Here's Where the Coolest Light Show on Earth Is Now Happening

If viewing the northern lights is on your travel bucket list, now is the time to tick it off. Science says your odds of glimpsing the aurora borealis in 2024 or 2025 are the best they've been in two decades.

Why? It all has to do with the atmospheric conditions that create those beautiful dancing ribbons of multi-colored light across the night sky. Gases like oxygen and nitrogen interact with “solar wind”—a stream of electromagnetic particles that are ejected from the sun and become trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field, fluctuating in intensity depending on the sun’s energy. Those energy cycles extend for 11 years. Right now, they are peaking.

Related: These Dark Sky Parks Are the Best Places to See the Milky Way

It explains why social media exploded in May with photos of pink, green, and purple streaks dancing across night skies as far south as Florida. According to NASA, the most severe geomagnetic storm in two decades hit.

The good news is, if you missed that show, there’s still time. According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, even stronger storms are yet to come, with the sun’s energy cycle reaching its maximum between late 2024 and early 2026.

Want to see the northern (or southern) lights while your chances are highest? Here are the 10 best places in the world to chase auroras.

Best Places to See the Northern Lights

Tromsø, Norway

Norway might be the best place to capture an iconic northern lights photo framed perfectly by craggy mountain peaks and snow-laden villages twinkling on the shores of majestic fjords. The Arctic seaside city of Tromsø is an oft-cited place for this magic. It sits in the centre of the Aurora Zone, an oval-shaped band that rims the Earth’s geomagnetic North Pole and attracts the most intense auroras.

Indeed, Norway is a favorite location for renowned astronomer Tom Kerss, who holds the dream title of Chief Aurora Chaser at Hurtigruten voyages.

“In my long experience, there is no better destination than Norway, and particularly along its breathtaking coastline," says Kerss. "It's where the sea meets the sky, and it's where I've witnessed magnificent displays illuminating the iconic, rugged, snow-capped landscape on more occasions than I can even remember."

Kerss adds that a sea journey can really up your chances of viewing the aurora. “The ship is always on the move, increasing your odds to traveling through clear weather.”

Where to Stay: Clarion Hotel The Edge

Tromsø has a reputation as the “Paris of the North” for its lively bars, culture, and sophisticated restaurant scene. Base yourself at the center of it all at Clarion Hotel The Edge, a sleek and luxurious modern refuge at the edge of the Arctic waterfront. Its rooftop sky bar has dazzling views over the sparkling city at night.

Alternatively, join Kerss on a cruise and sleep aboard a Hurtigruten ship that will send an announcement to your cabin when an aurora is spotted from deck. On voyages of 11 days or more, Hurtigruten guarantees you will see the lights and offers a second free voyage if you don’t.

Iceland

Iceland is one of the most popular destinations for aurora chasing because it’s relatively inexpensive and easy to reach. Flights from Reykjavik from New York can be around $600 return, are nonstop, and take just over 5 hours. Plus, the country itself is spectacular—covered in hot springs, glaciers, lava fields, and frozen waterfalls. Even if you have bad luck with auroras, by heading to Iceland you’re planting a memorable holiday in the forecast.

Intrepid Travel runs tours to Iceland, Finland, Alaska, Norway, and Greenland, but the company says that its Iceland tours get booked up the fastest.

“I’d recommend Iceland as the first choice for Americans given the cost and ease of access. Our six-day Intrepid Northern Lights Escape is our bestselling trip, takes travelers to off-the-beaten-path locations, and offers flexibility to maximize the chances of seeing the lights,” says Matt Berna, President of the Americas at Intrepid Travel.

“The Premium Iceland in Winter trip is cool because it includes the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, which often stays clear when southern Iceland is cloudy. This sets it apart from our other Iceland Northern Lights trips.”

