ICEHOTEL, Asaf Kliger image.

Northern Lights Trips

These Northern Lights trips are dedicated to the phenomena of the Aurora Borealis. These natural displays of green, white and purple light occur most frequently in the Polar Regions in a 2500 km radius off the geomagnetic pole. The zone with the most intense sightings of Aurora Borealis extends over Lapland in northern Scandinavia, Norway, Iceland, Greenland and Finland. As it happens this is our specialist area and we are here to help you witness this bucket list item.

Seeing the Northern lights is firmly on many travellers' bucket list. As the phenomenon is unpredictable and never guaranteed, seeing the Aurora lights require careful planning and positioning, which only adds to the thrill of ticking the spectacle off the list. Looking for more information about planning your Northern Lights trip package, visit our page about when to see the Northern Lights or continue reading below the listed tours.

Destination
Season
Duration
Tour Standard

Northern Lights Gems

7 days - Lakeside Stay and Aurora Cabins in Finland

  • Finland
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Asaf Kliger

Lapland Highlights Escorted

11 days - Escorted small group - visiting Norway, Sweden and Finland | ICEHOTEL & Glass Igloos

  • Premium
  • 2025 Dates Now Available - 12 travellers only
  • Finland
  • Norway
  • Sweden
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Glass Igloos & Lakeside Retreat

6 days - Gourmet food, boutique stays, Northern Lights and winter adventures

  • Finland
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Aurora Village Finland

Northern Lights Short Adventure

4 days - Independent Northern Lights tour to Finnish Lapland. Sleep in an Aurora Glass Cabin and enjoy winter activities.

  • Finland
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Havila

Chase the Northern Lights Express

11 days - Escorted Small Group tour to Norway and Finland with southbound Norwegian Coastal Voyage

  • Finland
  • Norway
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Aurora Village Ivalo, Alexander Kuznetsov

Northern Lights in Autumn at the Aurora Village

5 days - Independent Northern Lights tour to Finnish Lapland. Sleep in an Aurora Glass Cabin and enjoy autumn activities.

  • Finland
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Aurora Village Ivalo

Aurora Highlights Independent

5 days - Aurora Glass Cabin | Snow Hotel | Northern Lights - Kirkenes to Ivalo

  • Best Seller
  • Norway
  • Finland
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Experience the Northern Lights

Experience the Northern Lights

15 days - Escorted Small Group tour to Norway and Finland with northbound Norwegian Coastal Voyage

  • Norway
  • Finland
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Arctic TreeHouse Hotel

Arctic TreeHouse Stay in Finland

5 days - Follow Eugene Levy's travels with a stay in the TreeHouse Hotel.

  • Finland
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Aurora Village

Northern Lights in Aurora Village Finland

5 days - Independent Northern Lights tour to Finnish Lapland. Sleep in an Aurora Glass Cabin and enjoy winter activities.

  • Finland
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Asaf Kliger, ICEHOTEL

ICEHOTEL experience in Swedish Lapland

4 days - Independent tour staying at the ICEHOTEL all year round

  • Great Value
  • Sweden
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Tromsø & the Northern Lights

6 days - Experience the Northern Lights from your own fisherman's cabin

  • Norway
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Far Out Focus - Hans Petter Sørensen

Lapland Circle Independent

11 days - Independent tour - Staying at ICEHOTEL, Tromsø and 3 nights in Glass Igloos.

