Iceland, Lapland, Norway and more

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1. Arctic Circle Aurora Adventure, Exodus

Myllykoski rapids in in Oulanka National Park

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££ | Group size 6-14

Looking like a Narnia fantasy in winter, Oulanka National Park (above) in Central Finland is a thrillingly off-the-beaten track base for hunting the northern lights, with mile after silent mile of snow-polished fell, boreal forest and river valley to explore on snowshoes, cross-country skis or by dogsled. On this seven-nighter, you’ll be staying at Rajamaa, run by the experienced Malmstrom family, on Pitkäsaari island. There’s a focus on the outdoors, with skill-based activities like snow-shelter building, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and fire-making workshops. The trip also ends with a memorable two-day stay in a forest log cabin. Prices include accommodation, activities, meals, transport, local tour leaders and specialist equipment.

2. Arctic Expedition Under the Northern Lights, Hurtigruten

The Bergsbotn viewpoint overlooking Bergsfjord on Senja Island

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££ | Group size up to 220 passengers

Since 1893, the Hurtigruten ferries have been sailing up and down the Norwegian coast, providing a vital lifeline to the remote coastal communities — some of which are cut off by snow for much of the winter. This eight-day trip offers a loop around the far north, beginning with some time in Tromso before heading off to explore the dramatic Lofoten archipelago, Senja Island and Trollfjord. Time is factored in for friluftsliv (outdoor life) excursions including island hikes, whale-watching and birdwatching. You’ll be travelling aboard the MS Spitsbergen, which joined the Hurtigruten fleet in 2016.

• Discover our full guide to Norway

3. Adventures in Northeast Greenland, Intrepid Travel

Icebergs in Scoresby Sund

ALAMY

£££ | Group size up to 199 passengers

This is the aurora tour for the adventurous. It takes place way up inside the Arctic Circle, among the icy fjords of northeast Greenland, but the departure point is Reykjavík, where you’ll board one of two expedition ships — the 199-passenger Ultramarine or the 138-passenger Ocean Explorer — which will be your home for the duration of the expedition. Over the next 11 days, the trip takes in Scoresby Sund, King Oscar Fjord and remote Ella Island, with the potential to spot icebergs and a wide variety of wildlife, including whales, seals, polar bears and musk oxen. Small Zodiac boats are used to navigate the fjords, allowing fantastic photo opportunities. There’s also a stop in Ittoqqortoormiit to meet local Inuit people and learn more about their lives. The ship itself is surprisingly comfortable — it even has a sauna, spa and fitness centre.

4. Alaska Northern Lights, Trafalgar

The Alaska Railroad train in Denali National Park

ALAMY

££ | Group size 4-14

Alaska’s wild landscapes provide a stunning backdrop against which to view the aurora, and this seven-day tour offers multiple chances to see them. Fairbanks is the hub, from where you catch the Alaska Railroad into Denali National Park, staying at a mountain lodge in Talkeetna for husky sledding, scenic flights and aurora hunting. Then it’s on to Anchorage to visit the Musk Ox Farrm and gain insight into indigenous Alaskan culture at the Alaska Native Heritage Centre. Accommodation with breakfast, some meals, transport and some activities are included in the price; some activities are optional and incur extra cost.

• Read our full guide to the world’s best adventure holidays

5. Iceland Northern Lights, Exodus

£ | Group size 6-16

One of the most visually striking countries on earth, Iceland excels in photogenic backdrops that show off the northern lights at their spangly best. Kicking off in Reykjavík, this four-night trip quickly ramps up the drama by whisking you south to crashing falls, volcanoes, glaciers and black-sand beaches. You’re here for the auroras, but you’ll be bombarded with natural beauty in other forms too: strapping on crampons to hike across Falljokull Glacier, dipping behind the 60m (200ft) chute of Seljalandsfoss waterfall and walking among icebergs on Diamond beach near the Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon. You can feel pretty smug about your footprint too, as Exodus always has an eye on sustainability.

