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Norway
Northern Lights Holidays to Norway
Classic Short Breaks in Norway
Classic Short Breaks in Norway. Chase the Northern Lights over a long weekend. Our Norway short breaks pack lots of culture, adventure and Aurora hunting into one spectacular holiday.
Escorted tours Norway
See the best of Arctic Norway. Discover dramatic fjords, mountains and glaciers on a Norway escorted tour.
Exclusive aurora holidays in Norway
These exclusive aurora holidays in Norway combine private Arctic activities and high-end accommodation options for an extra-special aurora experience.
Aurora Nights
Frequently asked questions
Is Norway a good place to see the Northern Lights?
Norway is an excellent place to see the Northern Lights. Northern Norway lies within the aurora zone. It has low levels of light pollution and enjoys long dark nights. This makes it an ideal location for aurora hunting.
Our northern lights tours in Norway take in the best aurora destinations. You can fly to Tromsø. Then, travel to dark sky destinations like Svalbard (just 1500 km from the North Pole), Senja Island, the Lofoten Islands, Vesterålen and the Lyngen Alps.
What can I see and do on northern lights holidays to Norway?
There’s so much to see and do on northern lights tours in Norway. Depending on your tour and the time of year you visit, you can choose from the following:
- Embark on a whale-watching tour around the fjords. See magnificent orca, humpback and sperm whales in their natural habitat.
- Try your hand at mushing on a husky sled expedition to a glittering ice cave. Or experience the thrill of riding a snowmobile over Norway’s icy tundra.
- Delight in the quiet of the Arctic wilderness on a snowshoe excursion. And indulge in complete relaxation back at the hotel spa, sauna or hot tub.
- Travel to the Lofoten Islands, with their spectacular scenery and colourful wooden houses. Explore the vibrant arts scene and taste Arctic delicacies.
- Chase the aurora borealis in breath-taking settings. On an overnight cruise through the fjords, against a backdrop of the Lyngen Alps or reflected in the sea at Senja.
- Journey into space at the Andoya Space Centre! Take part in an interactive visitor experience to learn more about the science of the aurora borealis.
- Get to know Norwegian culture. Visit the Art Museum in Tromsø. Sample the wares at Mack Brewery. And take the cable car up Storsteinen Mountain for spectacular views of Tromsø and the surrounding fjords.
What’s included in your Norway northern lights holiday packages?
Our northern lights holiday packages to Norway include:
- Accommodation
- Transfers
- Half-board or full-board dining
- Your choice of guided Arctic activities
- Warm Arctic outerwear for relevant activities
We can tailor almost every Norway northern lights holiday. So let us know if you have your heart set on a particular activity or destination.
Please note, flights are not included in our holiday packages. But we can offer lots of advice on the best airlines and airports to use when travelling to Norway from the UK or the USA.
Read more: What do I wear on a northern lights trip?
When is the best time to visit Norway?
The Norway northern lights season lasts from September to March. This is when we get long, dark nights in the Arctic Circle.
March gives you the best chance of clear skies. But the winter months have longer, darker nights. In a far-north location like Svalbard, you don’t get any daylight during the depths of winter.
We can plan a trip to coincide with the whale-watching season in Norway. Or to ensure you see the Lofoten Islands in their golden autumn colours.
If you want winter activities, like husky sledding and snowmobiling, we can make sure that Norway is blanketed in snow for your visit.
Read more: The different northern lights seasons
Can you guarantee that I’ll see the northern lights in Norway?
Unfortunately not. As a natural phenomenon, the northern lights are notoriously unpredictable. But we do everything we can to maximise your chances of seeing this spectacular natural light show.
Our hotels and lodges offer aurora wake-up calls. We plan exciting night time aurora adventures, where you travel to remote locations with very little light pollution.
What’s more, our guides in Norway are northern lights experts. They use aurora and weather forecasts, plus their in-depth knowledge of the local area, to find the best aurora locations each night.
Why book northern lights holidays to Norway with Aurora Nights?
