Norway & the Northern Lights

[Dalmore]

To celebrate my DW's 60th birthday, we are planning a trip to Norway next March. We want to knock two items off our bucket lists - see the Northern Lights and take a dog sled ride.

We are planning to fly to Oslo (2 days), then take a 15hr train ride to Boda (2 days), then a bus ride to Narvik (2 days), then fly to Bergen (2 days), and train to Oslo and fly home.

For those who have been to Norway, do you think we need to go all the way up to Tromso to see the Northern Lights or is Narvik high enough? Are there any must see sights that we should take in while we are there? The train ride from Bergen to Oslo is supposed to be amazing, and we will see lots of country side on the ride to Boda.

 

[braumeister]

We did something similar just this last March. Flew to Oslo, then took the train to Bergen (very nice train ride). Then we took a Hurtigruten coastal ship all the way up north to Kirkenes, with lots of stops along the way.

Conditions are very variable, of course, and depend on the weather. But my best aurora photos were between Tromsø and Honningsvåg. So north of Narvik. But you may be luckier. We flew from Kirkenes back to Oslo.

My only suggestion would be to try to time your trip during the new moon. Much better for the aurora.

We absolutely loved everything about Norway.

 

[Bamaman]

I've too been to Norway, and found Bergen to have the most beautiful, tall and sweetest young folks in the world.

And I'd like to see the Northern Lights. But you won't catch me going that far north in March.

They have a very short tourist season from June until the first of September. Spring and Fall often brings rains all across the Far North.

 

[Nemo2]

When in Bergen hike up to the overlook...super views.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

You’re at the mercy of the Sun and we’re near solar minimum, unfortunately. I say go for it, though, and you’re probably going to one of the best places on Earth that stands a reasonable chance of auroral activity at any time in the 11-year solar cycle. I second the recommendation for new moon, or third quarter. Moonlight will seriously interfere, as will artificial lights from any nearby cities, of course.

Google “aurora forecast” or similar. There are several sites available.

Good luck!

 

[OldShooter]

I would check out Hurtigruten for transport and the Lofoten Islands for destination. Take plenty of money.

 

[Christine]

And I'd like to see the Northern Lights. But you won't catch me going that far north in March.

They have a very short tourist season from June until the first of September. Spring and Fall often brings rains all across the Far North.

Tourist season in winter is definately on in Northern Norway. People buy Northern Light packages. Or rent motorhomes. Or smaller cars.


You can catch the Northern Light south of Narvik too - but the further south you get the smaller are your chances.


If you are very lucky you can catch it as far south as Bergen - but then perhaps only one or two nights a year - if any.


As a typicl Norwegian I've never been on a trip to see the Northern Lights. But have cought occasional glimpses.

 

[folivier]

Not Norway but we hope to see the lights while we're in Alaska. We did get a glimpse in Ninilchik one night. Going just north of the Arctic Circle for a couple nights next week and may have a better chance, but with a full moon not sure. This website gives a 3 day forecast: Aurora Forecast - See Northern Lights Today

 

[CaptTom]

Northern lights are on my bucket list, too. Might wait 5 years or whatever until the next solar max thought.

Keep the suggestions coming - I'll be watching this thread!

 

[braumeister]

I thought of another bit of advice. Bring a good camera. Believe it or not, you'll get much better views of the Northern Lights by taking photos than you can with the naked eye.

You want the widest aperture you can get, and the best photos will be manually timed (like several seconds) so a tripod is important.

Our eyes, especially as we get older, don't register the colors of the aurora (mainly green, most of the time) as well as the camera will. So what looks like a pale gray streak to the naked eye can turn out in vivid color when you look at the photo.

 

[Dalmore]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I am taking notes.

 

[Senator]

You can also go to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada if you wanted to be more local.

 

[braumeister]

One of the nice features of the Hurtigruten coastal ships is that you can relax in the evening and the crew in the bridge will make an announcement when the Northern Lights make an appearance. Then you just go out on deck to enjoy it. You can also turn off those announcements if you just want to sleep. Food on Hurtigruten was outstanding as well, especially for shipboard meals. We have nothing but good to say about our whole two weeks in Norway, and want to go back.

