Northern lights trips by travel style: where to go based on how you travel
Not every northern lights destination works the same way — the best choice depends on how you travel, not just where you go.
Magic in the Lofoten!
The 2025-2026 northern lights season has been exceptional so far, and one thing is clear: people aren’t just asking where to see the aurora anymore. They’re asking which kind of trip actually fits them.
Short stay or long trip?
Car or no car?
Tour or no tour?
Quiet or social?
First time or return visit?
This guide helps you choose the right northern lights destination based on your travel style, so your trip works in real life — not just on paper.
Find a northern light tour and a place to stay in the Arctic:
First-time northern lights trip: keep it simple
We saw strong aurora twice during a week in Alta in October
If this is your first time chasing the aurora, simplicity matters more than flexibility. And spoiler alert: You’ll probably get addicted!
You want:
easy logistics
short transfer times
reliable guided tours
accommodation already inside the aurora zone
less waiting in the cold
That’s why places like Alta work so well for first-timers. It’s small, calm, and built around winter travel. You don’t need to drive far, tours include pickup, and many accommodations in Alta already offer good viewing conditions.
For a first trip, fewer decisions usually mean better results.
👉 Explore our dedicated articles:
Discover northern lights tours and hotels in Alta:
Northern lights without a car: stress-free wins
Abisko, Swedish Lapland, is a great aurora base if you don’t have a car!
If you don’t drive — or don’t want to rent a car in Arctic winter conditions — some destinations are simply better suited than others.
Look for:
walkable or compact towns
hotels with an unobstructed views (for example, a frozen lake, river or meadow, or on top of a hill) and/or far enough from city lights
reliable hotel pickups
guided tours that adapt to weather
Abisko is a classic example, with train access from Kiruna and a small, focused base. Alta also works exceptionally well without a car, which is why it consistently appeals to travelers looking for calm logistics.
If you remove driving from the equation, guided experiences and accommodation choice become the key success factors.
👉 More on Abisko northern lights and the famous blue hole in our dedicated article.
Check northern lights tours and places to stay in Abisko:
Short stays (3–4 nights): maximize your odds
We stayed less than a week in Luleå (Sweden) in February and saw the aurora 3 nights in a row!
When you only have a few nights, your odds of catching Lady Aurora are limited. So, you want a destination where:
you’re already in the aurora zone
travel times are short
tours run nightly when conditions allow
the weather has better odds (although Arctic weather has a mind of its own)
Smaller Arctic bases outperform large hubs here. Staying somewhere like Alta or a focused Lapland village gives you more sky time and fewer lost hours.
Some destinations also offer you to reschedule your aurora tour if you’re not lucky the first time. For example, this is common practice in Iceland (👉 Read our Iceland winter guide here).
For short trips, being well-positioned beats having endless options.
👉 Check out where to see the northern lights in Europe, and the best places to see the aurora in the world.
Penguin Trampoline tip:
Our Northern Lights Hub brings together the science behind the aurora, the best times and places to see it, our favorite apps, photography basics, and proven tips from our own Arctic trips.
Quiet, off-the-beaten-path northern lights trips
We booked a rorbu in the Lofoten, and saw the northern lights right on our doorstep
Some travelers aren’t looking for social tours or busy bases. They want silence, space, and dark skies. And by they, we mean us!
This is where choosing the right base matters more than the country.
In the Lofoten Islands, for example, staying in smaller villages or traditional rorbuer away from the busiest roads changes the experience completely: darker skies, quieter evenings, striking backgrounds and less movement.
For those willing to go further, Greenland represents the extreme end of quiet travel — vast landscapes, ice reflection, minimal crowds, and a naturally slower rhythm.
These destinations reward patience rather than planning every detail.
Whatever your aurora chasing style, we always recommend a travel insurance. You know, in case you slip on a rock when running to take an aurora selfie, like me on the pic… Get 5 to 15 % with our partner HeyMondo!
Experience-first travelers: tours over towns
This happened an hour away from Rovaniemi, in September
Some trips are built around what you want to do, not where you stay.
If northern lights viewing is just one part of a winter experience (and they should) — alongside dog sledding, snowmobiling, or winter hiking — choose destinations where:
activities are well organized, with many providers
transport is easy
This is one reason Arctic destinations with strong tour infrastructure continue to perform well. Experiences reduce uncertainty, especially in changing weather conditions.
For these travelers, accommodation becomes a base — not the main attraction.
If you don’t mind the crowds, the most popular destinations for the northern lights — like Tromsø or Rovaniemi — will ease the logistics, with great transport options and many tour options.