The Aurora Nights team has been travelling to Norway for years. We know the region’s accommodation, activities and northern lights experiences inside out. So when you book Norwegian northern lights holidays with Aurora Nights, you can count on:
- Exceptional experiences — the very best accommodation and activities, with private or small group tours as standard
- Tailored trips — our travel experts create bespoke northern lights holidays to Norway, no need to follow someone else’s itinerary
- Experienced local guides — our guides in Norway are brimming with local knowledge and skilled at tracking down the northern lights
- A hassle-free holiday — we take the hassle of booking a holiday off your hands, so you can relax and look forward to your Arctic adventure
Whether you book a classic short break, an escorted tour or a luxury northern lights holiday in Norway, the Aurora Nights team is here to help you realise the trip of your dreams.
Can I book a Tromsø northern lights tour?
Yes! Tromsø — nicknamed the Paris of the North — is a great place to see the northern lights. And we offer several Tromsø northern lights tours.
On these city break tours, you can enjoy Tromsø by day, then head out into the northern Norwegian wilderness by night. Here, you have an excellent chance of seeing the aurora borealis.
Want to stay in Tromsø for the whole of your trip? Or prefer to combine this city with other Norwegian destinations? We can tailor a northern lights tour that meets your requirements.
Can I visit Svalbard on a Norway northern lights trip?
Yes, Svalbard is one of the destinations included in our Norway northern lights tours.
Located close to the North Pole, this island offers an Arctic adventure like no other. A remote and pristine landscape. The stark beauty of glaciers and the frozen tundra. And the extended polar night, offering an excellent opportunity to see the aurora borealis.
Can I combine a trip to Norway with other destinations?
Absolutely. The Aurora Nights team can tailor your northern lights holiday to take in as many destinations as you like.
While in Norway, you can discover Tromsø, Oslo, Senja Island, Lofoten and Svalbard. You can also travel further afield, hunting the aurora across the Nordic nations.
We can plan a northern lights getaway that includes Norway and any of our other destinations:
- Northern lights holidays in Swedish Lapland
- Northern lights holidays in Finland
- Northern lights holidays in Iceland
Just tell us which countries you’d like to visit and we can suggest an itinerary.
How do I book my Norway northern lights trip?
To book your Norway aurora holiday, start by chatting with the Aurora Nights northern lights experts. You can send us an email, give us a call or fill in our website form. Once we have your details, we’ll be in touch to discuss dates, accommodation, activities and budget.
Reviews
See what our clients say
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.
Brian Coombs
We had the most fabulous time and everything worked like clockwork. The guides were extremely knowledgeable and extremely competent. The food was excellent and the experiences, especially Husky Homes, were brilliant. We saw the aurora lights at the mountain top in Abisko where the photography tour will be an enduring memory of a wonderful time. I would very much recommend Weekend a la Carte as a proficient tour operator.
Mark Nicholson
I found Aurora nights just through a google search. Alex, my Aurora expert was so helpful in helping us have the perfect trip to the Arctic. He had personal experience of the activities and places to visit there that would make our trip really special. This followed through to a particularly unforgettable and wonderful holiday. Everything was sent to us with care and attention before hand and we were supported by the team throughout our holiday. All of the recomendations were wonderful especially the Ice Hotel, dog sledding and of course the beautiful Northern Lights. The transportation arrived on time every time. I would highly recomend this company for their experience in the field and their due care and attention to you as a customer. It was faultless and we had the most awesome time.
Heatherbelle Bates
We have never before experienced such friendly and simultaneously professional service! Alex’s communication was super prompt, questions encouraged and welcomed and attended to with great care and detail. Everything was well organised and available on beautifully designed and very useful platforms. Our destination (Mattarahkka Northern Lights Lodge) was fabulous on so many different levels – exquisite views, friendly interactions from everyone on the team, great food, exciting activities, perfectly situated to see the northern lights (seen twice in 4 nights’ stay), a great fire place, and not to mention our fantastic guide Fabio. Their provision of winter kit (hats, down jacket, snow trousers, leather gloves and boots) offered everything we needed to be comfortable outside. All we needed to have packed really were base layers, a few layers of clothing and woollen socks. Defintely somewhere we would highly recommend and return to when possible!
Inge Elliott
We had five fantastic days in beautiful Iceland, as we had never been before Aurora Nights helped with everything and made the holiday so easy and stress free. We stayed at Hotel Ranga which was amazing, we very much enjoyed the tours and the guides were brilliant, very knowledgable and friendly. We will certainly be returning to Iceland and wouldn’t hesitate to book through Aurora Nights again, special thanks to Abigail as her experience and reccommendations made the trip even better.
