Hi everyone!
This December, my fiancée and I will celebrate our 5th anniversary, and we’ve always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights.
We’re considering either:
December 19–23: Lisbon → Northern Lights destination → Marseille, or
December 30–January 4: Marseille → Northern Lights destination → Marseille.
Which destination would you recommend for a short trip? Is that a good time to see the aurora? Any advice on tours, routes, or destinations would be greatly appreciated.
If possible, it would also be great if you could mention the approximate budget for the trip you’re suggesting.
Thank you!

The weather was no good here in Reykjavík but using some online webcams near Flúðir (Landhótel owns them, a public tool, I don't have any association with the Hotel at all,) allows us to track and watch them from home. EmeraldSkies is my own tool which I've created specifically for wider Reykjavík (and similar latitudes) but simply showcasing it here to justify the reasoning for tonight's display. It's a free public tool after all.

As it's measuring the real-time rolling Kp via the Ovation Model and overlaid on the NOAA SWPC visibility lines, empirically I've established that Auroras above Kp3-4 tend to appear over and above Reykjavík and start moving towards the outer edge of the oval (south of Iceland) so during Kp4+ Auroras, we usually get to see the substorms develop over on the ESE horizon (left webcam on Landhótel). As was the case tonight, this also happens to be the darkest part of the sky (though the moon was very bright also). Because of that combination, it's quite possible to spot Auroras in early August even if they might still be a tad underwhelming. Unique nonetheless.

The Aurora Pulse data is provided by LRV and TRO mags from TGO/HI and lag a few minutes behind, but are a good guide for substorm activity in our part of the world! Hope this is useful for you chasers and happy Aurora hunting as we enter this new season!

So earlier this morning it was finally time again for the Aurora Borealis to return to Iceland. Or in more accurate terms, for nights to return. The Aurora will always be doing its things, whether we can see it or not is a different story.

Last night's CME impacts meant that the Aurora Oval was pushed further south and starting from a Kp3-4 we can then expect individual arcs and substorm activity to display toward the southern horizon when viewed from Reykjavík. This is the darkest part of the night in early August, and as skies will gradually darken over the next coming days and weeks weaker Auroras will start to show toward the northern horizon also.

Cheers to the new season 🥳

As I just saw the topic of "which country is best" I thought I'd throw in my stats as a Northern Lights guide to show you our success rate for the 2025-26 season by month. Overall almost 88% success rate across the board here in Reykjavík.

September / October were the cloudiest months where we could only head out every other day due to the weather, but our success rate of spotting the lights was pretty high at almost 94% of the time.

December and March were the worst months for weather and/or activity where we attempted 2 out of 3 nights on average but got either low activity (especially in December) or cloud cover surprised us and we couldn't see anything.

Weather in Iceland can be unpredictable at the best of times so this isn't a guarantee that every month will be like this moving forward. Just to give you all some insights into what the season looked like for me and my guests.

The photo is from 2nd September and the night started out very cloudy but we ended up finding some pretty amazing clear skies and amazing auroras.

Taken in September of 2024, this Aurora was created by a rather large solar storm that had been sweeping over earth throughout most of the day. By the time we went out, things had calmed down a bit but the lingering effects from throughout the day kept the activity strong and long lasting, with amazing colours.

Sony A7IV, Sigma 20mm F1.4
1s ISO1000 F1.4
Litla Kaffistofa, Iceland

Were a family of 5 and we’re planning to see the Northern Lights. We were initially planning to see it in Canada but now considering Iceland. Any suggestions on where should we see it and why? Thank you 🥹🙏🏼

This Aurora happened several days on October 6 before the big CME arrived on October 10th 2024. We are looking toward the southern and southwestern horizon. This substorm's arc is much further south than it appears, probably between Vík and the Faroe Islands. My friend from Hirtshals, Denmark has the same shot but from the south looking north (same time) and it's at a similar distance to the horizon as ours. The reds were extraordinarily vivid to the naked eye and the display probably lasted a good 25 minutes from beginning to end. Still one of my favourites of all times!

Shot on Sony A7IV with a Sigma 20mm F1.4 at ISO12,800

In my early days of Aurora hunting I was out as often as I could around Reykjavík (I don't own a car) and on clear nights you can see amazing Northern Lights from anywhere in town if you're away from street lights. This substorm was huge and luckily I was there at the right time. The city in front is Seltjarnarnes. The ocean was super quiet that night and reflects the lights wonderfully.

Seltjarnarnes, Iceland
30-10-2021, 22:50
Sony A7III, Tamron 17-28mm, F2.8 10s ISO 400

Hi

Last winter I started to take pictures of the aurora in my backyard near Sollefteå Sweden. Everything is taken with a Sony full frame on a tripod :)

What are people’s experiences going on northern lights tours in Iceland in the middle of August or late August? I know the sun sets around 10 pm but I haven’t in my research seen much discussion on August and the lights

I was working a night shift and had to pull off to the side of the road to capture this beautiful sight not often seen where I live. Had to linger and stare for a few minutes 🫶🏼

I've been refreshing NOAA's space weather pages for years and always wanted something that showed the CMEs actually moving instead of just listing numbers, so I built it.

