Original Plan
So, I detest winter and cold. I grew up in Michigan and lived in Philadelphia and Washington, DC for many years and hated it when we shifted time away from Daylight Savings because it meant that winter was coming. My family and friends all know this about me because I have suffered the cold out loud during my life. Bitch. Moan. Complain. I did it all. So why did I decide to visit Finland the first week in March – to fulfill my bucket list of seeing the Northern Lights.
I tried to see them in Alaska on a visit, but they weren’t having it. That was many years ago, and over the past two years, I’ve been reading many articles stating that this year (2024) and next will be some of the best possibilities for seeing them. I knew I should give it another try.
Why Finland?
Well, I’ve not been, and I love seeing new places, I also wanted to go someplace easier for me being based in Southern Spain right now. Little did I know it would not be easy at all and take me two days to get to Finland.
My original plans were for a full day in Helsinki, coming and going, and then flying to Rovaniemi for 5 days, 4 nights of possible sightings, above the Arctic Circle. In reality, 2 days of my 7-day vacation were spent in airports, getting delayed after delay, and then a rush to connect flights, and then only three nights for sightings. I am going to leave this for right now and just describe my time in Finland, but believe me, I am going to give Finnair some grief soon in another post. UPDATE
Finnair’s 38-hour delay getting me there, led me to write this blog on: Delayed In Europe? You May Be Owed Compensation.
Research
So I’ve been researching seeing the Northern Lights on and off for many years. These were the sites I primarily used:
2024 Moon Phases – Calendar-12.com
Aurora – 30 Minute Forecast | NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction Center
Northern Lights Tour from Tromsø
5 Best Tromso Northern Lights Tours + Important Things to Know Before Booking – Heart My Backpack
Her Finland | A Finland Blog | Finnish Culture, Language & Travel
Make-NO-mistakes Guide to Northern Lights in Lapland, Finland
Auroras and space weather – Finnish Meteorological Institute
Of course, once Google realized I began researching again, new articles about the lights magically showed up whenever I was online. Creepy, yes! Helpful? Yes, as well.
I learned that you should visit as close to a new moon as possible. Hence the first week in March. Also, the lights are brightest from December to March, so I waited as long as I could, hoping the area that had 40 degrees below weather months earlier would have a higher temperature. On that I was successful, mostly 30 to 37 degrees (around 0 degrees Celsius) the whole time I was there, well at least during the day, still high 20s at night was fine.
But boy was I prepared: bought two sets of thermal underwear, gloves, a hat, a scarf, boots, and heat pads in two sizes for my hands/feet and on my back or stomach. So unless it was very windy, only once, I was for the most part a happy camper. And was it worth it? Oh yeah!
As you can see from my research sites, I narrowed it down between Norway and Finland and the idea of a new country, plus the infrastructure Rovaniemi offered won me over. I read a lot of online reviews of being in Rovaniemi and the restaurants and tours it offered and started to decide my plans. Housing was the biggest issue for this “frugal” traveler, so I decided to bite the bullet and try a hostel again.
I ended up in a four-bed male dorm in a hostel that had several dorms along with a nice kitchen, and only one shower that I could find, but knowing that Northern Lights sightseeing is a late-night affair, I’d only have to sleep there. My hostel is listed on my Finland map, and yes, I’d recommend it. Easy to be independent there and still have some interaction with others. Was I the oldest one there? Damn you for asking! And yes, I was, by a long shot.
Finally Arrive
I got to Rovaniemi a day and a half later than I had planned thanks to Finnair. So I missed my first night’s tour, so there was €125 down the drain. I had planned to take a tour the first night and then go back to the same place the next night if the skies were clear. I had another tour planned later in the week, which would still give me another night of new locations to try on my last night.
Well, this was not quite as easy as it sounds. The other curse of winter is not just the cold, but the lack of clear skies. In all, three nights of trying to see the lights and only one of them were good, luckily the lights were so strong they showed through the clouds as you will see in the photos.
Now it needs to be said, that the photos you see are a little deceiving. The camera (mine was an iPhone 15) will take much better images than your own eyes can see. Still, seeing them was amazing, and I encourage everyone to give it a try, at least once, if not twice.
What to Do During the Day
This is a lot more important than you might think. Of the three nights I went searching for the Northern Lights, two of them were clouded over and not great to observe. If I didn’t have plans during the day, and just waited for the late night, I would have been hugely disappointed.
This is why it is imperative for you to make plans for during the day. There is just enough for anyone to see in Rovaniemi to keep you occupied and interested. Downtown is just a few blocks but is interesting and the riverside is gorgeous. The photo below of the trees with snow is in color! Amazing.
Santa Claus Village
Downtown Rovaniemi doesn’t take long to accomplish but luckily the North Pole is just up the street. Rovaniemi considers itself the home of Santa Claus and the park celebrates this fact. It is also where you officially go north of the Arctic Circle.
Ice Hotel
From Santa’s Village, I went to the wonderful Arctic Snow Hotel & Glass Igloos about a 45-minute drive away (see map above, in Lehtojarvi). This turned out to be a highlight of mine, as you can see from all the photos I took. I’d encourage everyone to make this trek. Click on any image to see it better.
Holiday Park
One night when it was too cloudy I went to Rovaniemi’s holiday park. This was beautiful and other than it being freezing, was well worth it.
Helsinki (Finally)
Finally, my time in Rovaniemi came to a close and I flew back to Helsinki. I had hours to see the city and even less daylight. But I did my best. If the Northern Lights are on your bucket list like they were on mine? Do yourself a favor and just go, you will never regret it!
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