Experience the raw beauty of the Arctic. Discover fjords and snow-capped mountains. Majestic whales and colourful fishing villages. On our northern lights holidays to Norway, wonder and adventure await.
Northern Lights Holidays to Norway
Travel to extraordinary destinations — like Svalbard, Tromsø, Senja and Lofoten — where the northern lights shine brightest. And embark on aurora hunting excursions, accompanied by our expert northern lights guides.
Ready to plan an unforgettable northern lights holiday? Whether you want to book a weekend break, a city break, a family holiday or a once-in-a-lifetime experience, the Aurora Nights team can build a bespoke northern lights holiday just for you.
Aurora holidays Norway
Classic Short Breaks in Norway
Escorted tours Norway
Exclusive aurora holidays in Norway
Frequently asked questions
Have a different question? We are always happy to help.
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.
See what our clients say
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.
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.
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!
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.
Cannot thank this company enough. Our break to Iceland was the second time we’ve let them organise everything for us and once again they didn’t disappoint. Everything ran seamlessly and the organised tours were wonderful. This company knows what they are doing. If you want to experience the geysers, the volcano, the northern lights and all the other exciting things that Iceland has to offer then this is the company to use.
A fantastic short break which fulfilled all expectations. Well organised with a polished delivery, we could not have asked for more. The accommodation was perfect for us and the guides knowledgeable and helpful. Every day was packed with adventure, each lasting longer than scheduled but we were never rushed; the guides took pride in showing and explaining their beautiful country. We would certainly use Weekend a la carte again and recommend them to others.
Fantastic trip with great hosts & made even more special by seeing the Northern Lights twice!!
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.
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