Best Places to Watch the Aurora Borealis This Winter
When the topic of things to do in Norway comes up, one of the most common activities people think of is watching the Aurora Borealis. There are countless Northern Lights tours and cruises offered in Norway which takes visitors to various parts of Norway in order to watch the Earth's most gorgeous dancing lights show.
Although this natural phenomenon occurs all year round, the lengthy presence of sunlight during the summertime makes it fairly impossible to see for half of the year. However, as the winter season approaches, it becomes the perfect time to view the Aurora Borealis.
But if you are going to book a round trip to Norway in order to see the Northern Lights, then you need to make sure that you are getting one of the best experiences possible. In order to do that, you need to visit one of these Norwegian locations, which are the best places to watch the Aurora Borealis this winter.
Aurora Borealis Activities
Photo: Tromsø Safari
Tromsø
One of the best places to see the Aurora Borealis in Norway is Tromsø. The city has a population of about 75,000 people, which makes it one of the most heavily populated places in Northern Norway. Therefore, you can be sure that you will find the type of amenities that you are interested in while also being able to get a great view of the Northern Lights.
The view from Tromsø is so impressive largely due to the fact that the city is located within the Northern Lights oval., which is a part of the region where the Northern Lights are the most likely to be seen. One of the other main benefits of viewing the Aurora Borealis from here is that Tromsø often has mild winter temperatures, with the average being around -4 degrees Celsius.
To travel to Tromsø and experience the Northern Lights, we highly recommend checking out our Aurora safari camp in Tromsø.
Photo: Tromsø Safari
Kirkenes
Through its combination of far Northeastern location and small rural setting, Kirkenes makes one of the best places to watch the Northern Lights from in Norway. The population of the main urban center is under 4,000 people, while there are several rural villages only a short drive away that contain another few thousand people.
Because it is positioned so far north and is only a short distance from the borders of Russia and Finland, Kirkenes is easily accessible through a variety of travel options. This includes Norwegian fjord cruises thanks to the town being located off of the peninsula of Bøkfjorden. This allows thousands of people to travel here every year and get a gorgeous view of this astonishing light show.
Svalbard
Located between the North Pole and mainland Norway, is the island grouping of Svalbard. Since this is the most northern point of Norway, it allows you to get the closest to the source of the Northern Lights, which gives you the best view possible.
In fact, the view here is so good and clear that you are occasionally able to see the Northern Lights in the middle of the day. This is largely due to the fact that the winter season leaves Svalbard in almost complete darkness for several months at a time so there is little-to-no sunlight blocking the view of the impressive dancing lights.
This November, prepare to see the peak season of the Aurora Borealis by visiting one of these three fantastic places in Norway or booking one of the Northern Light cruises. There is a reason why this unforgettable sight is on so many bucket lists, there’s truly nothing else in the world like it.
- You might like this article: Different Ways to Experience The Northern Lights