Ali's Northern Lights blog posts

Aurora hunting has become a fine art and there are now many, many different ways of chasing down Mother Nature’s mesmerising light show. From snowmobile safaris to dog sledding and snowshoeing, the secret is to find a vantage point as far removed from any light pollution as possible.

All of these activities are fabulously fun and entertaining but, in the heart of an Arctic winter, they can get pretty chilly even when you are wearing the thermal clothing we provide on our trips.

We are blue in the face from telling anybody who will listen that autumn is an excellent time to search for the Aurora Borealis. Scientific research and findings from various esteemed Solar Physicists repeatedly point to increased geomagnetic activity (and hence, Auroral displays) in the weeks around the autumn and spring equinoxes.

The big question therefore, is; has this new aurora hunting season started well?

Another Aurora hunting season is drawing to a close in Northern Scandinavia. The Northern Lights will still be visible well into April but, during the 24-hour daylight of summer’s Midnight Sun, all an Aurora hunter can do is catch up on lost sleep and long for the darker nights of autumn.

March 2018 has been one of the best months for Auroral activity in many a long year, so we did some digging. The upshot of our research is that if you want to see the Northern Lights then some of your best chances are almost certainly around the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

There’s a bit of a myth perpetuated that it is pitch black north of the Arctic Circle for about six months every year. The truth is that, while the Sun does drop below the horizon for a while (how long depends on how far north you are), there is still residual light.

Here at The Aurora Zone, we’re extremely fond of the Finnish people and especially the Sámi community, who are the indigenous people of Northern Scandinavia. So, imagine our excitement when we heard that BBC Two are doing a one-off boxing day show all about the lifestyle of the Sámi people and their reindeer herding heritage.

Blue Planet II has been an amazing show, and if you're anything like us you’ll have sat in your favourite chair and watched it in wonder.

Here are three holidays to get you in the mood for some Blue Planet-style discovering, and of course, if you don’t spot some incredible marine life, you might just be in luck and see the Northern Lights instead!

Our expert Aurora guide and CEO of the new Northern Lights Village in Saariselkä, Markku Inkilä is a self-proclaimed Aurora nut. He lives and breathes the Northern Lights and is rarely happier than when he is capturing them on camera. His photos have been published in the Sunday Times, the Telegraph, and on hundreds of websites around the world.

I caught up with our Marketing Assistant Laura who had the most amazing first Northern Lights experience in Iceland. Here is what she had to say:

'"After suffering serious wanderlust from seeing so many breathtaking photos of Iceland I knew I had to head out there and explore it for myself. So, in December 2016 I flew over for a week of Arctic adventure. I experienced waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes, boiling mud pools, stunning scenery - you name it - but one night stands out for me - the night I ticked two experiences off my travel bucket list.

How often have you returned to work in the New Year regretfully thinking,

“Why on earth didn’t I do something useful over the holiday period?”

That period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, Betwixmas if you like, must be the most neglected of the year. It’s a dead zone during which you know you should be doing something useful but simply can’t be bothered.