Thanks to its unique microclimate, Abisko and its national park enjoy exceptionally clear night skies. This — along with its Arctic location — makes Abisko one of the best places on Earth to see the Northern Lights.
Abisko Northern Lights Holidays
On Abisko Northern Lights holidays, you have a very high chance of seeing the aurora borealis. And there’s so much to do while you wait for those beautiful lights to appear.
Embark on husky sledding and snowmobile adventures. Explore the frozen lakes and snow-covered peaks of Abisko National Park. Stay in a cosy lodge, with the Northern Lights dancing right outside your door. Abisko is an aurora destination that has it all.
Explore our Abisko Sweden holidays
Holidays to Abisko in Sweden: FAQs
Why is Abisko such a good place to see the Northern Lights?
Abisko is one of the best places in the world to view the Northern Lights. It enjoys long, dark, winter nights and low levels of light pollution.
Located 250 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, you can see the northern lights in Abisko even when solar activity isn’t at its strongest.
The area also has more cloud-free nights than other areas of Swedish Lapland. That’s because the mountains surrounding Abisko disperse clouds coming from the Atlantic Ocean.
This creates a “blue hole” — a patch of clear, cloudless sky that sits above Abisko village, Lake Torneträsk and Abisko National Park most nights of the year.
Read more: Where can I see the northern lights?
Can you guarantee that I’ll see the Northern Lights in Abisko?
Unfortunately not. The northern lights are a natural phenomenon so — as much as we’d like to — we can’t make a guarantee.
But, rest assured, Abisko’s climate and location make it an excellent northern lights destination. On our holidays to Abisko, we also do everything we can to maximise your chances of seeing the aurora in all its glory.
You’ll stay in remote, dark sky locations and get aurora wake-up calls. You’ll also embark on exciting northern lights adventures with our expert aurora guides.
When is the best time to see the Northern Lights in Abisko?
You can see the Northern Lights in Abisko from October to March.
Travel to Abisko In October, and you’ll experience Abisko National Park ablaze with golden, autumn colours. From November onwards, Abisko is a snowy wonderland, perfect for winter activities.
The winter months also bring more hours of darkness. In fact, the sun sets in Abisko at the start of December and doesn’t rise again until the middle of January. Plan a trip to Abisko in winter and those long, dark nights increase your chances of seeing the aurora.
Read more: When can I see the northern lights?
What can you see and do on Abisko Sweden holidays?
Depending on your tour and the time of year you visit, you can enjoy a selection of the following activities:
- Experience the thrill of snowmobile safaris, ice climbing or Arctic ice fishing.
- Embark on a guided mountain hike along the famous Kungsleden trail. Or hit the snowy slopes on a guided ski excursion in Abisko National Park.
- Relax the Swedish way, in a traditional sauna, before savouring a dinner of local cuisine, including Arctic char, reindeer and cloudberries.
- Enjoy breath-taking views as you take a chairlift up Mount Nuolja to the Aurora Sky Station, regarded as one of the best places on earth to see the Northern Lights.
- Venture beyond Abisko. Take a day trip to the famous Icehotel. Or travel on Europe’s northernmost train line, through snowy landscapes to the Norwegian fjords.
- Learn to take spectacular photos of the aurora borealis, with all the photography kit and expert guidance you need.
- Soak in the unforgettable scenery of Swedish Lapland, snowshoeing or taking a sleigh ride through pristine wilderness.
What’s included in your Northern Lights holidays in Abisko?
We can tailor any of our packages to include the destinations, accommodation and activities of your choice. But all of our northern lights holidays in Abisko include the following as standard:
- Accommodation
- Transfers from Kiruna Airport
- Half-board or full-board dining
- Arctic clothing for the duration of your trip
- Your choice of guided Arctic activities
Please note that flights to Abisko are not included in our northern lights holiday packages. But if you’d like advice on the best airports and airlines to use when travelling to Abisko from the UK or the US, just let us know. We’ll be happy to help.
What should I wear on an Abisko Northern Lights tour?
Throughout the northern lights season — from October to March — average temperatures in Swedish Lapland are well below freezing. So on Abisko Northern Lights holidays, you should dress for comfort and warmth.
We recommend that you bring lots of warm layers, including thermal base layers. A warm hat, gloves and thick socks are also essential. And you’ll need a winter coat for travel to and from the airport.
When you arrive in Abisko, we’ll provide warm Arctic outerwear, which you can use for the duration of your trip. This includes a snow jacket, thermal overalls, snow boots and Arctic gloves.
Read more: What to wear on a northern lights trip
Can I combine a holiday to Abisko with other Northern Lights destinations?
Absolutely. We can tailor any Abisko break to include our other destinations, in Sweden and beyond.
