Top 10 Places to See the Northern Lights

Last updated: October 2026

The best places to see the Northern Lights all sit inside the “auroral oval”, a ring around the Arctic where the lights appear most often. Get yourself under that ring between September and March, find a dark sky away from city lights, and you have a real chance of watching green and purple ribbons dance overhead.

The aurora is caused by charged particles from the Sun hitting gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere. The Sun has recently been near the peak of its roughly 11-year activity cycle, and strong displays are still common in the years just after the peak, which makes now a good time to plan a trip.

This guide ranks the top 10 places to see the Northern Lights, with what each destination offers beyond the sky itself, so your trip is worthwhile even on a cloudy night.

Quick answer: Where is the best place to see the Northern Lights? Our top 10 are Tromsø, Lofoten Islands, Abisko, Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Svalbard, Greenland, Yellowknife, Fairbanks and Scotland. Tromsø is the easiest base for first-timers, Abisko has some of the most reliable clear skies in Europe, and Yellowknife and Fairbanks offer the highest odds in North America. Go between September and March and stay at least three nights.

Top 10 Places to See the Northern Lights at a Glance

1. Tromsø, Norway

Tromsø is often called the capital of the Northern Lights, and it is the easiest Arctic city to reach. It sits well above the Arctic Circle, with direct flights from several European cities in winter.

The city itself has light pollution, so most visitors join an evening aurora chase. Guides drive out to the fjords or even across the border into Finland to find clear skies. By day you can go dog sledding, whale watching (usually from late autumn into winter) or ride the cable car up Mount Storsteinen. Visit Norway lists licensed operators and seasonal activities.

Tromsø is a proper small city, with restaurants, bars and museums, so there is plenty to do on cloudy nights. Visit the striking Arctic Cathedral, learn about polar exploration at the Polar Museum and see Arctic wildlife at the Polaria aquarium. From late November to mid January the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon, but the soft blue light of the polar night has its own beauty.

• Getting there: Tromsø Airport is a short bus or taxi ride from the centre, with connections via Oslo and seasonal direct flights from several European cities.
• Time needed: Three to five nights, to give yourself several chances of clear skies.
• Best time to go: September to March, with whale watching usually best from November to January.
• Insider tip: Choose a small-group aurora chase. Guides can travel further and change plans quickly if the weather turns.

Best for: first-timers who want plenty of tours and a lively base.

2. Lofoten Islands, Norway

Lofoten combines the aurora with some of the most dramatic scenery in Europe. Jagged peaks rise straight out of the sea, and red fishing cabins called rorbuer line the harbours.

The islands are slightly milder than inland Lapland thanks to the Gulf Stream, but weather can change fast. Rent a car and stay flexible, as driving to the other side of a mountain often finds a gap in the clouds. Photographers love Lofoten because the lights reflect in the still water of the bays.

The most photographed spots are the fishing villages of Reine and Hamnøy, where red cabins sit beneath steep peaks. Svolvær and Henningsvær are good bases with restaurants and galleries. In late winter, cod drying on wooden racks along the shore is a reminder that fishing has shaped these islands for centuries.

• Getting there: Fly to Svolvær or Leknes via Bodø, or take the ferry from Bodø to Moskenes.
• Time needed: Four to five nights, ideally with a hire car.
• Best time to go: September to October or February to March, when there are more daylight hours for driving and photography.
• Good to know: Winter roads can be icy and narrow. Only drive if you are confident in snow, or join a photography tour.

Best for: photographers and road trippers.

3. Abisko, Sweden

Abisko in Swedish Lapland is famous for its “blue hole”, a patch of sky that often stays clear when the rest of the region is cloudy. This happens because the surrounding mountains create a rain shadow over the national park.

The Aurora Sky Station sits on a mountain above the village and is reached by chairlift, offering a viewing platform far from any artificial light. Abisko is reachable by train from Stockholm, a scenic overnight journey that adds to the adventure.

