Nightly Aurora Photo Tours

Join one of Lights Over Lapland’s professional photographers for an opportunity to see and photograph the aurora borealis in one of our lovely locations in Abisko National Park. Due to a tendency for clear skies, Abisko is one of the greatest places in the world to see the northern lights. We will provide you with a DSLR camera & lens that is preset to capture the northern lights and quickly go over the basic skills that you will need to find and photograph the magical aurora borealis.

Even if you have never used a camera before you have an extremely high chance of going home with beautiful aurora photographs and memories of this natural phenomenon that will last a lifetime!

This evening under the stars offers you a fantastic opportunity to learn about the culture & natural history of Lapland and gives you a chance to experience beauty that can only be found in Abisko National Park.

During our time together we will discuss the way that locals interact with nature and explore the cultural interpretations of the northern lights that the local inhabitants of the region have believed during the last several centuries. Small groups guarantee a very personal and genuine experience and ensure a safe and comfortable trip into the Arctic environment.

When: October - March
Where: Abisko National Park, Sweden
Meeting place:
Abisko Mountain Lodge (1 Oct-18 Nov)
STF Abisko Turiststation (19 Nov-31 Mar)
Time: 7:45 PM – 11:30 PM

Good to know:

• Our Nightly Aurora Photo Tours are strictly limited to 10
  participants per guide – maximizing your ability to spend as much one on
  one time with your guide as possible. We are confident that you will go
  home with lots of great pictures and memories of the Arctic that will
  last a lifetime!
  
  
• If you are a keen photographer who is interested in learning as much about photographing the auroras as possible please inform your guide at the start of the tour so that they can custom tailor your lesson around your specific desires. This will ensure that you go home with lots of new skills that you can use in the future!


• It is important that you bring warm clothes to wear under the overalls we provide you and warm insulated winter boots. Heavy duty arctic boots are available to rent during our tours.


• We ask that you provide your own SD memory cards to be used in our
  cameras. We recommend a minimum of two to four gigabytes of storage
  space. Memory cards are also available for purchase if needed (16 GB:
  200 SEK).


• Minimum age: 10 years old (children under 15 years old will need to share a camera with their parent).


• Lights Over Lapland’s tours are designed in a way that will
  accommodate as many different levels of physical fitness as possible. We
  usually walk less than one kilometer per direction to and from our many
  locations in Abisko National Park. It is common to walk in snow and in cold conditions during our tours. If you have any physical limitations please inform us when you make a booking so we can discuss your needs ahead of time.


• Is this trip fully booked on the night you want to visit us? Our
  Wilderness Aurora Photo Adventure (Dec-Mar) is often available when the Nightly
  Aurora Photo Tour is not. Take a look here

What's included?

Camera, tripod, backpack, warm overalls, head lamp, warm drink, guiding
services and approximately 3 hours of searching for and photographing
the aurora in Abisko National Park.

STARTING POINT
October 1st – November 18th: Abisko Mountain Lodge
November 19th – March 31st: STF Abisko Turiststation

PICK UP INFORMATION

Round trip transfer from all hotels in Abisko is now included for no additional charge! This represents a value of 195 SEK/person.

If you are staying in Björkliden, you can add a round trip transfer to your booking for an extra charge of 100 SEK/person. The standard cost for this transfer service is 295 SEK/person!

Pick up times
All hotels in Abisko: 7:30-7:50 PM (please be in the lobby of your hotel by 7:30 PM)
All hotels in Björkliden: 7:15 PM

If you are staying at the hotel where the tour starts from, please meet your guide in the lobby at 7:45 PM.

Itinerary:

• 8:00 PM. You will meet your guide where you will be
  given a high quality camera and we will spend a few minutes explaining
  how to use it. All of the camera’s settings will be taken care of in
  advance so that all you have to do is enjoy watching and photographing
  the aurora borealis. You will also be given a pair of warm overalls to
  help keep you safe and comfortable during your night in Abisko National
  Park.


• 8:30 – 11:00 PM. The adventure begins! Your guide
  will use their many years of experience to lead you into Abisko National
  Park where you will search for and photograph the magical aurora
  borealis. During this time we will discuss the history of Abisko
  National Park and give you a local’s insight into Lapland’s folklore.
  You will learn how the aurora fits into the local culture and your guide
  will share information that will help you understand the solar system
  and the countless stars and constellations above Abisko National Park.
  We will explain the science behind the aurora in layman’s terms so you
  can understand exactly what you are seeing when you watch the aurora
  borealis dance overhead. During your adventure we will also discuss the
  impact that strong solar storms and the auroras that they create may
  have on modern society in the years to come.


• 11:00 – 11:30 PM. Once you return to the hotel you will collect your memory card full of photographs of the evening’s adventure.

LOCATIONS:

Lights Over Lapland’s Nightly Aurora Photo Tours are led by one of our professional photography guides. We will use our combined total of 30 aurora seasons of experience in Abisko to make educated decisions about the best possible location for the evenings activity. This approach has provided us with an incredibly high success rate and we are proud of the fact that Lights Over Lapland has shown more guests the beauty of the aurora borealis than any other outfitter on Earth.

If you join us for more than one night we will do everything we can to go to two different locations but we cannot make any promises as the guide will make the final decision the day of your tour based on aurora and weather conditions. If you want to be sure to visit several different locations we recommend that you book one of our Holiday Packages instead.

Autumn (Oct-Nov)
During the Autumn, we limit our group size to a maximum of eight people which means we can hop in a van and access several locations in and around Abisko National Park. Examples of locations for the autumn is Abisko’s world famous Sami camp, the peaceful Abisko River Delta, the boathouse, Tornehamn and the shoreline of Lake Tornesträsk.

Winter (Dec-Mar)
Depending upon the current weather and aurora forecasts we will visit one of our teepees or an earthen Sami hut near the STF Abisko Turiststation. On rare occasions we may visit the boathouse or go out on the frozen surface of Lake Torneträsk