Explore tours and places to stay in Tromsø:
Shoulder season planners: fewer crowds, better balance, warmer
See? Not that cold in Alta in October! (Ok, we had a sauna in our appartment…)
Ok, before you get too excited, by “warmer” we mean not freezing. It will always be somewhat chilly when you wait for the northern lights, even early in the season. It’s the Arctic, after all!
But trust us, there’s a major difference between waiting for hours at +5ºC and at -30ºC! And, while there’s nothing more magical than Arctic winter in our opinion, we fully understand that not everyone wants deep winter conditions.
Fall and early spring northern lights trips appeal to travelers looking for:
fewer crowds
easier temperatures
cheaper accommodation and sometimes flights
a balance between darkness and daylight
We’ve had wonderful aurora displays as early as late August in Alaska, and regularly in October in Norway when the moody weather was cooperating.
Choosing the right timing can be just as important as choosing the destination itself.
So… which northern lights destination is right for you?
The best northern lights trip isn’t the one with the longest checklist — it’s the one that fits how you travel.
Ask yourself:
Do I want flexibility or simplicity?
Will I drive, or rely on tours?
Is this a short trip or a longer stay?
Do I want quiet, or a social atmosphere?
Once those answers are clear, choosing where to stay — and which hotel page to trust — becomes much easier.
👉 Explore our selection of the best hotels for the northern lights in Europe
Plan your trip to the Arctic
✈️ Find cheap flights — connect via larger cities: Omio Flights
🏨 Find hotels — from cozy cabins to aurora hotels: Booking.com Hotels
🚗 Compare car rentals — for scenic drives and trips: Booking.com Rental Cars
🧤 Get travel gear — fly in comfort and style: Shop our Amazon list
🛡️ Heymondo Travel Insurance (5–15% off) — tested: Get Heymondo
🐾 Fahlo Wildlife Bracelets (20% off) — track a real animal: Shop Fahlo
FAQ: Choosing the right place for northern lights
Which northern lights destination is best for first-time travelers?
Smaller Arctic bases with simple logistics, like Alta or Abisko, tend to work best for first trips. They offer reliable tours, short transfer times, and accommodation already inside the aurora zone.
Do I need a car to see the northern lights?
Not necessarily. Many destinations offer guided tours with hotel pickup, making it easy to see the aurora without driving — especially in places like Alta, Abisko, or Rovaniemi.
Are the Lofoten Islands good for seeing the northern lights?
Yes, but conditions can be unpredictable. The Lofoten Islands are known for rapidly changing weather, which can make sightings less consistent. However, if you get clear skies, the dramatic mountains and sea create one of the most spectacular northern lights backdrops in the Arctic.
Is Tromsø good for northern lights?
Tromsø is a popular northern lights destination, but tours often drive long distances to escape cloud cover. It works well if you’re comfortable with longer nights out and busier surroundings.
Can you see the northern lights in Rovaniemi?
Yes. Rovaniemi sits on the Arctic Circle and offers frequent northern lights sightings, especially when you stay outside the city center or join guided tours that move away from light pollution.
Are quieter places better for seeing the aurora?
Often, yes. Smaller towns and less crowded bases usually offer darker skies, less movement, and a calmer experience — all of which improve overall viewing conditions.
How important is choosing the right base compared to choosing the right hotel?
The base comes first. Being in the right town or region usually has more impact on your experience than the specific hotel itself.
Here is my playlist to call Lady Aurora (it’s very sensitive to music, I promise):
The northern lights don’t reward rushing or over-planning.
They reward patience, good positioning, realistic choices, and, ok, a bit of luck.
This season is being amazing so far, and we’re looking forward to our winter trips to Finnish Lapland and Iceland.
And, we hope that our tips will help you see the northern lights too!
Choose the destination that fits you, and let the sky do the rest.
Want to see the aurora? Explore our detailed guides:
🌍 Best Places to See the Northern Lights in the World — From Alaska to the Southern lights, the aurora knows no borders.
🇪🇺 Best Places to See the Northern Lights in Europe — Iceland, Norway, Lapland and beyond.
📅 Best Time to See the Northern Lights — Month-by-month, season-by-season, when the sky is most likely to dance.
📸 Northern Lights Photography Tips — Camera settings, tripods, and how not to end up with 200 blurry green smudges.
🌌 What Are the Northern Lights? — The science, the legends, and the cosmic drama behind those glowing ribbons.
🧤 What to Wear for a Northern Lights Trip — Layer up or freeze up: the packing list you actually need at –30°C.
🏨 Best Northern Lights Hotels in Europe — Sleep under the aurora in glass igloos, ice hotels, and hot-tub hideaways.
🚗 Northern lights without a car — Quiet Arctic bases, hotel pickups instead of icy roads