You can spend a night in Sweden’s famous Ice Hotel or explore Stockholm, a city set across 14 islands right by the Baltic Sea.
At just 40 km from the Norwegian border, it’s also easy to travel from Abisko to the Norwegian fjords — or to the city of Tromsø, nicknamed The Paris of the North.
Just tell us the places you’d like to visit and we can work them into your itinerary.
You can discover all of our Nordic destinations here:
Why book luxury Northern Lights tours with Aurora Nights?
When you book a northern lights trip with Aurora Nights, you can count on:
- Tailor-made trips — we craft bespoke northern lights adventures, tailoring a trip to your budget and interests
- Exceptional experiences — with in-depth knowledge of Swedish Lapland, our team can recommend the very best the region has to offer
- Expert local guides — our experienced guides show you a lesser-seen side of Sweden — and they’re great at tracking down the aurora, too
- A hassle-free holiday — we take care of holiday organisation so you can relax and look forward to your Northern Lights adventure
Whether you book an Abisko northern lights tour, a classic short break or an exclusive aurora holiday to Sweden, the Aurora Nights team will make it a trip you’ll remember forever.
How do I book?
Choose one of the tours above and click Enquire Now. We can then customise your trip until it’s the perfect fit.
Can’t see a tour you like? Then just get in touch with the Aurora Nights team and we’ll be happy to create an Abisko Northern Lights trip just for you.
See what our clients say
We had a fantastic 4 nights that included glaciers, waterfalls, geysers, the aurora borealis and more! Lovely hotels, especially Hotel Ranga. We filled every moment and felt thoroughly invigorated on our return.
Thank you for arranging a fabulous holiday, we had a really enjoyable time and would love to return in the future. Hotel Ranga is a lovely place to stay and the owner greeted guests in the restaurant, which was an unexpected welcoming touch. We didn’t see the Northern Lights due to the weather and the trip to the Eyjafjallajokull glacier and volcano was substituted by an excursion to Thorsmork, also due to the weather, which we thoroughly enjoyed; the brochure description doesn’t do it justice. We found Iceland and the people there really charismatic. Although the wind and snow cut short the amount of travelling we could do, we still covered a reasonable amount of what we wanted to see and our appetites are whetted for a return, perhaps in Spring or Summer. We found a couple of great places to eat near the Hotel in Reykjavik. Messin does tasty fish dishes and the Icelandic Street Food restaurant was excellent, offering simple but hearty soups with refills included in the price – great value.
We enjoyed both the hotels that were arranged by weekend a la Carte Aurora nights. The Porsmork trip was very enjoyable, both guides were fantastic and informative.
The Northern Light hunt trip out of Reykjavik with Superjeep was an adventure and we got to see the lights, worth braving the cold at -6.
An excellent holiday which was enjoyed by all. The super jeep ride on the second day to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano was memorable and thanks to our driver Margaret who proved to be a really good guide. We thoroughly enjoyed the facilities in the hotel Ranga. The staff were very helpful and we managed to see the Northern Lights. The Hotel Reykjavik Centrum was very nice with amazingly helpful staff. All in all, the whole holiday was brilliant.
Dear Abigail, We have safely returned from Iceland and we wanted to say a huge and sincere thank you for all the plans that you put into place to make this one of the most memorable holidays we have ever had. It was simply beautiful each and every day. The cabin was idyllic and so cosy and warm. The tour guides were so knowledgeable and friendly and the scenery was breathtaking. All the arrangements worked so well and we will remember the trip for a long time to come.
Thank you once again.
I appreciate the fast response to my inquiries regarding my trip. It would take decision making faster on my part, and plan my itinerary and activities being offered by the company accordingly.
This was a bucket list trip. The company are specialists and I’ve valued their advice. Everything from the when to go for the best opportunity to see the lights and equipment needed and provided.Our activities included, the Ice Hotel, night photo shoot, snowmobiling, guided walk and the sky station meal. All excellent and well run by knowledgeable experts and guides. The Abisko Lodge is warm comfortable and relaxing the food is excellent and the staff welcoming, friendly and very helpful. I would highly recommend if you’re looking for a different and exciting experience.
Superb holiday to Iceland, well organised, advice regarding trips informative and far exceeded our expectations (Glaciers and ice Cave) run by South Coast. Hotel Ranga is a lovely hotel, perfect to see Northern Lights (which we did see on our 3rd night), very comfortable, food excellent, staff helpful and informative. SouthCoast Adventure tour company were excellent, guides knowledgeable, and clearly very experienced.
Ready for an aurora adventure?
Book with Aurora Nights, the Northern Lights holiday experts. We will personally plan your bucket-list Northern Lights adventure holiday to Swedish Lapland, Iceland, Norway and Finland.