Lauren Mitten
My wife and I had an awesome and memorable trip to Iceland thanks to Alex at Aurora Nights. Alex tailored the itinerary to exactly what we wanted to see and chose excellent hotels to stay at. We totally enjoyed the city of Reykjavik and the many beautiful waterfalls. He went above and beyond to not only recommend sights to see around the Golden Circle and Ring Road, but also mapped it out so we were prepared to drive through the country during unpredictable weather and road conditions. And we were especially pleased to see the Northern Lights on our visit. Alex was very flexible to make changes to our plans and choosing the wonderful Sky Lagoon to replace our tickets for the Blue Lagoon due to the closure from the volcanic activity. We highly recommend Alex and Aurora Nights.
Lisa Kovens-Harris
Overall very good. Staff excellent and helpful. Accomodation basic but was what we expected. Tour guides very good (nature walks, snow mobiles, dog sleighs). Sky station disappointing as we never got to go up due to the weather and this seem to be a recurring feature.The alternative walk at night and meal was a let down as a result.Overall would recommend to others.
John Kirby
We did the aurora nights break and had a great time overall. Everything related to flights, hire car, and hotels ran smoothly. There were a few issues largely relating to the weather and driving conditions (we travelled in mid March), but what we did manage to do was amazing.
The blue lagoon was easy to access from the airport and was a brilliant experience. We booked the standard package and it came with a free drink and face mask. Facilities were clean and organised with free toiletries in the shower rooms, which helps if you’ve gone there straight from the airport.
The drive to Hotel Ranga afterwards was long but fine (check out the road on google streetview to know what to expect). The hotel and staff were great. We were limited to one option as vegetarians on the bar and a la carte menus, but the food was lovely and if you are a meat eater you will see options of unusual dishes like puffin and reindeer.
Our northern lights super jeep trip was cancelled on both nights due to a poor forecast, but we were lucky enough to get an aurora wake up call from Hotel Ranga the first night. We couldn’t use the hottubs as there are only a few and they were always taken in the limited time we spent at the hotel, so don’t go expecting to get lots of time in one and you won’t be disappointed. View them as an add on if you can time it right. We were travelling with an 11 year old, so we didn’t stay up really late. If you are a couple you probably have a better chance of getting one later on.
The glacier/volcano super jeep trip was outstanding. Our driver, Íbí was excellent. She went above and beyond and gave us such an awesome experience. We were also super lucky with the weather the first two days and had great views across Iceland.
The ice cave tour was also incredible and the guides running it were excellent. The group size was much bigger than expected (especially after the more exclusive volcano super jeep tour), but it was broken down into smaller groups that were managed well, with plenty of time factored in for photographs. There were several unexplained delays getting to the cave during the tour that meant we weren’t able to ‘mini tour’ the rest of the South Coast afterwards, so if you plan to do the ice cave don’t overplan for the afternoon as you may not have much time. Not a huge disappointment for us as we got to experience the cave, but I imagine someone who planned a full itinerary afterwards might be frustrated by the estamiated timings not always being right and subject to change with the weather (which was wicked that day).
Driving around Reykjavik was a horrible experience as we arrived around rush hour and weren’t prepared for all the traffic, having only experienced quiet roads along the south coast. It was difficult finding a parking space, so be prepared to drive around a little when you arrive. If you haven’t driven on the right before and are not a confident driver this could leave you feeling stressed. Again, check out the roads into Reykjavik on Google maps to get a sense of what awaits if you aren’t used to self-driving.
We didn’t get to tour the golden circle because of road conditions/ice/road closures, so we spent the day in Reykjavik instead. This turned out okay for us as we did some of the attractions (Lava Centre and Fly Over Iceland – both hughly recommended), but it ended up being an extra expense and we missed out on the golden attractions. Again, not a big issue if you are aware this could happen. The weather is so changeable that having a plan B is a good approach.
Weekend a la Carte sent us a text warning us about the bad weather conditions, which we’d already seen on the Safe Iceland app, but we were grateful for anyway. It was good to know they were looking out for us!
All in all, a remarkable trip, with some unique experiences. If you book this in the knowledge that nature will have her own way, and you may not see everything you want (especially in winter), you will have a great time. Ranga is definitely the best place to maximise your chances of seeing the lights.
Sarah Brooks
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.
