What is the right attitude for viewing the Northern Lights?

Lots of patience - but itâ€™ll be worth it in the end!

Northern Lights Holidays 2019/2020

See the world’s most spectacular natural phenomenon, the shimmering Northern Lights in person, this winter!

Enjoy an unparalleled Arctic holiday, featuring a winter wonderland, husky sledding, thermal pools, and traditional Sami cultural experiences.

Over 200+ Northern Lights tours and experiences. Find yours now!

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Reviews

What our travellers say about their trip to see the Northern Lights

Julie

Written on 01 Mar, 2019

4.5 out of 5

Great winter trip with some fabulous scenery all topped off with a sighting of the northern lights!Our tour leader Hakon was excellent, very informative with a sense of humour. Highlight for me was the snowcat ride to the top of the mountain - the weather was perfect and it felt like we were at the top of the World.Make sure you take plenty of warm, waterproof clothes and ice grippers are a must.

Ian Garvie

5.0 out of 5

My wife and I are just about to go on our ninth trip with Explore, each trip has been exciting, fun, and we have been to some places we have been dreaming of, what's not to recommend? :-)

Michelle

Written on 01 Jan, 2019

5.0 out of 5

This was my second trip to Iceland with Explore, the first being the 4 day trip. Gusti - Explores tour guide - incredible general knowledge and obvious love for his country leaves you wanting more. Each day is filled with vast landscapes and yes we saw the northern lights on several nights. The short daylight hours did not diminish from what we saw or explored. I can highly recommend this trip it is extremely well organised and gives you a great overview of what Iceland has to offer and experience.

Sanjukta D

4.0 out of 5

The Scandinavia tour was well conducted and explored the interior parts of Scandinavia that would be difficult to cover on customized tour. It gives the traveler an authentic feel of the country. We had a lovely Tour guide, Ms. Rosie and Tour Driver, Mr. Martin, who were well aware of the Scandinavian region and escorted us very well throughout the tour.

Grace

Written on 01 Aug, 2018

5.0 out of 5

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the Cosmos Norwegian Fjords tour that we took in August 2018. Norway has beautiful landscapes and lovely fjords, but food prices are much more expensive than in Australia. We were happy with the excellent service from the tour director and very capable driver. I think this tour is good value for money, the hotels are mostly 3* but Cosmos booked us for one night in a 4* hotel in Geiranger (Hotel Union). The included dinners offered a great selection, either buffet-style or three-course meals. The group was a mix of mostly middle-age and above, with some younger ones, and they came from UK, USA, Australia, and Thailand. Thank you Georgie for organising our holiday, for your attention to detail and friendly reminders, it made our preparation easier before departing for the tour.

Northern Lights holiday experiences

It’s best to go chasing the Northern Lights at night, so during the day choose and book these experiences as part of your Northern Lights tours!

Meet Santa Claus!

A childhood dream comes true as you visit Santa Claus himself at his village in the North Pole.

Relax in the Blue Lagoon

Sit back in this spectacular lagoon and relax in the mineral-rich milky waters.

Visit a reindeer farm

Keep an eye out for Rudolph as you visit the farm and pet the reindeer.

Go sledding with huskies

You cannot help but smile as you zoom through the snowy woods, on a sled pulled by huskies.

Everything you need to know about the Northern Lights

Here are all the answers to the questions you have about chasing and seeing the Aurora Borealis.

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, is a display of coloured lights across the sky, visible in the northern hemisphere when conditions are just right.

Electrically charged particles from the sun collide with gaseous particles such as oxygen and nitrogen to cause this phenomenon.

Head North. The best places to visit in order to see the Northern Lights are in polar latitudes such as Iceland, Nowary, Finland, and the Swedish Lapland.

The best time to visit the Northern Lights is during winter as the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights is higher during this time.

There is no guarantee that you will see the Northern Lights as it is a natural phenomenon, completely dependent on weather conditions. Ideal viewing conditions are dark, cloudless skies. Your Northern Lights tour package will include hunts in the evening so you have the best chance of viewing the Aurora.

Lots of patience - but it’ll be worth it in the end!