Many visitors combine Abisko with a night at the Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi, near Kiruna, where rooms are carved from ice each winter. By day you can snowshoe in the national park, go dog sledding or cross-country ski on marked trails through the birch forest.

• Getting there: Take the overnight train from Stockholm, or fly to Kiruna and transfer by road or rail.
• Time needed: Three to four nights.
• Tickets: Book the Aurora Sky Station in advance, as evening places are limited.
• Insider tip: Stay at the mountain station or a cabin near the national park to watch the sky without needing a tour.

Best for: travellers who want the best odds of clear skies.

4. Finnish Lapland

Finnish Lapland is where you can watch the lights from bed, in a glass igloo or a cabin with a glass roof. The main bases are Rovaniemi, Saariselkä, Levi and Inari, each with a range of aurora lodges.

Rovaniemi is home to the Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle, making it popular with families in December. Further north, Inari and Saariselkä are darker and quieter. Visit Finland has a good overview of the regions and how to get there.

Many hotels offer an aurora alarm, which wakes you when the lights appear, so you don’t have to stay up all night. In Inari, the Siida museum tells the story of the Sámi, the Indigenous people of the far north, and of the Arctic nature around them.

Finnish Lapland also offers some of the best winter activities in Europe, from reindeer and husky safaris to snowmobiling across frozen lakes and relaxing in a traditional sauna.

• Getting there: Fly to Rovaniemi, Kittilä or Ivalo, or take the overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi.
• Time needed: Three to five nights.
• Best time to go: December for a festive trip, or February and March for colder, clearer skies and more daylight.
• Insider tip: Glass igloos sell out early for December and February, so book months ahead.

Best for: families and couples looking for comfort.

5. Iceland

Iceland is one of the few aurora destinations where you can combine the lights with glaciers, waterfalls and hot springs on the same trip. The whole country sits close to the auroral oval, and you only need to drive 20 to 30 minutes from Reykjavik to escape the city glow.

Good viewing spots include Þingvellir National Park, the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and the south coast near Vík. The Icelandic Met Office publishes a cloud cover and aurora forecast each day, and Visit Iceland lists winter tours. Reykjavik makes an easy base, with most aurora tours offering hotel pickup.

Winter in Iceland is about more than the aurora. Join a guided tour into a glacier ice cave, see icebergs at the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and walk on the black sand beaches of the south coast. Geothermal pools and lagoons are perfect for warming up after a cold night outside.

• Getting there: Keflavík International Airport is around 45 minutes from Reykjavik.
• Time needed: Four to six nights, to combine the lights with a road trip.
• Good to know: Check road and weather conditions every day on the official road.is and safetravel.is sites before driving in winter.
• Insider tip: Stay in the countryside for a night or two, where you can step outside your door to look for the lights.

Best for: combining the aurora with a classic road trip.

6. Svalbard, Norway

Svalbard is so far north that during the polar night, from around mid-November to late January, the sun never rises. That means you can see the aurora not just at night but sometimes in the middle of the day.

Longyearbyen is the main settlement and has hotels, restaurants and tour operators. Activities include snowmobile trips, ice cave visits and dog sledding. Polar bears live here, so you must go outside the town with a licensed guide.

Visit the Svalbard Museum to learn about the archipelago’s history of whaling, mining and polar expeditions. In late February and March, the sun returns and the sky turns pink and blue in the long Arctic twilight.

• Getting there: Flights to Longyearbyen leave from Oslo and Tromsø.
• Time needed: Three to five nights.
• Best time to go: November to February for the polar night and the best chance of daytime aurora.
• Good to know: You must go beyond the settlement with a licensed guide because of the risk of polar bears.

Best for: adventurous travellers who want something truly remote.

7. Greenland

Greenland offers aurora viewing with almost zero light pollution and very few other travellers. Kangerlussuaq, long the country’s main air hub, has a dry, stable inland climate and many clear nights.

