Lofoten Travel Forum

Hi :) We stayed in Fredvang the last time we were in Lofoten. Then, we wanted to see the midnight sun.... and did we indeed! It was unbelieavable. Now, we' are looking for the Northern Lights. Thought of going in mid March. What are our chances of seeing it and for how long do you think we should stay to MAKE SURE we get to see it? if Lofoten is not the best place to view it, what is? We're from Malaysia - so ... don't want to travel all the way and miss the opportunity.

Abisko National Park (see pages) in Sweden is one of the better. It is not far from Lofoten (straight train from Narvik in little more than an hour) but since the Norwegian mountains take a lot of the cloudiness, the clouds then dissolve over Abisko, making the night sky clear a lot more often. But yes, you still have to stay some days to make sure of a good night.

As for March, I'm not sure. Daylight comes quicker up north now than it does here in Malmö. Here we gain ten minutes light on half a week, and up in Arctic Sweden it is almost ten minutes difference a DAY!

By the way, you can check the webcams and get info here:

www.abisko.nu

Also: there are a number of websights that offer "forecasts" of Aurora activity, based on sunspot and electromagnetic analysis. As the time comes closer to your trip, you can check to see if the Lights have been "out" in the areas you intend to visit. The University of Alaska has a good site:
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/aurora_predict/worldmap6.html
Good luck Aurora hunting!

Sjalen, yooperprof, thanks for the tips. What were your experiences with the Northern Lights? Worth the wait?

Definately!!! And I've only seen the small green "trails" rather than the multi-colour explosions. It's like a different world making you feel so humble :)

Yooper what a great link thanks!

I'm fortunate to live in a place where we can usually see the aurora several times a year. IT IS AMAZING! Nothing can prepare you for the way in which the colors come alive and dance across the sky. Soo many different colors too: reds, purples, greens and blues. Auroras are among the most astonishing things I've ever seen. With some friends, I'm part of a group who've agreed to call one another when the lights are "out" - even if it's in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, it's often cloudy here, and the light show is frequently obscured. That's why I'd also be concerned about going to Lofoten hoping to see the aurora. I've heard that you have a much better chance of seeing the northern lights in Finland.

Yes, that's why I recommended Abisko which is known for its "blue holes" in the clouds because of the vast Lake Torne and the way the mountains act like a wall towards Norway.

Abisko here we come !!! We'll shorten the Lofoten stay and spend more time in Abisko. Watch out for my update in April 2005 ;)

Just check the daylight hours...right now, sunset is at 13.30 but like I said, it changes rapidly. :)

i was so lucky to se the northern lights yesterday in oslo with all it lights it was beatiful and not often down here

http://www.northern-lights.no/

http://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/spaceweather/

pictures taken yesterday by people around norway
http://www.vg.no/bilderigg/?rigg_id=2635
neste =next picture

Thank you Sorhus. The pictures of the NL are so amazing! Lights seem to be more colourful in Tromso. Is it so? Thanks for the links.... but I think I need some time to decipher the space weather. Thanks again.

I'd imagine it is also because there is less light pollution from streets etc. in northern Norway than in the capital...

yes its defently stronger if u get out of the capital and even more stronger futher north...on friday it was very strong to be this far south and if we had taken the tram 15 min out to the woods above oslo we would had a better wiew...the reason we could see it down here was because of the explosion around the sun or something like that :-).. if u have a look at the space map or what it was called i think u can se how strong the NL is just befor u arrive...

Hi Everybody! We're back from our trip to Sweden/Norway and we saw the Lights! It wasn't the "dancing" colourful one but a thick line of green that became thinner and thinner and eventually disappeared... must admit I was abit disappointed - I guess my expectations were too high but I'm thankful for the it. It wasn't a surreal kind of experience but it left us gaping nonetheless.

Where did we see it? On the Hurtigruten coastal steamer in Norway. We took the trip from Harstad to Trondheim. We were in Kiruna for 3 days before that and spent a night at Jukkarsjarvi (in the Aurora House of the Ice Hotel) but the weather was alittle cloudy so we sort of gave up and consoled ourselves and said perhaps it was not meant to be ....

Our time spent at the Ice Hotel was a blast! It was simply amazing!

Well, thanks so much for all the tips and other very, useful info you gave. We had a grand time in both Norway AND Sweden.

was it on tuesday u saw the green light? we saw it down here in oslo and it was really bright we couldnt beleve our eyes since it not often to see it down here :-)

Yes, the Ice Hotel is fantastic isn't it! :)

Hi Sorhus! Not Tuesday. It was a Thursday somewhere around Stamsund (don't know exactly where we were when on the ship!). You are really lucky to see it in Oslo and at this time of the year too!..

Sjalen - I agree.... Ice Hotel is amazing! I fell in love with Jukkasjarvi too!

we saw it tuesday early in the morning like oo.30 or something so glad we desided to take the dogs for a walk in the park that late :-))))))))