• Discover our full guide to Iceland

6. The Grand Aurora Tour, Aurora Zone

On a reindeer sleigh ride in Levi

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££-£££ Group size 2-24

Dipping into the snowy wilds of Sweden, Finland and Norway, this brilliantly choreographed seven-night adventure is one you’ll be raving about forever. You’ll be whisked from Kiruna in Swedish Lapland across the frozen tundra and forests of Levi in Finland and beyond to Tromso in Norway, maximising your chances of aurora gazing. With any luck, the northern lights will shine, but even if they don’t this trip is the Arctic dream, with dogsledding, snowmobiling and reindeer sleigh rides, and stays in winter-dream digs, from an igloo at the Icehotel to a glass-roofed aurora cabin. Good news: the price covers flights, accommodation, most meals, transfers, activities and cold-weather gear.

• When’s the best time to cruise Norway’s fjords?

7. The Ultimate Aurora Adventure, Aurora Zone

The northern lights over Jukkasjarvi in Swedish Lapland

LOLA AKINMADE AKERSTROM/IMAGEBANK.SWEDEN.SE

£££ | Group size 2-24

Promising sky-gazing with a generous pinch of luxury, this eight-night trip to Swedish Lapland kicks off at remote Brandon Lodge on the fringes of the frosty Lulea archipelago, where you can ice-fish, snowmobile and see the lights perform in dark skies. You’ll spend a night in the floating forest pods of the Treehotel or the more luxurious option of the Arctic Bath hotel, then head north by train to the aurora heaven that is Abisko, with its crowning glory, Aurora Sky Station. Here, snowshoeing through the forest, dogsledding and an aurora photography evening will fling you properly into the Arctic wilds. You’ll stay for three nights at the Abisko STF Turiststation, followed by a final night at the Icehotel (the first and largest of its kind). The tour runs from mid-December until late March and covers accommodation, meals, activities and cold-weather clothing.

8. Finnish Wilderness Week, Exodus

Showshoeing in Finland on an Exodus tour

££ | Group size 4-20

Finland’s Oulanka National Park — one of the wildest and most sparsely populated landscapes in northern Europe — is your base for this memorable week in the Nordic wilds. You’ll be staying at cosy wooden lodges at Basecamp Oulanka, with experienced guides to help you master the art of cross-country skiing, dogsledding, snowshoeing and quinzee–building (it’s a type of snow shelter like an igloo, in case you’re wondering). There are five full days of activities; all Arctic gear is provided and meals are included. You’re far from civilisation here, and with luck (and clear skies), the aurora will show up in force.

9. Northern Lights Escape, Intrepid

In Iceland with Intrepid

RYAN BOLTON

££ | Group size 1-12

This six-day yomp through Iceland’s wildest reaches pretty much guarantees light shows — and in some of the most staggering landscapes imaginable. Starting and ending in Reykjavík, the tour hooks onto the Golden Circle route, looping together the country’s greatest natural wonders: first up is Unesco world heritage site Thingvellir National Park, birthplace of the Icelandic government, where you can walk in wonder in a seismic rift valley dividing two continents. From here it’s on to the Geysir geothermal area, where geysers boil and blow. The final days weave along the south coast, via lava fields and black-sand beaches, to the crash-bang Skogafoss falls, iceberg-sprinkled Jokulsarlon lagoon and Vatnajokull, Europe’s biggest ice cap. There are frequent departures from mid-October to March, and prices cover accommodation with breakfast, transport and activities.

• Best Iceland tours
• How to see the Northern Lights — top tips

10. Northern Lights and Natural Spa Weekend, Aurora Zone

The northern lights over Iceland

LOST IN ICELAND

£ | Group size 2-25

If blasting through the snow on a snowmobile or skis sounds way too active, this three-night trip to Iceland moves to a distinctly mellower, wellness-focused beat. Relax: you won’t be hunting the northern lights, they’ll come to you as you’re floating in the healing waters of the Hvammsvik Spa, bubbling in hot springs with astonishing views of dark skies, or drifting in the geothermal infinity pool at the Sky Lagoon, overlooking the storm-whipped north Atlantic. Accommodation, transfers, guided activities, breakfasts and one dinner are included.