Where to Stay: 5 Million Star Hotel

Intrepid Tours is one of a handful of companies that will arrange accommodation for you on multi-day tours, but if you want a unique Icelandic experience check out the aptly named 5 Million Star Hotel. There, you can sleep in a see-through plastic inflatable bubble in dark woods, with an unobstructed display of the Icelandic night sky from bed (hence, five million stars). Each dome is big enough for a bed covered in furs and not much else. Bathrooms are separate buildings, and there are no privacy curtains.

Lapland, Finland

The northern lights appear in Finnish Lapland on up to 200 nights per year. Many visitors choose to go aurora chasing via land-based tours that take you away from possible light pollution on skis, snowmobiles, dog sleds, or snowshoeing. Here, you can also take the opportunity to visit Santa Claus, whose home is unofficially in Lapland’s capital, Rovaniemi. Santa Claus Village is a yuletide wonderland of Christmas markets where you can pat reindeer and sip hot Finnish mulled wine, or glögi.

It’s easy enough to get to Rovaniemi from the nation’s capital of Helsinki via sleeper train, dubbed the Santa Claus Express, a sophisticated sleigh with private cabins, ensuites, and even breakfast delivered in the morning before you arrive. Aurora ice floating on a frozen lake allows your mind and body to drift while you witness the ethereal night show. Or, if you prefer to stay warm and dry, Finnish Lapland is renowned for architecturally impressive luxury suites and glass-domed huts that allow you to see the lights from bed.

Where to Stay: Arctic Treehouse Hotel

The Arctic Treehouse Hotel is scattered through the woods outside Rovaniemi, featuring 37 Scandinavian “tree houses” with floor-to-ceiling glass windows showcasing spectacular views to the northern skies. Furs, wooden floors, and creamy interiors create a gorgeous nest from which to peep auroras. If you want to combine aurora chasing with powder hunting, the Levi Igloos are 12 luxury huts with glass roofs just 7 miles from Finland’s most popular ski resort, Levi.

Fairbanks, AK

Fairbanks was “America’s Klondike” during the gold rush and boomed in the early 1900s. These days it draws prospectors of a different kind due to its location at 65 degrees north, superbly located inside the Aurora Zone.

Fairbanks has minimal light pollution with relatively clear night skies. It’s also closer for U.S. residents, and you won’t need a passport to get there. Little coincidence that the Geophysical Institute has one of the most reliable aurora forecasting sites and is based out of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

If you stay in town, many hotels offer northern lights wake-up calls when an aurora is spotted. But to optimize your viewing experience, head outside the city or to more remote areas such as nearby Denali National Park and Preserve.

Where to Stay: Alaska Grizzly Lodge

The European-style Alaska Grizzly Lodge will ensure you have your own private terrace from which to gaze up at the night sky. It’s 10 minutes from downtown Fairbanks and far enough to reduce light pollution while surrounding you with hiking trails, moose, and other wildlife.

Alternatively, soak in the natural outdoor springs of Chena Hot Springs as auroras dance above you. This resort offers a full Alaskan experience in cozy wood log cabins.

Manitoba, Canada

In Canada, Inuit mythology has been fascinated by the northern lights for centuries, and believes the lights are the spirits of ancestors playing ball with a walrus skull.

Churchill, 600 miles north of Winnipeg in the far north of Manitoba in Canada, is a renowned aurora chasers’ hotspot. The Churchill Northern Studies Centre is just 30 minutes out of town and provides an affordable, fully guided option for travelers hunting the northern lights. Scientists will shut off all the lights in the center, and you can view the auroras from the heated dome at the top of the center or from the outdoor observation deck.

Nights Under Lights are multi-day guided tours with dog-sledding and snow-shoeing outside Churchill, which offer adventurous photographers the chance to capture an aurora in front of a yurt tucket deep in the boreal forest. Or, you could take Tundra Buggy Adventure with Frontiers North to get up close to local wildlife before dining underneath the aurora.

Where to Stay: Churchill Hotel

There aren’t too many choices in this Arctic frontier town, but the Churchill Hotel has basic and warm hotel rooms you can collapse into after an adventure in the Arctic outdoors. Ask the hotel to book you into a Churchill Aurora Dome experience, where you can gaze at auroras while encapsulated in a small, entirely plexiglass bubble.