 

[marko]

One of the nice features of the Hurtigruten coastal ships is that you can relax in the evening and the crew in the bridge will make an announcement when the Northern Lights make an appearance. Then you just go out on deck to enjoy it. You can also turn off those announcements if you just want to sleep. Food on Hurtigruten was outstanding as well, especially for shipboard meals. We have nothing but good to say about our whole two weeks in Norway, and want to go back.

After I RE'd I actually consulted for Hurtigruten and lived in Tromso for a while. Good company and really nice people. Not your typical cruise ship mentality; a lot more laid back and relaxed.

 

[folivier]

And get a good, fast, wide angle lens, as wide as you can afford or rent.

 

[braumeister]

And get a good, fast, wide angle lens, as wide as you can afford or rent.

Yes, that should go without saying. I used a 20mm f/1.8, which was the best I was willing to pay for.
It seemed perfect.

 

[OldShooter]

You can also go to Churchill, Manitoba, Canada if you wanted to be more local.

I worked in Churchill during summers undergraduate and graduate school. The nature of the work sometimes kept us up through the night. Typically, we watched the aurora borealis by looking to the south and west.

My son is a photographer in northern Minnesota. He has many spectacular aurora shots and fairly frequent opportunities to get them.

The point being that you don't have to go to the North Pole to see the aurora.

Re cameras, if you really want good photos a tripod is a must as is practice shooting the night sky prior to the trip. There is a sweet spot of exposure, aperture, and ISO where you get good aurora but don't keep the shutter open long enough to get streaky stars. Good tripods, like Gitzo, cost a lot of money but as a % of the trip cost the money is trivial.

 

[folivier]

I'm using a 24/f2.8 and wish I had wider and faster. And NO clouds! Spent an hour outside last night and hope I got some lights through the clouds.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I've been to Narvik - in the summer so no aurora. It's a lovely town. I used to live in southern Sweden almost forty years ago and saw the NL routinely.

I'm going to suggest you try to contact a lady named Patricia Cowern. She used to run a gallery in the old train station in the tiny town of Porjus Sweden, several hours drive from Narvik. It's a beautiful drive through tundra and taiga. She moved there specifically to photograph the aurorae. The gallery was called Arctic Color Gallery (was arctic-color.com but now dead).

I have met her and have a book she published. She could probably give you many pointers both on good viewing spots and photography. Unfortunately I no longer have good contact information. She is British so a native English speaker. I last met her in 2005 and she was probably early 50s so is likely retired now. Her husband's name is Lars Israelsson so she may go by that as well. Found out she was born in 1955 so likely still around even though her gallery may be closed.

I also suggest you read the book "The Northern Lights" by Lucy Jago which is about one of the first scientists to study them (Norwegian of course).

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

DW wants to see the Aurora. Ft. McMurray, AB is my choice. Lots of sunny days (& clear nights). I know the town and it is very accessible from where we live. It is only as far north as Copenhagen (not even Bergen), but a lot less expensive all around.

 

[folivier]

Alaska aurora

2 days ago we moved from Fairbanks to Dawson City, Yukon in the motorhome.
Spent one night at a pull-out in a remote area north of Tok. It was a clear night and darker than we've seen so far so at 1am I went outside. Thought I could vaguely see something on the horizon so took a few pictures. Not a great shot but after adjusting the exposure here it is. Apparently a camera can pick up the lights much better than your eyes can.
Hopefully we'll get a better view the next few days as we drive towards home.

 

[Sisu]

Mid-September 2018, we were just west of Narvik and got to see the northern lights one night. We were visiting relatives and staying at the Tranoy Fyr (lighthouse) for a few of the days. It looked north over the fjord, and was away from any city lights, except for the lighthouse of course.
On our trip, we flew into Trondheim and took the train north to Bodo. Then we took the Hurtigruten to Svolvaer, where we rented a car and toured the Lofoten Islands. This area has a rugged beauty to it, and well worth seeing if you have time. I would think you would have a very good chance to see the Lights in this area too. We returned to Trondheim from Svolvaer on the Hurtigruten, and took the train to Oslo, and then flew back to the U.S. Norway is a great place to visit.

 

[DrRoy]

I highly recommend the Lofoten Islands and the fjord boat tour from Bergen.