From there you can visit the edge of the ice sheet, go on musk ox safaris and stay in simple lodges. Ilulissat, with its huge icebergs, is another option. In summer, the same area is popular for long-distance hiking on the Arctic Circle Trail.

Greenland’s air network is changing, with a new international airport in the capital, Nuuk, and new connections across the country. Check current routes when you plan, and allow extra days, as Arctic weather can delay flights.

Expect simple accommodation and small groups. That remoteness is the appeal: on a clear night you may be the only people under the sky for miles around.

• Getting there: Fly from Copenhagen or Reykjavik to Nuuk or Kangerlussuaq, then connect by domestic flight.
• Time needed: Five nights or more, with spare days for weather.
• Best time to go: February and March, for cold, clear skies and more daylight for activities.

Best for: travellers who want the aurora without the crowds.

8. Yellowknife, Canada

Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories is one of the most reliable aurora destinations in the world. It sits directly under the auroral oval on flat land with very stable weather, so clear nights are common.

Many visitors stay three or four nights, which greatly increases the chance of a strong show. Lodges outside town have heated viewing cabins and teepees. Winters are extremely cold, often well below minus 20°C, so suits and boots can be rented locally.

Purpose-built aurora camps such as Aurora Village offer warm, heated seating, hot drinks and guides who explain what you are seeing. By day you can try dog sledding, ice fishing or snowshoeing on the shores of the frozen Great Slave Lake.

• Getting there: Fly to Yellowknife via Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver.
• Time needed: Three to four nights.
• Best time to go: Mid November to early April for winter viewing, or late August to September to see the lights reflected in unfrozen lakes.
• Insider tip: Rent proper Arctic clothing locally rather than buying it for a single trip.

Best for: maximising your odds over a short stay.

9. Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks in interior Alaska is the top aurora destination in the United States. Like Yellowknife, it has a dry continental climate and sits under the auroral oval, with the season running from late August to April.

Pair your aurora nights with a soak at Chena Hot Springs, about an hour’s drive away, where you can sometimes watch the lights from the outdoor pool. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center is based in the US and publishes the forecasts most aurora apps rely on.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks is a centre for aurora research, and its Geophysical Institute publishes a widely used aurora forecast. Many lodges outside the city offer aurora wake-up calls, and the Chena Hot Springs resort also has a year-round ice museum.

• Getting there: Fly to Fairbanks via Anchorage or Seattle.
• Time needed: Three to four nights.
• Best time to go: Late August to April, with the clearest skies usually from February to March.
• Insider tip: Stay outside the city, away from its light pollution, for the best views.

Best for: travellers from North America.

10. Scotland

Scotland is the most accessible place to see the Northern Lights in the UK, especially in the far north. Caithness, Sutherland, the Orkney and Shetland islands and the Cairngorms National Park all have dark skies.

Scottish displays are less frequent and usually lower on the horizon than in the Arctic, but during strong solar storms they can be spectacular. Locals in Shetland call them the “mirrie dancers”. Shetland, Orkney and Lewis are among the darkest places to watch, and our guide to the best Scottish islands, from Skye to Shetland explains how to reach them. For quieter corners further south, see lesser-known places to visit in the UK.

You don’t need to travel to the Arctic to try your luck. Head to the north coast near Dunnet Head, the most northerly point of mainland Britain, or the dark sky areas of the Cairngorms. Shetland and Orkney, reachable by ferry or plane, have the darkest skies and the best odds in the UK.

• Getting there: Drive or take the train to the far north, or fly or take the ferry to Orkney and Shetland.
• Time needed: A long weekend, ideally timed with a strong aurora alert.
• Best time to go: September to March, on clear nights around the new moon.
• Insider tip: Sign up for free AuroraWatch UK alerts, which warn you when activity is high enough to be seen in Britain.

Best for: UK travellers on a budget.

