Bradt Travel Guides. Edition 2023.
About this guide to the Northern Lights
Written by Arctic expert Polly Evans, this updated Bradt Northern Lights Guidebook provides practical guidance to the best places to view the natural phenomenon also known as the aurora borealis.
This guide is for the many people who dream of witnessing this spectacle. It remains the only guidebook to provide detailed treatment of optimum locations across North America (Canada, Alaska), Greenland and Europe (Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland) while also covering practicalities
The Northern Lights – arguably the greatest light show you’ll ever see – are a major, increasingly popular tourist draw of the Arctic and sub-Arctic winter. The experience is also increasingly popular: in the decade to 2016, winter tourism to northern Norway increased by 378%.
What’s in the guide
This edition includes greater detail on a wider range of accommodation options, from budget hotels to Sweden’s spectacular ICEHOTEL, built each year from river water before melting in spring.
As well as advice on the best places to see auroras, this updated Bradt Northern Lights Guidebook offers a succinct, easy-to-understand explanation of the science behind the Northern Lights. It provides information on tour operators offering northern lights packages and up-to-date guidance on photographing the aurora in the light of technological improvements. There are practical tips including what to wear, how to drive in winter conditions and how to understand Northern Lights forecasting.
The guide also features:
Suggestions for complementary daytime activities such as dog sledging, skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and wildlife safaris
An examination of the reactions of the early explorers to their first sightings of this phenomenon
Insights into the myths and legends of the northern indigenous peoples
Advice on how and where to get married in ice chapels!
Whether the Northern Lights are still on your bucket list or you are an experienced aurora aficionado, this updated Bradt Northern Lights Guidebook remains the essential companion to planning and getting the most out of any trip to watch one of the world’s most remarkable events.