• Best places to see the northern lights

11. Scandinavian Northern Lights, Trafalgar

Stortorget in Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town

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££ | Group size maximum 14

You’ll visit not one, but two aurora-lit countries on this classic nine-day trip, beginning in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, and ending in Sweden’s capital, Stockholm. En route, you’ll meet a Sami reindeer herder family for supper and experience a husky tour in Kiruna, as well as visiting the church-centric town of Gammelstad and the official Santa Claus village in Rovaniemi — all activities which offer a good chance of seeing the northern lights, especially if you time your visit during the darkest months from November to March. This is a good tour to choose for first-timers and families.

12. Senja Island Auroras, Aurora Zone

The northern lights over Senja

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££ | Group size 2-24

The Lofoten Islands get all the fuss, but the mountainous, fjord-streaked, sea-battered island of Senja, just north, is equally surreally beautiful, yet receives just a trickle of tourist traffic. This four-night trip is a rare and special one. You’ll stay in a tiny, lighthouse-topped hamlet right by the water’s edge, with optimum conditions for seeing the northern lights cascade in dark night skies. By day, a wildlife boat safari will take you out to spot seals, sea eagles and perhaps even a whale. And you’ll have plentiful chances to glimpse the aurora — whether snowshoeing through the white wilderness or relaxing in a hot tub. Prices include accommodation, most meals, transfers, guided activities and cold-weather gear.

• Best northern lights cruises

13. Autumn Auroras in Ilulissat, Regent Holidays

Ilulissat

LISA MICHELE BURNS/VISIT GREENLAND

££ | Group size small group

Everyone raves about Lapland and Iceland, but if you turn the temperature down and the Arctic wilderness factor up several notches you get Ilulissat in western Greenland. This is nature in overdrive, with an immense glacier feeding an icy fjord, mountains glowing pearl-white as if lit from within and icebergs chinking in Disko Bay. A spectacular place to see the lights? You bet. When solar activity is high, you’ll head out in search of them on foot and by boat across the iceberg-clogged fjord on this well-curated five-day tour, which includes return flights from Copenhagen, four-star accommodation, meals, transfers and activities.

14. Canada Northern Lights and Winter Adventure, Discover the World

The aurora over the Yukon River in Canada

ALAMY

£ | Group size independent

For the call of the wild and the northern lights rippling in remote night skies, the Yukon in Canada’s far northwest is pure magic. Running from October to April, this three-night trip bases you at a cosy log cabin at the Northern Lights Resort & Spa near Whitehorse, which lives up to its name with an impeccable aurora record and guides giving the inside scoop on the lights. You’ll get to try dogsledding and visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, where moose, caribou and bison roam. Given the length of the tour, you can easily combine it with another holiday to allow more time to explore this vast region. Prices include accommodation, meals, activities, winter clothing rental and transfers.

discover-the-world.com

• Read our full guide to Canada

15. The Complete Abisko Experience, Aurora Nights

Abisko Mountain Lodge

ABISKO MOUNTAIN LODGE

££-£££ | Group size small group

Bang in the centre of the aurora oval and crowned by Mount Nuolja and its Aurora Sky Station, Abisko in Swedish Lapland is right up there with the best places to see the lights in the world. This four-night trip, running from December to March, is full-on Arctic fantasy stuff. Nights are spent in a family-run wilderness lodge and days and evenings snowmobiling, snowshoeing and mastering northern lights photography in the white wilderness of Abisko National Park. Prices include accommodation, meals, transfers, guides and Arctic clothing.

