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Northern lights tours in Oulu: which of the four to book

Green and red aurora over flat dark fields, with a line of scattered trees and a farm track on the horizon

Illustration photo: the aurora over flat farmland, not from one of the evenings compared here.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If the sky is the point, book a driven tour: e-Coach collects you in central Oulu and keeps moving to find a gap in the cloud, and Majakka Outdoors adds a bonfire and photos for a higher price. If you want an evening on the frozen sea whatever the sky does, book the Nallikari camp, which lends you thermal clothing. The snowshoe walk is for a small group of adults and older children who want to walk in the dark.

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-CoachNallikari SafarisMajakka Outdoors@rootedlapland
Price €129 €99 – the lowest price per person €220 €129
Priced per Person Person Person Person
Length 4 h 2 h 3–5 h Not stated
Getting there Pick-up in central Oulu Meet at Nallikari beach Pick-up from your accommodation A private yard on the listing's map
Winter clothing Bring your own Lent Bring your own Bring your own
Youngest listed Not stated Not stated Not stated From 8
Group size Not stated Not stated Not stated Up to 6

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest price per person. Only price is marked, and only as arithmetic: the camp is cheapest because it stays at the beach, while the two driven tours pay for a car that can follow a gap in the cloud.

Where these figures come from
  • e-Coach: A drive from central Oulu to wherever the sky is clearest, with aurora apps explained along the way.
  • Nallikari Safaris: A walk from the beach onto the frozen sea to a stove-heated tent, with thermal clothing lent.
  • Majakka Outdoors: A drive to rapids and a dark spot north of the city, with a bonfire, snacks and photos taken for you.
  • @rootedlapland: A snowshoe walk after dark on the Bothnian Bay ice, by headlamp, with a fire where the guide stops.

Aurora tours in Oulu either drive you out of the city or take you onto the frozen sea on foot, and the choice between those is the main one.

Driven tours

e-Coach collects you in central Oulu and drives to wherever the sky looks clearest, explaining the aurora apps as it goes. Its listing says it moves the start time to suit the forecast, may advise you to cancel with a full refund on a poor night, and keeps driving through the night while there is still a chance.1 Majakka Outdoors collects you from your accommodation and drives to the Koitelinkoski rapids and a dark spot in Haukipudas, then waits by a bonfire with snacks while the guide takes photos of you, and ends at Nallikari beach.3

On the frozen sea

Nallikari Safaris starts at its centre on the beach, lends overalls, gloves, a beanie and boots, and walks you out onto the sea ice to a tent heated by a wood stove.2 @rootedlapland takes at most six people on snowshoes across the Bothnian Bay ice by headlamp and lights a fire where the guide decides to stop; the route is chosen on the day and children under eight are excluded.4

Choosing

The camp is the cheapest and the only one that lends winter clothing, but it stays at the beach: under cloud it is an evening on the ice rather than an aurora hunt. The driven tours cost more because the car can follow a gap in the cloud, and between them e-Coach is the plainer and cheaper, Majakka the one with the bonfire and the photographs. The snowshoe walk suits a small group who want the walk as much as the sky.

For one tour named for your situation, cloudy forecast, tight budget, camera or no winter clothes, see the best northern lights tour in Oulu; the evenings for your group alone are on the private northern lights tour in Oulu.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What happens if it is cloudy on the night?

All four can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours before the start, with a full refund, and not after that. The cloud forecast a day ahead is reasonable but not certain, so on a trip of several nights it is better to book one evening at a time than the whole week at once, and to keep the evening after it free in case you move it.

What should we bring besides warm clothes?

Majakka Outdoors' driven tour lists a camera, comfortable warm shoes, personal medication and a power bank, which makes sense for an evening that can run to five hours in the cold, when phone batteries drain fast. The snowshoe walk asks for comfortable shoes and clothing suited to the weather.

Is anything to eat or drink included?

The camp includes snacks and hot drinks in the tent, and the snowshoe walk hot drinks and homemade treats by its fire. The e-Coach chase names meals and drinks at the end of its list in a way that reads as not included, so take a thermos and something to eat on a long drive, and ask the company if you are unsure.

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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