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Best northern lights tour in Salla: one pick for each kind of evening

A violet and green aurora rising in rays above a dark line of conifers under a starry sky

Illustration photo: northern lights over a forest, not in Salla.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Travelling in autumn, or wanting to be collected and kept warm between stops, book the wilderness park's hunt by bus. For young children who should sit rather than walk, book the resort's sleigh ride. If you would rather move than wait, go out on snowshoes. For the most memorable setting, whatever the sky does, go by reindeer to the swamp.

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.

Hunt by busSleigh rideSnowshoe walkReindeer ride
Suits Autumn visitors, anyone who wants a ride Young children Those who would rather move The setting as much as the sky
How you travel Bus Sleigh behind a snowmobile On foot, snowshoes Reindeer sleigh
Season 1 Sep–31 Mar Dec–Mar 1 Dec–31 Mar 1 Dec–31 Mar
Length 3–4 h 2 h 3 h 3 h

Nothing is ranked: none of the evenings can promise the sky, and each is chosen for what you do while waiting. Prices are on the northern lights price page for Salla.

Where these figures come from
  • Hunt by bus: Collected in Salla and driven out after dark, with warm overalls lent and hot drinks, from September.
  • Sleigh ride: Seated in a sleigh behind a snowmobile to a hut near Ruuhitunturi fell, with sausages by a fire.
  • Snowshoe walk: Three hours walking through the forest at night on snowshoes, in a group of at most sixteen.
  • Reindeer ride: Behind a line of reindeer through forest and open swamp to a fire, with overalls and boots lent.

The aurora evenings sold in Salla share a sky and differ in the evening around it, so choose the evening you would enjoy on a cloudy night.

Driven out

Salla Wilderness Park collects you in Salla and takes you out by bus for three to four hours, lends overalls and boots and serves hot drinks. It is the only aurora evening here sold from September.1

Seated in a sleigh

Sallatunturin Tuvat pulls a sleigh behind a snowmobile to a Lappish hut near Ruuhitunturi fell, far from artificial light, for sausages by an open fire.2 Nobody drives or walks, which suits small children.

On foot or behind reindeer

The wilderness park also sells three hours on snowshoes through the night forest, in a group of at most sixteen,3 and a reindeer ride in a line through forest and open swamp to a fire.4 Both run from December to March.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What happens if it is cloudy?

The wilderness park says its bus tour may be cancelled in cloudy weather, with a full refund. The other evenings go ahead as outings in their own right: a fire, a hot drink and the forest at night. Check the cloud forecast in the afternoon and ask the operator whether they expect to run.

Can we see the aurora without a tour?

Yes. The dark comes to you in Salla: away from the lights of the fell resort or the village, a frozen lake or an open bog facing north is enough. Go onto ice only where locals do, dress for standing still, and give your eyes a quarter of an hour to adjust to the dark.

How far ahead do we need to book?

The wilderness park takes reservations until four in the afternoon the day before, and runs its evenings only once at least four people have booked, so a quiet week can leave a couple without a departure. Book early in your stay, so a cancelled or clouded-out evening can be moved to another night.

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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