Abisko, Sweden

The Sámi, the indigenous people of Swedish Lapland,  traditionally believed the northern lights were the souls of the dead. People refrained from dancing, singing, or whistling beneath them in case the spirits dipped down to carry them to the afterlife. The Vikings, meanwhile, thought the northern lights were the Valkyrie maidens of Norse mythology taking fallen soldiers to meet the god of war and death, Odin. One thing is for sure, such a long and fascinating cultural association proves the Northern Lights appear in Sweden regularly.

Abisko National Park in northern Sweden houses the Aurora Sky Station, which boasts regular clear skies as it is protected by mountains on all sides in the middle of national park wilderness. Renowned aurora photographer Peter Rosén, who runs Lapland Photo Adventures, is game enough to claim guests who stay three nights or more in Abisko have a 100 percent success rate of spotting the lights.

You’ll ride a mile-long chairlift to reach the observation tower at the top of the Sky Station, for stunning views across the mountaintops at an elevation of about 3,000 feet. While there, why not book a Northern Light Dinner and indulge in Nordic cuisine by the crackling fire.

Where to Stay: STF Abisko Tourist Station

STF Abisko Tourist Station is located inside the national park and a great base to start your northern lights adventure with moderately priced, standard hotel rooms plus daily shuttle transfers to the Aurora Sky Station.

Alternatively, head 62 miles south to Sweden’s northernmost city of Kiruna, where there are more options. A top choice is the four-star Camp Ripan with its Aurora Spa, indoor padel facility, gym and ski-in, ski-out access to many cross-country ski trails on the doorstep.

Headlands International Dark Sky Park, MI

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is one of the few places in the U.S. where regular aurora displays are reported closer to home. The Headlands International Dark Sky Park is a verified aurora hotspot, thanks to its official designation as a Dark Sky Park. This means it is undiluted by light pollution and has an exceptional quality of clear, starry nights.

The 600-acre parcel of forest sits on the undeveloped shoreline of Lake Michigan in Emmet County. It’s an adventurers’ playground with five miles of trails for cross-country skiing, hiking, birdwatching, mountain biking, stargazing, and picnicking. So, even if you don’t spot the aurora borealis, there’s plenty to do while you wait.

Where to Stay: Grand Hotel

Mackinaw City is the closest for accommodations, the most famous being its historic Grand Hotel, dating back to 1887. Room décor shows its age, but the hotel has a beautiful view across Lake Huron from its 660-foot porch (the longest porch in the world), plus it's well-equipped with an outdoor pool, two hot tubs and sauna, four tennis courts, and gym. For something more modern, try the Holiday Inn Express Mackinaw City.

Glacier National Park, MT

Glacier National Park in the northwest corner of Montana is renowned for its pristine lakes, hanging valleys, moraines, spectacular mountains, and wildlife. But crisp night skies also make it ideal for aurora chasing. The park is approximately 49 degrees north in latitude, which makes it closer to the North Pole than Tasmania or New Zealand are to the South Pole.

Choose a spot in the park that has an open view to the north and no light pollution. The shore of Lake McDonald is perfect, as are Bowman and Kintla Lakes. But if you wish to enjoy some live music and a cold one while waiting for the lights to appear, pop into the Northern Lights Saloon and Café in Polebridge.

Where to Stay: Northern Lights Saloon

To optimize viewing conditions and minimize light pollution, you could set up camp in the backcountry. Kintla Lake Campground is the most remote in the park. You can also book a roof over your head in the off-grid log cabins at the Northern Lights Saloon.

Best Places to See the Southern Lights

Tasmania, Australia

It’s not only the icy north that plays host to auroras. The southern lights, or aurora australis, can be spotted in remote realms at the bottom of the earth like Australia and New Zealand. They can be trickier to hunt down simply because the Southern Ocean has fewer inhabited landmasses close to the South Pole when compared to the North.