  • Finland
  • Norway
  • Sweden
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Fredrik Broman - Cone Room with Glass Roof

Swedish Aurora Glamping and Arctic Wellness

5 days - Discover the Swedish Lapland Highlights with the Arctic Bath

  • New CONE rooms
  • Sweden
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Dogsledding through Swedish Lapland

5 days - Extended adventure tour through Swedish Wilderness

  • Sweden
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Torassieppi Aurora Domes

Northern Lights in Finland

4 days - Short stay to search for Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland

  • Great value
  • Refurbished rooms
  • Finland
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Eveline Lunde

Svalbard Northern Lights Adventure

4 days - Silent Esledding, Gourmet Food & Ice Cave Adventure in Spitsbergen

  • Svalbard
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Northern Lights Stay at Lyngen Lodge

5 days - Mountain Lodge and winter adventures under the Northern Lights

  • Premium
  • Norway
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Big Ben Productions

Ice & Auroras in Swedish Lapland

5 days - Independent tour - Stay overnight in the ICEHOTEL and Abisko

  • Sweden
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Harriniva

Lapland Adventure Week

8 days - The best of Lapland with winter activities and overnight husky safari

  • Great value
  • Finland
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Arctic Fox Cabins

Polar Bears and New Year's Eve in Lapland

5 days - Celebrate the New Year in Finland staying in modern apartments and overnight in Glass Igloo.

  • Finland
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Image thanks to @sanisakasho

Northern Lights & Winter Magic

7 days - Boutique Northern Lights Glass Igloo Stay in two locations

  • Premium
  • Adults only
  • Finland
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Northern Lights in Iceland

Private Iceland Premium Short Tour

6 days - Winter tour of Iceland with Northern Lights focus and private tours

  • Premium
  • Iceland
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Cahkal Hotel

Northern Lights in the Arctic

6 days - Independent tour, visiting Tromsø and new boutique Cahkal hotel in Finland

  • Premium
  • Norway
  • Finland
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Sunday Morning Resort

New Year's Eve at Sunday Morning Resort

6 days - Celebrate New Year's Eve in Pyhä

  • Finals Spots for 2024
  • Finland
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Nivunki Village

Northern Lights Experience at Nivunki Village

5 days - Glass Igloo Stay in the heart of Lapland

  • NEW TOUR 2024
  • Finland
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Wilderness Hotels

Lapland Festive Stay at Juutua

5 days - Pre-Christmas Winter Adventure in the Juutua Wilderness Lodge

  • Final Spots for 2024
  • Finland
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Christmas at Sunday Morning Resort

6 days - Family Christmas Tour with Sustainable Focus

  • Finland
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Cahkal Hotel

Christmas in the Arctic

6 days - Independent Christmas tour, visiting Tromsø and new boutique Cahkal hotel in Finland

  • Premium
  • Norway
  • Finland
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Wilderness Park

Rovaniemi and Wilderness Aurora Lodge

6 days - Visit Rovaniemi and Salla with winter wonderland experiences

  • Finland
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Swedish Winter Adventure Tour

5 days - Short Sweden Winter Tour in a boutique family run lodge

  • Sweden
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Visit Norway

Norwegian Winter Family Adventure

5 days - Family 'Frozen' adventure in Alta and the Snowhotel

  • Norway
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Premium Northern Lights Tour of Finland and Norway

5 days - Stay in an Aurora Glass Cabin with private inclusions and transport

  • Premium
  • Finland
  • Norway
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Lapland Guesthouse

Festive Swedish Christmas Tour

5 days - Secluded Boutique Winter Guesthouse in Sweden

  • Sweden
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Arctic Treehouse Hotel @meirr

Christmas at Arctic TreeHouse Hotel Escorted

5 days - Visit Rovaniemi with a stay in the TreeHouse Hotel.

  • Finland
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Finland Lodge and Villa Holidays

Lapland as a Local

7 days - Private Log Cabin | Village Stay | Authentic Activities

  • Our favourite
  • Finland
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Ruka Reindeer Farm

Christmas Adventure in Ruka, Finland - escorted tour

5 days - Truly magical escorted Christmas tour in Northern Finland

  • PRE-XMAS AVAILABLE ONLY
  • Finland
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@natashavishnyova

Arctic Wilderness and Auroras with local Sami Experience

7 day - Tromsø and the Reindeer Ranch glass igloos independent tour

  • Premium
  • Norway
  • Finland
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Arctic Fox Igloos Ranua

