A 4 night/5 day Aurora chasing holiday around the northern most town in the EU. At 70°N and officially both the northern most town in Finland and the northern most town in the EU, your chances of seeing the Northern Lights are the highest in all of the EU. If that is not enough, how about being with the people who run an aurora information service, who have all the very latest aurora information (including real-time solar wind data) and have been forecasting auroras (www.aurora-service.eu/aurora-forecast/) to thousands of aurora chasers all over Northern Europe?
Our motto “it’s all about the lights” has never been truer, because we hand picked every single thing about this northern lights holiday ourselves entirely from an aurora chasers perspective. It is 100% dedicated to Northern Lights and about maximising the chances of seeing them. We go chasing the lights to some of the most beautiful and northern locations in Finland such as Utsjoki and Nuorgam. But we don’t stop there, we also cross the border into the Finnmark region of Norway and chase the northern lights around the town of Tana and many of the fjords on the Barents Sea itself! We tap into our knowledge from running the aurora information service, and use all the tools we use for that (and many others we have at our disposal) to help get you under the Northern Lights.
Our responsibility for you seeing northern lights is not just when we are driving round in the evening trying to find them. Our responsibility of helping you see Northern Lights begins when you step off the plane, until when you step back on it! So even if we are not with you at the time, we want to maximise your chances of seeing the lights! For this reason, we have chosen not to put you in a hotel, instead we have personally selected some cottages that you will be staying in that hugely maximise your chances of seeing the lights, even if we aren’t with you at the time.
So you will have 4 nights accommodation in your own luxury cottage (which faces directly North) on the banks of the river Tenojoki. You can watch the Northern Lights all night from your window, your terrace or from the fireplace on the beautiful riverbank which is exclusive to our cottages.
Watch the northern lights from your cottage garden & fireplace
The maximum number of people we take PER WEEK is just 8. We can actually accommodate up to 20 people if you have a group size larger than 8 you can exclusively book us for your large group with prior arrangement. But for the most part, for individual and family bookings, the maximum amount of people we take is just 8 PER WEEK. This means even if we are fully booked, it’s just you and 7 other aurora chasers for the entire week. You have your own cottage with your own kitchen and sauna too, so it is a really comfortable system, you can wake up when you like, eat when you like, and have a sauna when you like all in the comfort of your own cottage with your own privacy.
Unlike most other aurora holidays that require a minimum of 2 people (or charge extra for individual travellers) we welcome individual travellers, and there is no extra charge whatsoever. Even if you visit on your own, you still get your own cottage (you will not be sharing a cottage with anyone). If your worried about coming all this way on your own, don’t be, as soon as you step of the plane in Ivalo, I’ll make sure your well looked after the whole week.
Itinerary
The holiday is Monday to Friday. On the Monday morning when you arrive, we’ll pick you up from Ivalo airport (all the details on which airport to fly to, which flights to get and lots of other useful information is here). Depending on the road conditions, it is about a two hour drive back to your cottage through beautiful snow capped pine forests and past frozen lakes. We actually stop half way along the journey at a beautiful location to stretch our legs and you can breath in the incredibly fresh air then and listen to just how quiet it is.
Just before we get to your cottage, we’ll stop at the supermarket in Utsjoki village, so you can get some groceries etc for the week (remember your cottage is self catering). The supermarket is pretty big and it has everything you need for breakfast, lunch and dinner all week. It also has beer/cider. Your cottage is only 10km from the main village so you are always within reasonable distance should you need anything.
Once at your cottage you’ll be shown around, instructed how to use the sauna etc. The cottages are right on the banks of the river Tenojoki, and there is a staircase from the cottages down to the waters edge where there is a fire and shelter where you and the other aurora service guests can sit watching northern lights for as long as you like (we’ll leave you to it). Your cottage also has a terrace you can sit on and watch the lights from, or you can even sit inside the cottage and watch the auroras from the window. It’s entirely up to you.
It will be around 9.00pm by the time we get you to the cottage and you will have been travelling non-stop all day, so we’ll leave you to settle in to your cottage and have an evening relaxing after a hard days travelling. We’ll just show you the fireplace next to the river, where you can watch the Northern Lights from on your first night. The aurora chasing begins on Tuesday evening. It’s important you relax the first night so you are fresh for the rest of the week, because we will be out chasing the light for 3 nights straight, and depending on the the aurora show, we could be out quite late each night, well into the early hours.
