When we initially started planning our trip to Finland, we decided that one of the drivers was to see the Aurora Borealis. Being a DIY traveller, we were reluctant to do one of the commercial Tours that are between €150 – 300 per person for a couple of hours; that would cost us a minimum of €300 for 2 to have a chance (No Guarantees, no refunds) at seeing the Aurora. This saving would mean we can rent a little car and chase the Aurora ourselves. A rental car for a week with full insurance cost us a total of €450 🙂
First things first, let’s talk about the best places to see the Northern Lights in Finland. Northern Lapland is the place to be, with some of the best resorts being Levi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, and Salla. Ideally, head there between September and March. Active season for Northern lights starts already in the autumn and goes all the way till late winter. We chose Saariselkä for our trip as I was working from home and needed Wi-Fi in our cabin. 🙂
The next Important part to hunt the Aurora on your own is to download an App, we used 2 apps:
My Aurora Forecast & Alerts – LINK to AppStore | LINK to PlayStore
This App helped us to visually see on a Map where the Aurora is, that’s pretty much all we used it for. We didn’t have much success with the Forecasts and other parts of the app.
Aurora Borealis Forecast & Alerts – LINK to WWW | LINK to AppStore | LINK to PlayStore
On this App we used the Long Forecast section which showed us when we could expect the strongest KP Index. Thats pretty much all we used it for.
 | The northern lights, or the aurora borealis, are beautiful dancing ribbons of light that have captivated people for millennia. But for all its beauty, this spectacular light show is a rather violent event. The northern lights are created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth’s upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet’s magnetic field protects us from the onslaught. As Earth’s magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles — there are southern lights, too, which you can read about below — the dramatic process transforms into a cinematic atmospheric phenomenon that dazzles and fascinates scientists and skywatchers alike. |
Then its all about location of where you can see the Aurora. You want to be away from the lights of a village, town or city and you want to be away from the roadside as the traffic lights with disrupt your photos. We found the spot in the map below, its just off the main road and quiet enough to not be bothered. While we were there, on 1 night we had 2 Aurora tour vans stop to take photos. We were laughing 😀
As you can see from the image below, the Aurora is visible from the road if the KP index is high but to get some great photos its best to be in complete darkness.
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