When Is the Best Time to See the Northern Lights?

The aurora season runs from roughly September to March in the Northern Hemisphere. You need darkness, so the midnight sun months of summer are out in the far north.

• September to October: milder weather, lakes not yet frozen, so you can see reflections.
• November to January: longest nights, but often cloudier on the coast.
• February to March: colder, clearer skies and more daylight for activities.

The lights are usually most active between 10pm and 2am, though they can appear any time it’s dark.

Activity also tends to be slightly higher around the spring and autumn equinoxes, in March and September, which makes the start and end of the season particularly good times to travel.

How to Boost Your Chances

Stay at least three nights. Weather is the biggest factor, and a longer trip gives you more clear skies to work with.

Check two forecasts, not one. Look at the KP index (aurora strength) and, more importantly, the local cloud cover forecast. A KP of 2 under a clear sky beats a KP of 6 under thick cloud.

Get away from light. Even a small town creates enough glow to wash out faint displays. A guided tour solves this for you.

Avoid the full moon if you can. A bright moon makes faint aurora harder to see, though strong displays still shine through.

Dress properly. Thermal base layers, a down jacket, insulated boots, and hand warmers make waiting outside far more pleasant.

Let your eyes adjust. Give yourself 15 to 20 minutes away from screens and lights. Faint aurora can look grey or pale green to the eye, while a camera picks up much stronger colours.

Use a forecast app. Apps that combine the KP index, cloud cover and real-time solar wind data can alert you when conditions are good.

How to Plan a Northern Lights Itinerary

Plan for at least four nights in one region, and keep your days flexible. That way you can switch an evening tour to the clearest night and still enjoy daytime activities.

Four Nights in Tromsø

Spend the first afternoon exploring the city and riding the cable car, then join an aurora chase on the clearest evening. Fill the other days with dog sledding, a fjord trip or whale watching, keeping one night free as a backup.

Five Nights in Iceland

Base yourself in Reykjavik for two nights, then drive the south coast to Vík and the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. Staying in the countryside gives you dark skies on your doorstep.

A Week in Lapland

Combine a few nights in Rovaniemi or Levi with a stay further north in Saariselkä or Inari. Add a husky safari and a night in a glass igloo for the full Arctic experience.

Getting Around in the Arctic

For most first-timers, guided aurora tours are the easiest option. Guides know where the clear skies are, handle the winter driving and often provide warm clothing and photos.

Self-driving gives you more freedom in Iceland, Lofoten and Scotland, but only if you are comfortable on snow and ice. In Finnish and Swedish Lapland, trains, airport transfers and hotel tours make it easy to get around without a car.

How Much Does a Northern Lights Trip Cost?

Norway, Iceland and Svalbard are among the most expensive destinations in Europe, especially for food, drink and tours. Finnish Lapland is similar in December but often better value in January and March.

Scotland is the budget option for UK travellers, with no flights needed for the mainland. To save money, travel outside the Christmas period, self-cater, and book one or two key tours rather than a new one every night.

Where Should You Stay?

Stay somewhere dark if you can. Hotels and cabins outside towns let you look for the lights without a tour, and many offer wake-up calls when the aurora appears.

Glass igloos and glass-roofed cabins in Finnish Lapland are the most memorable option. In Iceland, countryside hotels on the south coast and Snæfellsnes are ideal, while in Tromsø a central hotel works well if you plan to join guided chases each night.

Plan Your Aurora Trip

Pick a destination under the auroral oval, stay at least three nights and keep your plans flexible. Do that and your chances of seeing the Northern Lights are high.

If you want to pair the aurora with a city break, our guide to Europe’s best winter destinations, from Lapland to Vienna suggests easy combinations. Combining Christmas with your trip? Several Nordic cities also host festive markets, and our list of Europe’s most magical Christmas markets includes Tallinn and Copenhagen.

Featured image: Photo by Lightscape on Unsplash