Northern Lights

[HirplesWithHaggis]

DH has a fascination for the Northern Lights, and I'd like to give him the opportunity to see them in real life. In February 2024 he will be 65, and we will (probably!) be celebrating our 40th anniversary November the same year. Both fall in peak aurora season, whoopee! I'm not a high earner, but with four years to save should be able to squirrel away a couple of thousand.

Anybody here done this? There are a number of organised tours, one including a night in a "bubble" (www.buubble.com/) which look tempting and I like the thought of visiting Iceland. I haven't organised foreign travel since our honeymoon, do I book well in advance and pay it up, wait for a last minute deal?

@unicorn34 my DD14 wants to move there, starting to save so we can go back for longer in the summer and drive the ring road

Just one of the sights from the back of the ship. Went 2nd to 13th January 2020.

Please be aware that photos aren't what the lights look like in real life - it's because of the camera exposure. I'd plan to go somewhere you want to and see the lights as a bonus - there is no guarantee.

Yes, DH thought it was wispy cloud the first night we saw them til I pointed at the movement at one end of the wisp. After I came home someone told me watching them through polarised lenses is more like the photos (not sure if this is true), sp pack your reactolite sunglasses if you have some...

Sorry meant to tag @gemandjule

FiveGoMad We have driven the ring road in high summer. It is a fantastic country with amazing scenery. Go in July if you want to see puffins as they migrate south in early August.

@FiveGoMadInDorset it's a beautiful country - we want to stay on the Lofoten Islands in Spring (in about 5 years cos we have to save!) so we get to see some wildlife. The only problem with going in the winter is the lack of daylight, I wanted to sleep all the time! Good luck to your daughter x

Reading more about the cruise with astronomy experts, he really would love that, and even if we don't see the actual lights, it includes a planetarium visit. And the cruise goes into the Arctic Circle, so upping the chances... if you don't mine me asking, Unicorn34, how much did it cost?

www.space.com/23707-only-photos-reveal-aurora-true-color.html

@BettyFilous not to fussed about puffins as we are very lucky to be able to see them where I live

The cruise you linked to with Hurtigruten - I know it well. It is very expensive, but you can just go one way, which is of course much cheaper. Another little known Hurtigruten fact is that it is cheaper southbound than northbound.

If it is still too expensive, you can also fly to Tromsø and do trips out to see the Northern Lights from there.

Thank you, that's interesting. I'm down several rabbit holes atm.

With seeing the northern lights being down to chance, you need to make sure there’s other stuff to do to make the holiday still worthwhile. That’s why I’d personally choose Iceland over Finland or Norway. The weather can be a lot milder for lights hunting too!

Hirples I have see the northern lights in Ayrshire. It was 4 years ago in February, cold and clear and still. I was driving back from Glasgow over the back roads to Largs. I couldn’t quite believe my eyes!

My late uncle said he saw the lights driving over the moors in the Yorkshire Dales on clear winter nights on several occasions.

Gah, I must be too far inland! (Near Killie)

I saw them once as a kid in the Borders, amazing, but I wouldn't book a holiday on that basis!!

For anyone in the know, am currently looking up flights and stays in Tromso for Dec/Jan next year.. I know there are no guarantees, but would it be likely to see them if we went on our own trip? Just can't afford the organised ones at present.

GeorgeDawes - There are many ‘sky cameras’ for academic research institutes in the Arctic Circle. They point straight up so you can see they sky live and usually do a time-series plot which is laid down during the hours of darkness. Most of them have archives so you can check activity over previous years around the dates you want to travel. This is one of the Tromso cameras: polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~acaurora/aurora/Tromso/ I was keeping an eye on the Kiruna one during our Icehotel stay, so saw when it started up on our second night and hurried our dinner up so we could go out to see them.

Thank you so much Rom - will have a look.

@FiveGoMadInDorset Sorry for the slight derail, but where do you see puffins? My DH is a keen walker/nature spotter/photographer and has gone on so many walks to try and see them but they are still elusive to him! We are in Dorset too.

We saw them in Finland, Yllas, 2 weeks ago...were amazing and 3 nights on the trot. Even one of the locals said the display was amazing! All the colours and waves and waves. Just stunning.

You can see puffins along the Norwegian coast. Lofoten, for example.

We went to Iceland for a week for my 60th but didn't see them unfortunately. The people that run the trips don't go if there's no likelihood of seeing the lights, if they do run and nothing happens they will give you another free trip.

My friend saw them in Norway a couple of weeks ago.

@sillybub if you Google birdwatch g boat tours they sail out of Poole and Swanage

@HirplesWithHaggis you will see them in Ayrshire, plenty do...

you need to join some of the fb groups, Aurora Research Scotland is the one I use but there are LOADS, watch for an alert, there's plenty of chatter when it does all kick off

get yourself acquainted with a nice open northerly view point, and watch the skies! and get out there!! Honestly even though it's a solar minimum atm, last week was pretty active

As far as actually seeing it with your own eyes goes, you do have to bear in mind that human eyes function badly in the dark so you rarely get the intensity of colour that you see in photos, esp in the UK, but once you get your eye in you can "see" it
Also we tend to get a low to medium arc here, rather than the high swirling columns which are much rarer here, so it does mean a high clear northern viewpoint is much more desirable.

@RomComPhooey ...no need for polarising specs...and reactolites are not polarising, totally different thing :o Anything tinted is definitely NOT going to help.