You have the daytime to yourself. Whether you want to walk the many beautiful nature trails nearby, take up some of the activities we offer or just relax at your cottage reading a book. You can do anything you like, at your own pace. It’s especially good if your a photographer you can use the daytime to work on your previous nights aurora footage 🙂
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7pm each evening (purposefully just after dinner time so your not chasing the lights on an empty stomach), our aurora chasing tours begin. We will come and collect you from your cottage and go out chasing the lights for 4-5 hours or more (depends how good the show is) each night. When we get back to the cottage, you can put some wood in the fire next to the river and carry on watching the northern lights into the early hours at your own leisure, with a beer or a glass of wine in your hand.
On the Friday morning we’ll come and collect you and take you back on the beautiful 2 hour drive to Ivalo airport.
If you want to do some winter activities in the day time, we do offer some, which you can add-on to your holiday. Click here for more details.
The Price
Only €1080 per person! Kids (under 11) half price! Convert to your currency now
-with only €100 deposit to secure your place and the remainder payable 1 month before arrival.
What IS included in the price:
- 4 nights accommodation in luxury cottage (with your own sauna)
- 3 nights chasing the lights for 4-5 hours (or more)
- Free collection to and from Ivalo airport
- Free hot drinks, hot soup and snacks while out aurora chasing.
- Warm clothing if needed, but do see our clothing page for what you should bring.
- Help and advice with camera (inc battery charging from the van)
- Free firewood for your riverside fire.
What ISN’T included in the price:
- Flights are not included.
- Meals are not included. But your cottage has a fully equipped kitchen so you can eat what you want, when you want. You can even bring food from your own country to cook there if you like. But we visit the supermarket when you arrive so you can buy food for the week. Finnish supermarkets have all kinds in, pizzas, fish, bread, milk, frozen foods, cheese, asian/indian food, fresh fruit and veg, etc. So there should be something for everyone, whatever country your from. Food allergy sufferers (lactose, gluten, dairy, etc) are quite well catered for in this country too.
Tour Dates 2014-2015 Aurora Season
Our tours/holidays begin early November. They start on Monday and end on Friday (meaning you will fly in on Monday morning and fly out on Friday morning).
Tour 1 | Monday 3rd – Friday 7th November 2014
Tour 2 | Monday 10th – Friday 14th November 2014
Tour 3 | Monday 17th – Friday 21st November 2014
Tour 4 | Monday 24th – Friday 28th November 2014
Tour 5 | Monday 1st – Friday 5th December 2014
Tour 6 | Monday 8th – Friday 12th December 2014
Tour 7 | Monday 15th – Friday 19th December 2014
Christmas Break | Unavailable for bookings
Tour 8 (NEW YEARS TOUR) | Monday 29th December 2014 to Friday 2nd January 2015 | sold out
Tour 9 | Monday 5th – Friday 9th January 2015 | sold out
Tour 10 | Monday 12th – Friday 16th January 2015 | sold out
Tour 11 | Monday 19th – Friday 23rd January 2015 | sold out
Tour 12 | Monday 26th – Friday 30th January 2015 | sold out
Tour 13 | Monday 2nd – Friday 6th February 2015 | sold out
Tour 14 | Monday 9th – Friday 13th February 2015 | sold out
Tour 15 | Monday 16th – Friday 20th February 2015 | sold out
Tour 16 | Monday 23rd – Friday 27th February 2015 | sold out
Tour 17 | Monday 2nd – Friday 6th March 2015 | sold out
Tour 18 | Monday 9th – Friday 13th March 2015 | sold out
Tour 19 | Monday 16th – Friday 20th March 2015 | sold out
Tour 20 | Monday 23rd – Friday 27th March 2015 | sold out
We sell out very fast! Please book well in advance to avoid disappointment. It is strictly first come first served basis.
We are now totally sold out for this aurora season! But don’t worry, you can now book and reserve your place on next years aurora season which has great availability!You can reserve your place on next years tour with just a €100 deposit! Book early to avoid disappointment!
Secure your place for next winter (2015-2016 aurora season) (click here).
The dedicated northern lights holiday in Finland was conceived by us. We are the original!
