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The Best Places in the World to Witness Northern Lights

Travel Guide May, 13, 2025

The Northern Lights are one of the most amazing things that nature can do. When electrically charged sun particles are hit with atmospheric gases, the celestial phenomenon known as the aurora borealis occurs. It emits a bright neon light that lights up the night sky. This means that countries like Iceland, the USA (Alaska), Canada, Scotland, Siberia, and Greenland are the best countries to see northern lights.

Seeing the northern lights is a life-changing bucket list item that many people wait years or even a lifetime to check off. This is because the conditions have to be just right for this amazing show to happen. Book your tour package from TourRadar which is specifically designed based on the northern lights forecast so that you won’t miss any chance. Here are the best places to see the Northern Lights, as well as how to do so. Keep scrolling down and get ready to be amazed by all these places!


1. Tromso, Norway

Norway has a lot of great places to look out for. Tromso is the most important place. It is a group of Arctic islands about halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Between mid-November and February, this city has polar nights, which means it is always dark.

This gives visitors twice as many chances to see the Northern Lights and makes it the only inhabited place in the world where you can see them during the day. At TourRadar, you can avail of their exclusive Northern Light tour packages in Norway You can go on a three-hour safari or a snowmobile tour that stops for hot drinks and biscuits. The city is in the middle of the aurora zone in the Norwegian Arctic, which makes it one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights.

The phenomenon is so common here that you won’t even need a northern lights forecast to increase your chances. Since it's easy to get to the UK—a direct flight from London takes only 3.5 hours—Tromso is a popular place to visit year after year. You can see the Northern Lights beautifully from Tromso from September to April. There are more pubs and bars per person in this city than in any other place in Norway.


2. Fairbanks, Alaska

The extreme cold that typically comes with seeing the northern lights can be a significant barrier. But if you are at the right place, it can be a lifetime remembering experience. Fairbanks, Alaska is a great place to see the Aurora Borealis because it has a beautiful night, cold weather, and a clear sky. There are many luxurious resorts available for your comfortable stay.

Fairbanks is right under a band of aurora activity. From August to the end of April, the town often sees a green, yellow, and purple light show in the sky. Most of the time, this happens between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., but people who go to bed early don't need to worry. Book your northern lights Alaska tour package from TourRadar and be part of this experience.

When the aurora is seen in the sky, hotel guests can ask to be notified by phone call or knock on the door. Alaska is located within the Aurora oval, which is where the lights are best seen. A clear night at sea is ideal for stargazing, and being out on the water brightens the northern lights even more because there is no ambient light interference from land.


3. Rovaniemi, Finland

Wish to view the Northern Lights in Finland? There are many great places in this beautiful country to look for the Northern Lights. It is probably the best country to see the northern lights. People say that Rovaniemi is one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights because they can be seen there about 200 nights a year. Rovaniemi is known as the "Official Hometown of Santa Claus," and it also has a beautiful show of the Northern Lights.

Rovaniemi is a picture of a snowy wilderness because it is north of the Arctic Circle. During the day, you can go husky dog sledding, ice fishing, or on a snowmobile safari. Then, in the evening, you can see the Northern Lights. Since the best time to see Rovaniemi is also in Scandinavia, from September to April, you can go there whenever it's convenient for you.

Best of all, Santa lives there, so it's the perfect place to take the kids for a Christmas they'll never forget. As the northern lights are so common that you won’t even need the northern lights forecast to enjoy this classy experience. Another amazing thing about this place is that there are places like glass roof villas, Igloo huts, and luxury suites where you can watch nature's most spectacular light show from inside. For people who like to try new things, seeing the northern lights while skiing, snowboarding, riding a snowmobile, etc. can make the experience even better. Isn't that interesting?


4. Reykjavik, Iceland

You can see the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, from almost anywhere in Iceland. There are beaches in Iceland too. If you go on the right night, you can see the Northern Lights from the beach. Just book your Iceland northern lights tour from TourRadar and be the lucky one. In Pingvellir National Park, the night is darker than in the rest of the country, and the whole sky seems to dance right above you.

Seeing the Northern Lights is something you will do once in your life. And the best place on Earth to do it is Iceland. Iceland is a great place to see the Northern Lights because it has lots of open land and dark skies. It is the best country to see the northern lights. One of the most beautiful things about Iceland is how many places there are to see the Northern Lights. So, it's likely that tourists will run into them all over Iceland, both in the city of Reykjavik and in the more rural areas. People who want to see the Northern Lights often stay in Reykjavik and go out at night on tours or in rented cars to look for them. From the Oskjuhlid forest, you can even see the lights in town.

But if you move away from the bright lights, your chances will improve. North Iceland and the Westfjords have more hours of darkness and less cloud cover than the rest of Iceland. There is the country's largest lake, which is a good place to think. Are you thinking about taking all good pictures of the northern lights? Iceland is where you should go.


5. Whitehorse, Canada

Northern Lights Resort, which is 20 minutes outside of Whitehorse, Yukon, has just added three new glass chalets with great views of the northern lights at night and three-night packages. Or watch the lights from a hot tub: the new Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs in Whitehorse will open this year with four outdoor soaking pools.

Want an even bigger adventure? Fly to Old Crow, the Yukon community that is the farthest north, and book a northern lights tour on TourRadar with Josie's Old Crow Adventures, an Indigenous-led tour company that offers night tours and dogsled trips. The northern lights dance across the sky above Canada's Yukon Territory from August to mid-April.

Depending on how many clouds there are, how much light pollution there is, and how active the aurora is at night, you could spend hours looking at the neon green and yellow. If you are at the right place and right time, it is the best country to see the northern lights. At the Northern Lights Centre in Watson Lake, you can learn about the science and myths behind the lights. And after your night out in the cold, go to the Northern Lights Resort and Spa in Whitehorse for a day of pampering.

Final words

Use our list to make your dream of seeing the "dawn of the north". All the places listed above are world famous for their tour packages for perfect northern light viewing spots. All the tour packages from TourRadar are based on the northern lights forecast, so you don’t miss anything.

This strange event, in which bright green, blue, and violet colors dance across the sky, is usually strongest around midnight. Choose a night when there is no moon, and make sure there are no clouds and no other lights around. So, are you ready to see something pretty amazing? For the best offers on the northern lights tours, visit TourRadar now.