Arctic Winter Wildlife Tour

5 days - Encounter winter wildlife in Finland's Ranua Wildlife Park and a stay in an Igloo

  • New Igloos
  • Finland
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Aurora Village, Ivalo

Aurora Highlights Reverse Independent

5 days - Aurora Glass Cabin | Snow Hotel | Northern Lights - Ivalo to Kirkenes

  • Finland
  • Norway
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Aurora Safari in Swedish Lapland

6 days - Independent Aurora tour through Swedish Lapland staying at the Treehotel and ICEHOTEL

  • Sweden
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Aurora Wilderness Hideaway in Finland

6 days - Boutique Beana Laponia Hotel | Rovaniemi | Snowmobiling | Adults only

  • Finland
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Gøran Mikkelsen

Autumn Auroras on Norway's Coast

6 days - Tromsø and Coastal Norwegian Northern Lights tour

  • Norway
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Autumn Colours & Aurora Borealis

4 days - Experience Arctic Europe in its majestic autumn months

  • Finland
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Anne Olsen, Nord Norge

Autumn Tranquility in Alta

5 days - Autumn Holiday in Alta, Northern Norway

  • Norway
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Levi Glass Igloos

Beana Laponia and Levi Glass Igloos

5 days - Independent adults only stay at two luxury properties in Finnish Lapland

  • Best Seller
  • Finland
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Visit Finland

Christmas in Kurula’s Resort

6 days - Family Lakeside Stay in Finland with Christmas Activities

  • Finland
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Image credit: Julia Gal and Moments of Gregory - Levi Igloos

Christmas in Levi Glass Igloos

5 days - Spend Christmas in the heart of Northern Finland

  • Finland
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Finnish Lapland Short Winter Break

5 days - Short break in Finnish Lapland with all the essential elements of Nordic winter holiday.

  • Finland
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Fire, Ice & the Blue Lagoon - winter

5 days - Independent winter tour of Iceland with Northern Lights focus.

  • Iceland
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Glass Igloo Stay in Finland

5 days - Perfect winter stay in search for the Northern Lights

  • Finland
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Golden Circle & Northern Highlights - Winter

7 days - An independent winter tour of Iceland

  • Iceland
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Ronny Olsen

Havila Astronomy Sailing

12 days - Classic Norwegian Coastal Voyage with an Astronomy expert

  • Norway
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Autumn Tour

Inari Autumn Auroras

4 days - Sámi cultural experiences on this short Autumn stay

  • Finland
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Kirkenes Snow Hotel

Kirkenes Winter Experience

5 days - Snowhotel stay easily combined with Norwegian Coastal voyage

  • Norway
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Mariia Kauppi & Visit Finland

Lakes and Auroras of Finland

5 days - Lakeside Suites in Finland with autumn auroras and outdoor adventures

  • Finland
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Wilderness Hotel Inari

Lapland Arctic Highlights

5 days - Adventure and Northern Lights in a Wilderness Lodge in Finland

  • Finland
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Harrinivia

Lapland Autumn Retreat

4 days - Early Northern Lights, campfires and forest exploring at a peaceful Lapland resort

  • Great Value
  • Finland
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Roll Outdoors, Visit Finland

Lapland Family Adventure for Teenagers

5 days - Get set go - Active teenager adventure in Finland

  • Premium with 7 active adventures included
  • Finland
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Wilderness Hotels

Lapland Festive Adventure

5 days - Pre-Christmas Winter Adventure in a Wilderness Lodge in Finland

  • 2024 FULLY BOOKED
  • Finland
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Lofoten & Northern Lights

4 days - Seeing is believing - these islands are magical.

  • Norway
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Ruka Christmas Tour

New Year's Adventure in Ruka, Finland - escorted tour

6 days - Escorted New Year's tour in Northern Finland

  • 2024 Available
  • Finland
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New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve in Levi Glass Igloos

5 days - Spend New Year's Eve in the heart of Northern Finland

  • Finland
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Aurora Village Ivalo

New Year's in Aurora Village, Finland

5 days - Independent New Year's Eve tour to Finnish Lapland. Sleep in an Aurora Glass Cabin and enjoy winter activities.

