Have you ever done a Northern Lights vacation?

I have been considering a trip to Iceland for sever years and for several reasons. The ability to view the Northern Lights again in my lifetime is one of the reasons.
I have seen them twice in my life.
The first time was when I was 17 and on a canoeing trip in the Boundary Water between Minnesota and Manitoba.
The second time was in 1989 on a long weekend trip in Northern Maine. I stayed up all night watching.

Almost- we were in the right place at the wrong time: Fairbanks, AK in August. The guide said the best time to see Denali and the Lights was January.

I went to Iceland in October about 5 years ago. The first night they took us about an hour outside of Reykjavik to see the Northern Lights. They were somewhat disappointing to me, just white streaks in the sky. We were told that often people don’t get to see them at all. Personally, I wouldn’t base a whole trip on seeing them but Iceland was pretty cool all around.

@janbb I agree that the whole trip should not be based on just this one thing. My first viewing was also just so-so. The second viewing was simply amazing in twisting streaks of many colors. I watched for hours till they faded.

We went to Iceland in November about 6 years ago. Similar to the Penguin, we went on a bus about an hour outside of Reykjavik to see the Northern Lights. Also disappointing. Very dim white wiggles.

As Penguin mentioned, we weren’t there just for the lights. It was a great trip regardless.

A photography shop keeper in Iceland said she had one customer who had gone to 7 countries to see them and not had one viewing.

I haven’t. But I did get to see the northern lights in Millinocket, Maine (Baxter State Park) when I was a kid. It was quite colorful and it lasted for very long time.

In 1995 – 2012, off and on, I lived in Jasper National park. It is listed as a dark sky preserve. At 1am~ it the sky would radiate in strips of blue and green light, for 30 seconds. It needs to be a clear sky and preferably a dark part of the city.

Nope but living in BC Canada I have seen some fantastic northern light shows over the years.

Nope. If I were to spend money on an exotic vacation, I’d go somewhere tropical, with nice beaches and palms swaying in the wind. Not a cold climate fan in the least.

We used to live in Oregon, and we’d see them from time to time.

I wouldn’t suggest planning a whole trip around viewing the Lights. I live in Alaska and have been lucky enough to watch them through my own windows, not to mention deck, but have also been in some meccas for those who seek viewings and seen zilch. They can also be anything from faint greens to white to marvelous colors pulsing across the sky, so even if you see them, no guarantee you’ll get a grand show. That said, even the lesser viewings are pretty marvelous when you think about it. I count myself blessed to be in a place where sightings are relatively common and where I’ve been able to enjoy it from the warmth of my own home.

I would like to visit Alaska and have a little vacation and see the northern lights for the first time.