern Lights viewing. Its location and surrounding geography can produce favorable conditions for clearer skies, making it particularly attractive to serious aurora seekers.
But you don’t have to spend the entire vacation staring upward.
Swedish Lapland offers dog sledding, snowmobiling, Arctic wilderness experiences and opportunities to learn about the culture and traditions of the region.
And then there’s one of Sweden’s most unusual accommodations: the famous ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi.
Yes, you can actually sleep in a room made of ice and snow.
Combine that with an evening beneath the Northern Lights and you’ve moved well beyond a sightseeing trip. The accommodation itself becomes part of the adventure.
Finland: Glass-Roofed Cabins and Lapland Magic
If your Northern Lights fantasy involves lying somewhere warm while watching the sky through a glass roof, Finnish Lapland may be exactly what you’ve imagined.
Northern Finland has become famous for its glass igloos and aurora cabins, designed specifically to allow guests to watch the Arctic sky without spending the entire night standing outdoors.
But Lapland offers plenty to do while you’re waiting for darkness.
Reindeer experiences, husky sledding, snow-covered forests, saunas, snowshoeing and other winter activities make this one of the easiest destinations to turn into a complete Arctic vacation.
For families, couples and honeymooners, Finland can also provide a very different atmosphere from a more expedition-oriented Arctic experience.
You can make it adventurous.
You can make it romantic.
You can even make it luxurious.
So, Where Should You See the Northern Lights?
That’s where things get interesting.
There isn’t one “best” Northern Lights destination because travelers aren’t all looking for the same vacation.
Want to stay closer to home? Alaska may be your answer.
Want waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes and geothermal landscapes along with your aurora? Consider Iceland.
Dreaming about crossing the Arctic Circle and exploring a spectacular coastline? Look toward Norway.
Want an unusual Arctic adventure that might include sleeping in an ice hotel? Sweden deserves a look.
Want to watch for the aurora through the roof of your cozy cabin after a day of huskies and reindeer? Finland might win.
And that’s before we even get into Northern Lights possibilities elsewhere in the Arctic.
The Most Important Northern Lights Travel Tip
Don’t plan a Northern Lights vacation around one night.
Weather changes. Solar activity changes. The aurora doesn’t operate according to anyone’s vacation schedule.
Give yourself several nights of opportunity and choose a destination you genuinely want to experience even if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.
That’s the difference between planning a vacation to see the Northern Lights and planning an incredible winter vacation where seeing the Northern Lights could become its most unforgettable moment.
Because when the clouds clear, the sky darkens and those first streaks of green begin moving overhead?
I’d travel for that.
Ready to start planning your own Northern Lights adventure? Whether you’d rather ride the rails through Alaska, explore Iceland, cruise Norway’s Arctic coastline or sleep beneath a glass roof in Lapland, I’ll help you find the experience that fits the way you want to travel.
Contact me today to get started.