  • Finland
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Kurula Resort

Northern Lights & Arctic Sky in Kurula's Resort

5 days - Family Lakeside Suites in Finland with winter activities

  • Finland
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Marc Marchal

Northern Lights Exploration

8 days - Small Group tour exploring the best of Western, Southern & Southeast Iceland in search of the Northern Lights

  • Iceland
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Livo Arctic Aurora Resort

Northern Lights Holiday at Livo Arctic Resort

5 days - Stay at Aurora Cabins at Livo Arctic Resort in Posio, Finland

  • NEW TOUR 2024
  • Finland
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Northern Lights Village Phyä

Northern Lights Village in Pyhä

6 days - Stay at this new resort, opened December 2023 near Rovaniemi

  • NEW TOUR FOR 2024
  • Finland
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Hamn i Senja Aurora Rooms

Senja, Wildlife & Auroras

6 days - Northern Norway Wildlife Safari, Northern Lights and Tromsø

  • New Aurora Rooms
  • Norway
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Elida Langstein

Spitsbergen Arctic Darkness

4 days - Out of this world 24-hour darkness, Arctic adventures and dogsledding

  • Svalbard
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Svalbard Northern Lights for Thanksgiving

4 days - Make this Thanksgiving unforgettable in Svalbard, Arctic Norway.

  • Svalbard
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Wilderness Aurora Lodge in Salla for Autumn

5 days - Visit Salla with authentic and wild autumn experiences

  • NEW TOUR
  • Finland
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Sorrisniva

Winter Adventure in Norway

5 days - Stay in an Igloo Hotel for the Norwegian winter season

  • Premium
  • Norway
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How can I travel to the Northern Lights region in Northern Europe?

The Northern lights tours typically take place above the Arctic Circle across the 50 Degrees North region. Flying in the Nordic region during winter is safe and convenient and winter conditions do not prevent flying or landing. As icy and snowy conditions in the far north are nothing unusual, airports are well prepared, and de-icing equipment is readily available. The industry is well regulated, planes are safe and pilots are very experienced in flying in all weather. There is no airport in Scandinavia without a convenient public transport connection to the nearest city.

Usually your first step is to get a flight to the capital city of Finland (Helsinki), Sweden (Stockholm) or Norway (Oslo) and either fly to a smaller town in Lapland - the nearest one to where you will be staying - or catch the local trains to the north. For example, you can catch an overnight train with a sleeping berth from Helsinki to Rovaniemi, arriving to the Arctic Circle in the morning. This is a very authentic way of travel, but not adviced if you're on a tight schedule.

Aurora Village Family

Image: Aurora Village

When can you join a Northern Lights tour?

Many Northern lights tours operate from August to April, however most of the tours offered are from November until April when it is darker and colder in the region. If you have any time during these months available to travel, we would recommend later in the season when you have longer daylight hours for activities.

When should you book a Northern Lights tour?

Doing a Northern lights tour has been exceptionally popular recently with the Solar Maximum producing some of the most intense displays in over a decade. We suggest booking at least three to six months earlier to secure the best the region has to offer. Many of the hotels have built new facilities designed specifically with the Northern lights viewing in mind, such as the Glass Igloos in Ivalo, Glass Igloos in Levi and the new chalets in Kirkenes.

We suggest you plan your itinerary with some Northern Lights excursions (such as snow mobiling or minivan tours) and then once you have arrived at your accommodation, you can add some more of these excursions if the conditions are right. Most tour operators will have some flexibility on a day-to-day basis as the weather conditions make a big difference to your success in seeing the Northern Lights.

Are there any day/night tours to see the Northern Lights that I can join?