“The southern lights (aurora australis) are not a mirror image of the northern lights (aurora borealis) but they do occur with similar intensity at the same time, as they're both connected to geomagnetic activity,” explains Tom Kerss. “Of course, they're seen during the boreal summer, when it's winter in the Southern Hemisphere between the months of March and September.”

Aurora chasing in the Southern Hemisphere offers a chance to escape sticky midsummer humidity and maybe add an off-season ski trip while you’re Down Under. Plus, the southernmost Australian state of Tasmania is worth visiting for myriad other reasons. 

Bruny Island off the coast of Tasmania, a 40-minute drive and 20-minute ferry ride south of the city of Hobart, has the darkest skies and most expansive coastal views to catch auroras to the south. Cape Bruny Lighthouse creates a striking foreground for photos.

Where to Stay: The Hide at Sheepwash Bay

The Hide at Sheepwash Bay is quite the memorable wilderness escape, built into a couple of shipping containers on Bruny Island. You’ll fall in love with its sleek timbers, cozy fireplace, sun-drenched deck, and outdoor heated shower. The owner of this unique Airbnb is the renowned “Bruny Island Baker,” who drops off a fresh loaf of stone-baked sourdough into the letter box each morning.

In Hobart, indulge in timeless luxury at The Tasman, an award-winning hotel built inside a heritage stone building with a fabulous restaurant run by Australian Chef Massimo Mele at its base.

South Island, New Zealand

On New Zealand’s South Island, Lake Tekapo and Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park are designated Dark Sky Reserves. You have the added advantage of being at elevation in the mountains, with the Mt. John Observatory in Tekapo 3,376 feet above sea level.

The Summit Experience takes you up Mt. John and deep into the cosmos with expert astronomers. You’ll learn a ton about the stars using professional telescopes and the observatory dome, with transport to and from the base. If you prefer to unwind with the ultimate in stellar relaxation, Tekapo Stargazing is the only guided hot pools and star gazing experience where you may spot the lights from a floating hammock in New Zealand.

Where to Stay: Lakestone Lodge; Peppers Bluewater Resort

Lakestone Lodge is an exclusive six-room luxury lodge at the base of the Southern Alps, reflecting in the shores of Lake Pūkaki. All of the cozy suites have eggshell baths next to enormous windows that look across the grassy windswept landscape where the night sky is so clear you can spot an aurora from the tub. Peppers Bluewater Resort, on the shore of Lake Tekapo, is a similarly beautiful setting, but slightly easier on the wallet, and a quick half-hour drive from Oahu Ski Field.

Best Time to Chase Auroras

During the spring and fall equinoxes in March and September, the earth’s magnetic field draws more solar particles into the atmosphere, maximizing your chances of an ethereal light show. You can keep an eye on solar storm forecasts from the Space Weather Prediction Centre, which can forecast auroras fairly reliably, but only for the immediate coming days.

“The northern lights are visible in the Arctic from as early as the end of August all the way through to April, but the best times to travel are between September and March when the nights are long and dark enough to provide ample opportunities for viewing,” says Tom Kerss.

“Looking at my own logbook, I have particularly good memories of February. There's no scientific reason for this. I just seem to have great luck during that month.”

Best Conditions to See an Aurora

You’ll need to get away from cities and light pollution, ideally somewhere with a bit of elevation that offers an unobscured view to the north. A clear, cloudless night with no light pollution is essential.

For the best seats to a celestial show, consider anywhere with a magnetic latitude above 55 degrees—anywhere in line with or north of the Alaskan Panhandle. The ideal zone, known as the Aurora Zone, casts a ring around Earth’s geomagnetic North Pole between about 65 and 70 degrees north.

Insider Tip on Aurora Viewing

One tip for amateur chasers and photographers is a camera can often pick up the geomagnetic colors better than the human eye. What may look like a white glow to the naked eye in clear skies can appear as a colorful aurora display via lenses as common as an iPhone night mode—as this writer discovered in the most recent geomagnetic storms. When in doubt, point your phone camera to the north and see whether the dancing streams of light appear.