aurora-nights.co.uk

16. Northern Lights Photography Holiday in Iceland, Responsible Travel

A photographer gets Iceland in focus

WILD PHOTOGRAPHY HOLIDAYS

£££ | Group size 4-12

Even expert photographers know there’s an art to capturing the aurora in full sway — fickle and flighty as it is. But this ten-day photography holiday to Iceland helps you nail that perfect northern lights shot, with workshops on everything from exposure to composition, post-processing chats and viewing sessions. It’s hosted by a photographer couple who live in Iceland, so they know all the best spots to go. The trip zooms in on two staggeringly scenic locations: the Snaefellsnes Peninsula in the west, with its thrillingly wild coastline and distinctive mountains, and southeast Iceland, where you’ll take in the frozen majesty of Skaftafell National Park, the iceberg-filled Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon and Hvannadalshnjukur, Iceland’s highest peak. Accommodation, transfers, all meals and tuition are included. Tours run in February and October.

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17. Iceland Full Circle with Northern Lights, Vulkan Travel

Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon

ALAMY

£ | Group size independent

Running from October to March, this 10- or 11-night, self-guided drive takes Iceland’s phenomenally beautiful ring road (Route 1) in its stride. As Iceland is right below the aurora oval, brace yourself for a full-on feast of northern lights along the way. The word “wow” barely leaves your lips the rest of the time, whether you’re drifting in the Blue Lagoon as the snow flutters down, or exploring lava fields, colossal glaciers, hissing geysers or the iceberg-choked lagoon of Jokulsarlon, which, incidentally, holds up a fabulous frozen mirror to the aurora. Prices include flights, accommodation, car rental and route-planning details.

vulkantravel.co.uk

18. Hike, Kayak and Chase the Aurora in Lofoten, Much Better Adventures

Camping at Kvalvika beach

ALAMY

££ | Group size maximum 8

Norway’s Lofoten Islands are a photographer’s dream come true, and they’re at their most stunning in winter, with sharp peaks crusted in snow and backlit by the winter sun. They’re also much, much quieter than in summer. This winter trip includes kayaking among Eggum’s icy islands, a sunrise paddle from Valberg, a splendidly wild overnight camp at Kvalvika beach, and guided hikes to the summits of Justadtinden and Ryten. The accommodation for the five-night itinerary includes four nights in a shared beach house and one wild camping at Kvalvika, with kit, guides, meals and airport transfers covered; you’ll need to arrange your own flights to Leknes airport.

muchbetteradventures.com

• Best Norwegian fjords tours

19. Northern Lights Short Break in Finnish Lapland, Responsible Travel

Ukonkivi, a sacred Sami site on the island of Ukonsaari in the middle of Lake Inari

ALAMY

££ | Group size small group

Some might say that the longer you linger for the right conditions for the northern lights, the better, but even on a short four-day break like this one, the odds of spotting them are extraordinarily high in the far north of Finnish Lapland. All is wondrously white around Lake Inari, your base for watching the aurora flash away, as well as a flurry of winter activities from husky-sledding to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and ice-fishing. The clincher? You’ll get to spend a night in an aurora bubble, a transparent igloo with sensational views of the lights. Accommodation, meals, winter clothing and transfers to and from Ivalo are covered. There are daily departures from late November until the end of March.

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20. Hike, Snowmobile and Wild Camp through Svalbard, Much Better Adventures

An Arctic fox in Svalbard

££ | Group size maximum 10

At 78 degrees north, Svalbard is the last stop before the North Pole. This six-night tour, running in March and April, takes a headfirst dive into the archipelago’s silent, snowy wilderness, when the sun glares on the horizon after its long winter absence. The northern lights shimmer most nights when clear weather prevails and solar activity is high. You’ll need to be fit for this physically demanding trip, which gives you a true sense of being a polar explorer: traversing glaciers, pulling your gear on a pulka (sled), delving into ice caves, and camping and keeping watch for polar bears. Four nights are spent at a hotel or guesthouse in Longyearbyen, plus two nights at an Arctic wilderness camp. Prices include accommodation, guides, transfers and some meals and equipment. You will need to bring most of your own kit, including full winter gear, drybags and rucksack; Arctic-rated sleeping bags can be rented.

muchbetteradventures.com

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• Best northern lights igloos

Additional reporting by Imogen Lepere