r/AuroraBorealis

tickets aside, what is the cheapest country in the nordics where i can see the northern lights? i've always been fascinated by them and i know it will start weakening gradually this year until the next cycle, im only 20 but i dont want to wait 11 years to see the aurora, anything can happen in that time period and i hate regrets lmao, any tips or help would be greatly appreciated

Hi All! I am planning to visit Finland, Sweden and Norway in Jan/March 2027 with my wife. The aim is to maximize chances of viewing the aurora, although we fully understand it is only a matter of chance.

We wanted to visit in January as it is our anniversary month, but as per my research March is a better time to visit, both temperature wise and probability-of-lights wise.

This is how our rough itinerary looks like, planned as a road trip to be done in a rental car:

• Day 1 - Rovaniemi to Kiruna, overnight stay here
• Day 2 - Explore Kiruna and move to Abisko, overnight stay here
• Day 3 - Move to Tromso, overnight stay here
• Day 4 - Explore Tromso, explore Lyngen Alps in daytime
• Day 5 - Move to Levi, overnight stay
• Day 6 - Travel to Saariselka/Ivalo, overnight stay
• Day 7 - Return back to Rovaniemi

Considerations: Barring one day of high drive time (Tromso-Levi), keeping max drive per day capped to approx 6 hours. There are extra 2 days on either side for transfers in and out of Rovaniemi, which I have excluded here. Also, I need to come back to Rovaniemi to drop the rental car (explored the option to do one-way and drop car in Tromso, but the fees are ridiculous).

My queries:

• Is there any redundancy in this plan, speaking in terms of chasing the lights?
• How bad is January mid (15-30 Jan) for this circuit, compared to March (01-15 Mar) considering snowy/icy roads and overall weather?
• Any particular road conditions to be aware of during either of the months?
• Should I be adding Lofoten to this plan? Primary reason for exclusion is budget and my wife's motion sickness issues, which I have heard is more in Norway.

Biggest queries around auroras:

• Do I need to book guided tours for lights chasing? As I will have my own car, am I better off doing my research and taking the car out at nights wherever the lights are (as per the Aurora tracking apps)?
• If you had to cut one, which one would you from chasing the lights perspective? (Abisko/Kiruna, Lofoten, Tromso, Saariselka/Ivalo)
• Overall efficacy of this plan?