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Best northern lights tour in Kemi, by what the night throws at you

A bright green aurora over a flat frozen shore, with the dark ribs of an old wooden wreck in the snow

Illustration photo: the aurora over a frozen shore, not taken on any of the evenings compared here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

On a night with a doubtful forecast, book one of the two that react to cloud: the hunt that refunds bad weather, or the fireside evening that drives off in search of clear sky when its own hill is overcast. For something you cannot do inland, take the sled over the frozen sea to the island campfire. With children and no car, book the campfire evening through the Kemi travel agency, which collects you and prices children lower.

How the operators compare

Prices are the operators' own published starting prices as of the date this guide was updated, and they change through the season.

e-Coach: the huntSalmon Lodge: firesideSea Lapland: island campfireCampfire evening via Taxari
Price per adult €99 – the lowest price per adult €99 – the lowest price per adult €115 €135
When it is cloudy Money back Drives up to 200 km Not stated Not stated
Best for A doubtful forecast Waiting in the warm The sea ice Families without a car
Child fare Not stated Not stated Not stated €90 (3–11)
Sold on Booking platform Own site and platform Booking platform Travel agency

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per adult. Prices per adult. Only price is marked: the evenings answer different problems, and none of them can promise the aurora.

Where these figures come from
  • e-Coach: the hunt: Drives between spots for three to five hours and promises your money back when the weather is bad. Collects from Kemi, Tornio and Ylitornio.
  • Salmon Lodge: fireside: Waits at a hut on a hill in Keminmaa, and by its own account drives up to 200 km in search of clear sky when the hill is under cloud.
  • Sea Lapland: island campfire: A sled ride from the safari house across the frozen sea to a campfire at a hut on an island, two hours from nine in the evening.
  • Campfire evening via Taxari: The safari company's campfire evening sold by a Kemi travel agency, with the hotel pick-up in the price and a fare for children.

The aurora evenings sold in Kemi cost within 36 euros of each other. What separates them is how each deals with a bad night, and whom it will come and collect.

If the forecast is doubtful

Two evenings do something about cloud. The hunt refunds a night the weather spoils, which protects your money but not your evening. The fireside lodge protects the evening instead: its own site says that when its hill in Keminmaa is overcast, it drives up to 200 kilometres to find clear sky, with warm drinks on the way.1 Its site also says the photographs cost extra except on those driving nights, while its booking-platform listing counts them as included, so ask which applies to your booking.

If you want the sea

The island campfire is the one evening that could only happen on this coast: a sled ride from the safari house over the frozen Bothnian Bay to a hut on an island, with sausages by the fire and no town lights around you.2 It is two hours from nine, shorter than the others, and it goes whether or not the sky is lit.

With children and no car

The safari company’s campfire evening is also sold by a travel agency in Kemi, at a higher adult price but with the hotel pick-up included and children aged three to eleven priced lower; under-threes go free.3 For a family that would otherwise need a taxi to the safari house, that is the simpler evening. What each of these evenings is like while you wait is set out on the northern lights in Kemi.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

We are staying in Tornio. Which of these will collect us?

The hunt's listing collects from hotels and stations in Tornio and Haparanda as well as Kemi, and the fireside lodge's own site offers pick-up from any hotel in Kemi, Tornio and the area around. The travel agency collects in Kemi as part of the price and charges 25 euros a person for the return transfer from Tornio or Haparanda. For the island campfire, which starts at the safari house in Kemi, ask the operator.

Can one person book on their own?

On the booking platform, yes: the hunt, the fireside evening and the island campfire are all priced per person with no minimum printed in our record. The travel agency's version is different. It runs with at least two people paying the full adult price, so a solo traveller would pay for a second seat or book the same evening on the platform instead, without the hotel pick-up.

How far ahead do we need to book?

On the booking platform you can book late and cancel free up to 24 hours before. The travel agency asks for bookings preferably two days ahead and charges the whole price at confirmation; cancelling costs 10 per cent more than 31 days out, half the price between 30 and 14 days, and everything after that. Book the agency only once your dates are fixed.

Written by

Lapland Handbook Staff

Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.

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