Northern lights in Saariselkä

7 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

The regional tourist office, Lapland North Destinations, puts the aurora season at September to April and says the area lies under the aurora oval. It also points to the long dark evenings and the low light pollution. The Finnish Meteorological Institute adds two things that matter for planning. Statistically, late winter, early spring and early autumn are the best periods, with March recommended because the sky is often clearer. And within one night, the best viewing time is the few hours either side of midnight.

Clouds remain the deciding factor. The aurora forms high above the weather, so a closed sky hides even a strong display. For that reason most evening tours here have no fixed viewing spot. The guide reads the forecast and drives towards the clearest patch of sky.

Dark enough, and for how long

In Saariselkä the sun does not rise at all from 6 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. Even on 21 December there are about five hours of twilight, from 09:36 to 14:41, and the rest is dark. By 1 February the sun sets at 15:15, and on 1 March at 17:14, so evening tours still have many dark hours ahead of them. On 1 April twilight lasts until 21:12, which leaves a shorter window before midnight. From mid-May the nights stay too light, and the institute calls summer too bright for auroras.

Cold is the other planning point. Weather records for the village give a January average of roughly −12 °C over 1991 to 2020, and the tourist office warns that it can drop below −30 °C. On most aurora tours you spend long stretches standing still, so check what each tour lends you. Our page on what to wear in Saariselkä lists the layers.

Photo tours by van and minibus

Arctic Timetravels runs the best-known evening tour from the village. A minivan collects you within 15 km of the Saariselkä centre, and the guide drives as far as needed to reach a clear sky during the three hours. Photos taken with a professional camera are part of the tour, and there are warm drinks and snacks. Warm clothing is available on request, so ask for it when you book. Children from 1 year can come.

Arctic Tours offers a similar evening in a Mercedes minibus. Its pickup reaches about 20 km from Saariselkä, including Kiilopää, both villages at Kakslauttanen and Laanila, with Kiilopää guests collected first. The group aurora photos are shared publicly, the tour needs at least three booked guests, and there are no hot drinks and no winter clothing on this one. If the forecast shows cloud across the whole region, the operator recommends moving to another night.

For a group of up to four, Lapland Private Tours sends a minibus just for you. The hunt lasts about five hours and finishes around 01:00 at the latest, with hot drinks, snacks and photos shared by link. It picks up in Saariselkä, Ivalo or Inari. Winter clothing is not provided, and because the minibus carries no child seats, passengers must be at least 135 cm tall.

The tour with a refund rule

Safartica sells one evening built around a promise. A nine-seat people carrier takes up to seven guests and drives through the night for about eight hours. According to the tour page, you receive a full refund if the northern lights are not captured on camera during the tour. The page does not say how a capture is judged. The operator confirms the tour and the exact start time by 16:00 on the same day, based on the latest weather and aurora forecasts. Winter clothing, hot drinks from a thermos with biscuits and photos are included, with the pictures sent by web link within 24 to 48 hours. Children under 12 cannot join, and the page asks you to bring your passport. It does not name a pickup area or a route, so check both before you pay.

On a snowmobile, a sled or on foot

Lapland Welcome takes you out on a snowmobile you drive yourself, with a stop for snacks and hot beverages by an open fire. The four-hour tour collects guests from listed hotels, with Ivalo as an add-on. Drivers need a valid licence, passengers must be at least 140 cm tall, and solo driving costs extra. Normal weather changes do not cancel the evening, only extreme conditions do. Safartica also runs a shorter evening snowmobile tour with grilled sausages at a fire; the aurora is a chance on the way rather than the plan. More rides are on our page about snowmobile tours.

For a quieter evening, Lapponia Tours meets guests at its safari house at Honkapolku 1 in Saariselkä, and a short transfer takes you to the reindeer. You ride as a passenger in the sled, then warm up with a hot drink and local snacks at a campfire. The whole outing takes 2.5 hours, children must be 7 or older, and torches are not allowed during the tour. There is no transfer from Kiilopää, Kakslauttanen, Muotka, Inari or Ivalo, so guests staying there need their own way in. Our page on reindeer and Sámi culture covers daytime rides.

Ivalo Safaris goes further, by minibus to Ivalo and then in a sleigh behind a snowmobile across Lake Inari to an island, where dinner of local fish or reindeer is served in a lavvu. Pickup is in central Saariselkä, and the evening lasts five hours. Recent guests warn about the cold on the open lake and in the sleigh.

Safartica’s snowshoe trip is the only aurora outing on foot: 2.5 hours, hot chocolate, snowshoes and warm clothes lent, guests from 12 and at least two paying adults per departure. A guest describes it as quite physical. Muotkan Ruoktu pulls a wooden sleigh behind a snowmobile for two hours, with coffee and tea, but you have to reach Muotka on your own and bring warm ski clothing. The husky ride with an aurora hunt is on our husky sledding page.

Starting from Ivalo

Ivalo, the main service village of the region, lies roughly 30 km north of Saariselkä by road and 7 km from the airport. Some aurora tours are built around it. Arctic Guides meets at the K-Market car park and picks up within 10 km of the Ivalo centre, which does not include Saariselkä. The guide drives to viewing spots for four hours, with warm drinks, a light snack and a short photography lesson.

Xwander begins with a workshop at its basecamp in Ivalo and then sets out by minibus, with overalls, boots and infrared headlamps provided. Transfers from Saariselkä, Kiilopää, Kakslauttanen, Inari and Nellim are available at extra cost. The operator calls guests at 15:00 with a weather update and offers a full refund, a new date or another programme if conditions are not good enough for auroras.

Autumn nights

From September the nights are dark enough again. Northwild runs an autumn photo tour for up to eight guests, with a van, a short walk through the forest, a warm drink and a homemade snack, and photos shared afterwards. Pickup covers Saariselkä, Ivalo, Kakslauttanen and Kiilopää, and children must be at least 10. The page lists winter gear as included but also says thermal gear is not provided, so pack your own. For camera settings and timing, read our guide to photographing the northern lights.