For the longest time now, I wanted to see the northern lights. I think this is something that is almost on everyone’s bucket list, especially any traveler’s – unless, of course, you live somewhere where the northern lights are almost a nightly occurrence. But based on a short conversation I had with a stewardess, I don’t think it’s something that ever gets old, even for the locals.
“I grew up with the northern lights,” she said. “They still continue to amaze me.”
Where is the Best Place to View the Aurora Borealis?
I had always assumed that Alaska was the best place to see the northern lights. While they are viewable in parts of Alaska during the winter (I’ve been to Alaska once before in the summer), after extensive research, I learned that Tromso gets the best displays and the most activity. They see them almost every single night in the winter, as long as the sky is clear and there is even just a very small amount of activity.
We had eight nights in Norway, and saved four of them for a visit to the Arctic Circle. The first night in the arctic, we visited Alta, which is actually more north and isolated than Tromso. Our purpose was not necessarily to see the northern lights, but to stay in Norway’s only Ice Hotel. Of course, we were hoping for some northern light activity, too. And we got it.
But only for a minute.
I told myself I would stay up all night in case there was a fleeting moment of northern lights activity. Joe made fun of me for it.
“I don’t think it works like that,” he said. I asked him to explain, and apparently he thought once they showed up for the evening, they were there the whole night.
Wrong.
Sure, this does happen. But like clouds, they really might just pass right by – be there one minute and gone the next. It was while we were eating dinner in the lodge that this happened.
“We’ve got some lights outside if you’d like to see,” the hotel receptionist told everyone in the dining room.
Suddenly, everyone scrambled to the back door – pushing past each other, grabbing their coats.
We all went outside and there they were. They were great, but literally only lasted about a minute. They came swooping over the ice hotel from behind a large mountain, and did a vertical dance before quickly disappearing into the horizon. It didn’t last long and we were just taking it all in. It was nice that I was now able to say I saw them, but, I wasn’t satisfied with just that.
Arrival in Tromso
The first night we arrived in Tromso, it was late in the afternoon and we didn’t have anything planned as far as northern lights viewing went. It was probably a good thing, because there was a blizzard outside and clear skies are essential for seeing the lights. Eventually, the storm died down and I spent the remainder of the evening glancing out the window. We had a huge window in our room with a fantastic view of Tromso’s coastal area, but I knew seeing anything here wasn’t likely. Tromso is the place to see the lights, but due to noise pollution, it’s really much more likely by venturing to the outskirts.
And that is what we did the next night.
When we initially booked our Norway trip, we had no idea what plan of action we wanted to take when it came to seeing the northern lights. We eventually settled on renting a car, driving to the outskirts, and waiting. I am so, so, SO glad that we didn’t stick to this plan for so many reasons. First of all, driving in winter at night time in a place like Tromso does NOT seem easy. Even if you are used to driving in winter conditions, this is the Arctic Circle we’re talking about. Conditions in this region of the world can become fierce. I can also see us getting completely, totally lost – much worse than when we almost got lost in the country of Jordan.
Aside from getting lost and freezing to death, or getting into a car accident, I doubt we would have known where to go to see the northern lights. Sure, you go to the outskirts and you might lucky – but maybe not. We didn’t have all the time in the world to take these kinds of chances.
We decided to go on a northern lights chase, which involves going to parts of Norway where the weather is good and lights are viewable. We went with Arctic Guide Service, and I have to highly recommend them if you ever go to Tromso for the northern lights. Companies like this know what they’re doing, and they’re your best chance at seeing the northern lights.
These tours are designed to last a long time because it can take a while to find a good area for viewing the lights and there is a ton of driving. Sometimes the tours can last up to eight hours. Arctic Guide Services uses huge, comfortable buses that are heated and with bathrooms on board, and I know that a lot of the tour companies use tiny, cramped minivans. For such a long tour, I think comfort is extremely important. Oh, and they give you hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies, which is a nice bonus.
Disaster Strikes the First Night Out
Our first night out, the weather was absolutely horrible. There was some kind of polar storm going on: buckets of snow pouring down, winds gusting to 30 mph, and practically no visibility.
We drove to an area near the Atlantic Ocean, where the tour guides had hoped the skies would clear by 10 pm. Alas, they never did. Not only was it completely miserable weather to be outside in, but northern lights were practically impossible to see. We spent most of the night just hanging out on the bus. At about midnight, right before leaving, we got a slight break in the clouds and were able to see a slight glimmer of them. I mean, it was really subtle.
It was crap.
Our viewing in Alta definitely triumphed what we saw that night, so I was beginning to lose hope – especially when the tour guide said that the same terrible weather was expected to affect the region the next night, too.
Our last night in the Arctic and our last night for just one, truly amazing northern lights display.
The next evening, it wasn’t snowing at all. My fingers were crossed that maybe the weather forecast was wrong and that we’d have some clear skies. Sadly, though, just because there wasn’t any snow didn’t mean there weren’t any clouds.
Our tour guide came on the bus loudspeaker and told us that the areas surrounding Tromso were very cloudy and they’d be taking us to the Finnish border that night, where it was supposed to be clear. Well, that’s fine. Whatever it took. Drive me to Russia for all I care – just take me to where the lights are!
Just When We Thought All Hope Was Lost…
After about an hour of driving, the tour guide came back on with some terrific news: iit appeared as though the skies had cleared and driving to the Finnish border was unnecessary. Everyone clapped.
When we got off the bus, the first thing I noticed was how many stars there were. It was amazing! The last time I had seen this many stars so clearly was at the Bioluminescent Bay in Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. I even saw a shooting star!
Within a few minutes of being there, the northern lights emerged. The display got larger, stronger, and brighter, and didn’t go anywhere for about two hours. I couldn’t even notice how cold it was because I was too darn excited to care.
What can really be said about them? They’re just simply amazing to witness. It’s addicting and you can’t look away. The various colors, the movements, the shapes they seem to take on… they are a breathtaking sight – not quite as green as they appear in photos, but still awesome.
We arrived back at our hotel room at around 1:30 AM, and as I drifted off the sleep, I thought how great it would be to just get one last look at the lights before we departed the next morning. It was at that moment that I turned toward the window and saw something incredible.
I got up and there was a huge burst of green northern lights!
It wasn’t a large amount of them, but they were so very green and bright. They danced outside my window for about two minutes before disappearing behind a mountain. It was almost as if they came to say, “Goodbye, thanks for visiting!” I know, I’m a huge cornball.
Needless to say, I barely got any sleep that night because I kept looking out the window.
Maybe I’m getting greedy now, but I hope this wasn’t my last time viewing the northern lights. But if it was the one and only, I would be completely satisfied.
Essential Travel Information
Flights to Norway: The easiest way to get to Norway is to fly into Oslo. There are direct flights available from all over and you can use FlightHub to find and book your flight. From there, you can fly or take a train to Tromso. Getting to Alta is a bit trickier because it’s so far up north and away from everything, and it will normally a short flight or long bus ride. I highly recommend Alta though, too. It’s like visiting a real-life Christmas card.
Booking your northern lights tour: Compare different tour options from TourRadar.com. Some tours also offer multi-day itineraries, including dog sledding!
Hotel information: We stayed at the Clarion Hotel The Edge in Tromso.
The massive King Penguins, on the other hand, were the ones that we were allowed to touch and hug. The tour guide kept insisting we give them a kiss on top of their heads, and although I was slightly worried that about getting impaled by one of those enormous beaks, I thought to myself ‘seriously, when I will ever get to kiss a penguin?’ So I went for it. They taste like fish!
