Northern Lights holiday in Ivalo, Lapland

Northern Lights holiday in Lapland, Finland

northern lights holidays in finland

Our northern lights tour locations are in the very far north of Lapland.

Valhalla is our awesome dedicated northern lights holiday located near Ivalo, which is also the most northern airport in Finland. While only being a 20 minute drive from the airport, making it very accessible, it is still far enough away from the town to feel away from it all. Nestled in the most beautiful pine forest amongst the rolling fells of Lapland, it truly feels absolute wilderness. With crisp clean air, crunching snow underfoot and the occasional Reindeer walking in front of the cottages. It is quintessential Lapland.

We pride ourselves on the location and accommodation of all our tours. I (Tony) hand pick every single one of our locations, from an aurora chasers perspective. As such all our tours are located in the very far north of Finland where northern lights chances are highest. As a matter of fact, out of the top 4 northern most towns in Finland, we run tours near 3 of them! All of our tour locations are served by the most northern airport in Finland.

Our Valhalla tours have won a certificate of excellence for 2 years straight on Tripadvisor. Indeed, we as a company, are ranked #1 out of 136 tour companies in Lapland on Tripadvisor. If this is a once in a lifetime trip for you, why choose anyone else than the best?

Since day one we have always said cottages are the best accommodation for aurora chasers, and nothing has changed. On our Valhalla tours we have 6 fantastic cottages for you to stay in. They are located near the shoreline of Lake Inari, the largest lake in Lapland and the third largest lake in Finland. The cottages are on the south side of the lake, facing north. When the lake freezes sufficiently, you can actually walk out onto it to watch the northern lights. Quite often the Northern Lights are on the northern horizon, so this location facing north offers a prime, unrestricted viewing spot. A frozen lake makes the absolute perfect viewing platform for watching the lights.

Location wise, this is the most accessible. It is a 20 minute drive from Ivalo airport and you are in the middle of the wilderness. On our other tours we often have guests who suffer with travel sickness or some disability making long durations in the bus not too comfortable. This location eliminates a lot of travelling time to/from the airport so is much better in that regard. It is still in a prime position for aurora chasing, being further north than almost all other Lapland aurora companies.

Here is a video from one of our aurora tours, filmed over 3 nights in Feb 2017:
We can’t promise weeks are always that good 😉 but when the Earth weather and Space weather play ball, that really is what you can expect.

Northern Lights Chasing

The Valhalla location is in a great location for aurora viewing, however in the event of poor weather, we will hit the road. All our tour locations are in constant communication with each other, so if the weather is reported to be more favourable near one of our other locations, we will jump on the bus and head up there!

With all our tours locations spread out over this northern part of Lapland, we have eyes on the skies covering most of it. If there is a clear sky to be found, we will find it. Indeed it is best not to think of each location independently, as each location forms one part of a collective and our collective mission is to get you under the northern lights. All our tours overlap each other, and we often meet up with other tours on some nights if we get positive reports from them. We think nothing of driving 100km further north if any other site reports a great sky, we will drive up there and join them. Likewise if Valhalla has the best skies on a particular night, the other tours will head down here!

Valhalla aurora over lake

Auroras over the lake at our Valhalla location

So other than the location, everything else is the same as our other tours, you get your own awesome accommodation (cottage with your own sauna!), 3 nights aurora chasing in the van, and some great optional daytime activities if you choose to do them.

Another epic night of aurora on the lake :)

Another epic night of aurora on the lake 🙂

The Valhalla tours are unique in that it is located quite close to Ivalo. It is only a 10 minute drive south. So this opens up more possibilities to spend your day time(s). Many people like to dine out while on holiday and there are plenty of good restaurants in Ivalo to choose from if you choose to do so. We also offer some awesome daytime activities ourselves if you wanted to make the most of your daytimes.  See optional activities you can add on to your aurora holiday here.

About a 200 metre walk from your cottage door...

About a 200 metre walk from your cottage door…

As usual, 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 around Finland’s northern wilderness and Arctic Tundra region. We head so far north we leave the boreal pine forests behind and head into barren (and even treeless) tundra, where the only company we will have is a few Reindeer and the occasional Moose.

Lapland Reindeer
Deep in the heart of Reindeer territory

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.

If the weather isn't playing ball at the cottages, we'll hit the road and go chasing clear skies and northern lights.

If the weather isn’t playing ball at the cottages, we’ll hit the road and go chasing clear skies and northern lights.

The maximum number of people we take PER WEEK for our Valhalla tours is 14. This means even if we are fully booked, it’s just you and 13 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.