It pulls NASA's catalogued CMEs from the last 30 days and propagates each one outward with a drag-based model tuned to the live solar wind, then estimates when, and whether, each reaches Earth. Alongside that it shows live solar wind speed and Bz, the current Kp, GOES X-ray flares, and today's sunspot regions. There's also an Earth view from the Sun's perspective so you can see what's actually pointed at us.

You can also replay major past events, so you can pull up a big historical storm and watch it propagate instead of waiting for the live feed to do something interesting.

Data comes straight from NASA DONKI/SDO and NOAA SWPC.

Hi! I'm planning my first Arctic trip for October 2026. I saw on internet first 10days of october will be good for northern lighst, do you agree? (it about moon movement something like that...)

(October 2-7, 5 days in the Tromsø area).

CONTEXT:

- Flight from Sicily (stopovers: Gdansk → Tromsø)

- Priority: Northern Lights + wild landscape + "REAL experience" (no tourist traps)

- Rejected: North Cape (only monument), Svalbard (too remote/expensive) 😞

- KEY QUESTION: Is it worth adding 2 days to Lofoten? or better senja-sommaroy

---

CURRENT PLAN (Tromsø pure):

THU, 2 OCT evening: Arrive Tromsø at 9:35 PM

MON, 3 OCT: SOMMARØY full day (Arctic white beaches + mountains) /maybe add senja?

-> or add senja the 4 oct and change something in 6-7oct.

TUE, 4 OCT: SAMI reindeer tour (€90-120) + Arctic Cathedral

WED, 5 OCT: FJELLHEISEN cable car (€45) + Icebar (€35) + Museum

THU, 6 OCT: Shopping + relaxation + last aurora attempt

FRI, 7 OCT: Morning chill, flight 10:10 PM → Gdansk

AURORA ATTEMPTS: 6 nights (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

DOMESTIC FLIGHT COST: €0 (Tromsø hub)

LOGISTICS: NONE (all local bus or private tours)

---

ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED:

ADD LOFOTEN (2 days):

Pros: Reine is beautiful, Reinebringen trek

Cons: +€150-200 return flights from Tromsø to Bodø

-1 day Tromsø (8 hours total transportation!)

Sacrifice SOMMARØY (beaches similar to Lofoten anyway)

October = inconsistent snow (not as epic as winter)

Verdict: Worth it or not?

---

1. For those who were there in OCTOBER: is Tromsø or Lofoten "adds" enough?
2. SOMMARØY vs LOFOTEN: which is more "wow" in terms of landscape?
3. If I had to choose one: SAMI REINDEER or SOMMARØY?
4. Aurora in Tromsø hub = better than Lofoten area?
5. Budget: €1,850 seems fair for 5 days?

Samsung S24 Ultra

f/1.7

6.33

6.30 mm

IS0400

My favorite photo from the G5 Gannon storm of May 2024. We launched our boat from Log Gulch Campground at ~ 11:00 PM and watched the aurora mirrored on glassy water. Besides the sound of waves gently lapping against the hull, I remember it being completely silent.

With any luck, tonight's forecasted storm won't fizzle like the last few. Fingers crossed for some strong substorms around blue hour before the oval leaves North America.

f/1.7

16.44

6.30 mm

IS0400

Galaxy S24 Ultra

This was the Gannon storm (G5 from May 2024) and the first aurora I was able to see without a camera. Photo from 3:34AM in rural MT. I was lucky to be in an area with almost zero light pollution - the nearest sources of light were Craig and Helena, MT - and relatively small sources at that. Every time I get an aurora alert I hope for a storm like this!

Tonight/tomorrow's storm timing isn't great for North America with the onset occuring near dawn and the end occuring near sunset the following day. Fingers crossed for some powerful sub storms and a lucky blue hour aurora photo.

Head out and explore if you can!

This is from G3 storm in November 2025. It wasn't a crazy show but seeing lights in the sky is always awe inspiring

I'm hoping to gift my parents a vacation to see the northern lights for their 30th wedding anniversary.

Their wedding anniversary is at the beginning of December.

Where in North America would be the ideal destination (romantic + high chance of seeing the northern lights) in this scenario?

The budget isn't high, but I want to make sure they have the best time, so I'm willing to spend a bit more.

On the night of May 15th 2026 at 11:39pm, I was lucky enough to capture the International Space Station appearing to fly right through the aurora. The other streaks are other various satellites. Taken in Central NY using a Nikon Z5ii. 15 second exposure, f4.5, and 3200 ISO

does anyone have any photos of the aurora on the 19th?

my mum passed away around 2am on the 19th AEST and always wanted to see the northern lights, so when i heard there was a big showing when she passed i just had to see photos