Off-season travel tips - Northern Lights
Off-season travel tips - Northern Lights
Hunting the Northern Lights
What, when, where, how - get answers to this magical natural phenomenon.
Many people seek answers to these questions when a season of autumn foliage is coming to an end and the first frost knocks at everyone’s doors. If you are searching for a unique experience this winter keep reading this article to find out answers to these questions and find the best way to hunt the northern lights in Nordics.
Photo by Johan Van Der Wielen
What are the northern lights?
The northern lights, or the aurora borealis, are beautiful dancing waves of light that throw a spectacular show of colors ranging from neon green to light violet in the northern hemisphere and places like Nordics, Canada, and Antarctica.
When great storms occur on the surface of the sun, charged solar particles spread across space. When those electrically charged molecules pass our planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere, this chemical collision is causing those small atoms to lighten up, which leads to the creation of dancing waves we call northern lights.
The altitude affects the colors of the northern lights. The higher from the ground the light occurs, the more reddish the northern lights appear and the lower from the ground the light occurs, the more violet and bluer the northern lights appear.
Photo by David Aguilar
Where and when to see the northern lights?
The aurora borealis is always present in the atmosphere and you can spot the lights the earliest in September and the latest in April in the northernmost parts of Europe located near the Arctic Circle. The best time to see them is when the sky is dark and without or with light pollution in the atmosphere in late autumn and wintertime.
To spot this magical natural phenomenon, you should get away far from bright city lights and head out to the countryside, preferably on a hilltop or on a lakeshore. Take into consideration that you might need to stay outdoors for a while, so dress up warm and take a thermos with a hot beverage to keep you warm.
To help you succeed in the hunt for the northern lights, check the aurora forecast. Once darkness falls and if you are lucky, you have a chance to enjoy a spectacle of light curtains that can last anywhere between 15 minutes to a couple of hours.
Photo by Johan Van Der Wielen
How to see the northern lights?
Allow yourself to immerse in the dazzle of the magic show and the fairytale-looking winter wonderland when haunting the northern lights in the Nordics. To help you make the most out of your trip consider renting a four-wheel companion – a premium campervan with the help of which you can drive anywhere to follow the unique dancing waves.
You heard us right!
You can rent a campervan and drive on snow-covered roads with us in wintertime. To help you understand the concept of winter travel in a motorhome, you can read our tips and suggestions:
Tips for an offseason road trip
To help you create a full winter wonderland adventure, consider combining the adventure of haunting the northern lights and skiing or husky riding in Finland and Sweden, or haunting the northern lights and whale watching in Norway, the UK, and Iceland.
Photo by Kourtney Gunders
Are you inspired by the idea of hunting the northern lights in a premium campervan in Nordics?
Then gather your loved ones and start planning an adventure of a lifetime in a homelike comfortable campervan that is customized for your needs.
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