Your northern lights cottage

As with all our tours, we generally require a minimum of two people. However we often have odd numbers of people or large groups in one or two cottages, so we usually accommodate individual travellers throughout the winter, so please do contact us if you are an individual and would like to visit.

For lots of info & pics of our Valhalla cottages click here.

Our Valhalla northern lights camp in Finnish lapland

Itinerary

The 4 night aurora holiday is Monday to Friday. On the Monday afternoon when you arrive, we’ll pick you up from Ivalo airport. As our Valhalla tours are only a 20 minute drive to the airport, we are quite flexible with airport collection. We can collect you from the airport on either the early afternoon or early evening flights. We will both pick you up and drop you off at the airport free of charge.

Before we get to your cottage on the Monday, we’ll stop at the supermarket 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 and wine.

Once at your cottage you’ll be shown around the cottage and the cottage grounds. The cottages are nestled in a pine forest area which helps shelter you from the arctic wind. There is a fire place in the grounds of your cottages where you and the other aurora service guests can sit watching northern lights for as long as you like on the first night (we’ll leave you to it). It has an open fire inside and is a nice place to be on a cold night.

If you get the early afternoon flight on the Monday, it will be around 2.00pm by the time we get you to the cottage. This means you can have a really nice relaxing day of settling in to your cottage and have an evening relaxing after perhaps a hard days travelling. We’ll just show you the fireplace, 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 go for walks, 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 7.30pm 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 fireplace and carry on watching the northern lights stood on the frozen lake 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 collect you at 10am and take you to the airport in order for you to catch the early afternoon flight(s) out. The check-out time for our cottages is midday. So if you decide to book the evening flights I’m afraid it is not possible to stay in the cottages all day as they must be prepared for weekend guests arriving on the Friday night. For all the details on how to get here, please see getting here.

Husky Sledding in Lapland Snowmobiling in Lapland

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 €1195 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 you get:

  • 4 nights accommodation in your own 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.
  • Free snow suits, snow boots, hats and gloves.
  • Free help and advice with camera (inc battery charging from the van).
  • Free aurora pics and video from the week transferred onto your memory card that we have taken on our pro cameras.
  • Free firewood for both your cottage fire and the fireplace outside.

What isn’t included:

  • Flights are not included.
  • Travel insurance is not included. Due to the nature of our holiday, travel insurance is a requirement.
  • Meals are not included. But your cottage has a fully equipped kitchen so you can eat what you want, when you want (we visit a supermarket on the way up from airport).

Tour Dates 2019-2020 Aurora Season

Tour 1 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 28th October – Friday 1st November 2019 | 8 places available

Tour 2 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 4th November – Friday 8th November 2019 | 14 places available

Tour 3 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 11th November – Friday 15th November 2019 | 14 places available

Tour 4 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 18th Nov – Friday 22nd Nov 2019 | 10 places available  

Tour 5 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 25th Nov – Friday 29th Nov 2019 | 8 places available

Tour 6 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 2nd Dec – Friday 6th Dec 2019 |  Sold out 

Tour 7 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 9th Dec – Friday 13th Dec 2019 | 14 places available

Tour 8 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 16th Dec – Friday 20th Dec 2019 | 4 places available

Tour 9 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 30th Dec – Friday 3rd Jan 2020 |  2-4 places available 

Tour 10 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 6th Jan – Friday 10th Jan 2020 | 10 places available

Tour 11 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 13th Jan – Friday 17th Jan 2020 | 8 places available

Tour 12 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 20th Jan – Friday 24th Jan 2020 | 14 places available

Tour 13 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 27th Jan – Friday 31st Jan 2020 | 4 places available

Tour 14 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 3rd Feb – Friday 7th Feb 2020 | 4 places available

Tour 15 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 10th Feb – Friday 14th Feb 2020 | 6 places available

Tour 16 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 17th Feb – Friday 21st Feb 2020 | 12 places available

Tour 17 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 24th Feb – Friday 28th Feb 2020 | 4 places available

Tour 18 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 2nd March – Friday 6th March 2020 | 2 places available

Tour 19 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 9th March – Friday 13th March 2020 | 12 places available

Tour 20 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 16th March – Friday 20th March 2020 | 10 places available

Tour 21 | Weekday (4 nights) Monday 23rd March – Friday 27th March 2020 | 4 places available

At our prices and with the small group size we have on our tours, places fill up very fast (we are usually sold out 6 months in advance). So please book well in advance to avoid disappointment. It is first come first served basis. If the dates you are looking at are unavailable or you would like to go on the waiting list for the next available season you may add yourself to the waiting list here.

Secure your place on one of our tours now with only €100 deposit:

Book your northern lights holiday now!

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