There are a variety of different options to see the Northern lights within a tailor made Aurora lights tour. If you want to do a Northern lights tour in Norway, you can base yourself in one of the cities above the Arctic Circle and join evening trips that search for the Northern lights. Typically, the drivers and guides will research the weather forecast and the Aurora prediction websites each evening and will drive to the area most likely to show the aurora. A warm van, hot chocolates and sometimes an open fire, will keep you happy and cozy during the search.

Adventure tour options such as skidoo trips and reindeer sledding tours, which incorporate a Northern lights search, are also offered in most of our winter locations.
shutterstock 529626979 Northern Lights group watching

Our region also offers many accommodation options designed to provide you comfortable ways to see the Northern lights. Positioned high up on a mountain in Sweden, the Abisko Aurora Sky station offers a viewing area and museum combined with a restaurant to enjoy at the same time. Abisko has a unique micro-climate which keeps the skies clear - ideal for seeing the lights!

Likewise, the patio and Jacuzzi at Lyngen Lodge, Norway or the Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Voyage deck and jacuzzi offer a great ‘bucket list’ spot to see the lights.

Similarly, perch yourself on a bar stool in the ION hotel in Iceland. This fabulous architecturally designed country hotel with huge foyer windows is a dramatic place to witness the Northern lights spectacle away from artificial light.

Are there any group tours to see the Northern Lights that I can join?

We offer several small group tours designed to see the Northern lights. In Iceland, there are several different small group coach tours that are designed around seeing the Northern Lights from Iceland's iconic spots.

This Norwegian Coastal (Kystruten) voyage and tour, Chase the Northern Lights Express, runs regularly during winter and is exclusive to 50 Degrees North. Fully escorted for the entire tour, this tour travels from Helsinki, to Rovaniemi and then down the Norwegian coast.

Can you predict if I will see the Northern Lights on my tour?

There are two kinds of Northern lights predictions: statistical and real-time ones. The former are based on a large amount of observations of Northern lights at different latitudes during several years. From these statistics we can say what is the probability of the occurrence of Northern lights during the course of year.

According to the statistics compiled by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, four nights out of five are illuminated by Northern lights in Northern Lapland (Kilpisjärvi-Utsjoki area) providing that the sky is free enough from clouds. On the coast of the Arctic Ocean in North Norway (e.g. in Tromsö) one can see Northern lights almost every night. Even in South Finland, for example in Helsinki, one can see them but much more seldom; in Helsinki only one night out of 20.

Remember, the occurrence of auroras depends on the latitude, so be sure to look Northwards for the lights. We always suggest staying in the Aurora Zone long enough for storms (i.e clouds) to pass. And just in case you haven't realised, during summer months you cannot see any aurora due to light nights (up to 24 hrs of light, i.e. the Midnight Sun). Generally, the best time to see auroras is between 9pm and 1am local time.

NOTE: The auroras come in lots of different shades and strengths. Some nights, you will be dazzled by brilliant lights whilst other nights, it is a dull hazy green, hard to see and rather vague. Fingers crossed for one of the magical nights!!

When the Earth's magnetic field is very disturbed, the auroras can spread all over Europe for a couple of hours.

To get more technical, the latter predictions are based on a space-weather monitoring system either by ground-based devices or satellites watching the space-weather conditions around the Earth. When the monitoring devices (e.g., magnetometers or particle detectors in a satellite) show certain deviations from the normal situation, one can expect that a space weather storm is approaching in a few hours.

The skill of real-time predictions is, unfortunately, rather low as we cannot make predictions for several days like forecasting normal weather. The reason for this shortcoming is that we do not fully understand the complicated processes, starting from the Sun and ending in the near-space of the Earth, involved in the cosmic ignition of the Northern lights. Therefore, more space-research is needed for better forecasts. For further information about the Northern Lights, refer to this Spaceweather website.

Have a look at our complete range of Northern Lights tours here.

1000 shutterstock 150434534 Northern Lights Lofoten Piotr Krzeslak WEB