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Its 14-night Seeking the Northern Lights cruise on Explorer from Southampton is an autumn sailing, visiting the likes of Flåm, Geiranger and Olden as well as going all the way to Honningsvåg, gateway to the North Cape. The region features attractive towns such as as Isafjordur, the famous Dynjandi waterfall, and spectacular fjords that are ideal for kayaking, hiking and birdwatching. We stretch our legs on hikes across tundra in search of ancient graveyards and summer villages occupied 3,000 years ago by Inuit. The maze of calm, interconnecting waterways in this area provides excellent opportunities for sea kayaking. We will see ring seals, perhaps catch a glimpse of the elusive narwhal, and maybe even a polar bear hunting on pack ice.
The North Cape Express: Full Voyage Bergen to Oslo
Darkness is essential if you’re hoping to see the Northern Lights during your travels. Cruisetours like the 13-Night Great Frontier Expedition (8A Northbound) and the 13-Night Grand Heartland Adventure (7A Northbound) show Alaska’s many majestic sides. Board a glass-domed rail car, called the Wilderness Express, to Fairbanks, and soak up picturesque views every step of the way. Alaska cruisetours are the ideal way to explore the state’s stunning interior and extend your Alaska cruise vacation.
Northern lights cruises: A guide to chasing the aurora borealis at sea
Thanks to the fertile volcanic soil and the surrounding mountains offering protection from strong winds, the area is rich in wildlife. You may spot everything from musk oxen and arctic foxes to mountain hares, and even reindeer, near the fjord. Look skyward and you could catch a glimpse of birds, including the glaucous gull, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, common raven and common eider. In the coming days, a host of choices are available to us, and depending on ice and weather conditions, the east coast of Greenland is ours to explore. The members of our experienced Expedition Team, who have made countless journeys to this area, will use their expertise to tailor our voyage to suit the day-to-day conditions. This allows us to make best use of the prevailing weather, ice conditions and any opportunities for wildlife encounters.
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Because this is one of the more southern destinations, it’s harder to predict when you’ll see the lights—they won’t be visible on as many nights as they would be in Alaska or the Arctic. To help you out, the park maintains a Clear Sky Chart that you can refer to before heading out. While the best time to see the northern lights is in the northern winter, this is flipped for the aurora australis, aka the southern lights.
With that being said, we will not paddle if wind conditions are too strong and there is no sheltered area for paddling. Over the next few days we explore parts of Norway’s remarkable 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) coastline. Starting in North Cape, in the very north of the country, we make our way south, stopping in the Lofoten Islands and visiting mesmerising Mount Torghatten, famous for the hole through its centre. In true expedition style we encourage exploration and adventure, offering flexibility in challenging environments in a way that puts you among the action to see and do as much as possible.
Havila Voyages
Hurtigruten is something of an outlier in this group because it doesn't offer specific northern lights itineraries. But the routes of this coastal ferry company in Norway just happen to traverse the perfect latitudes to see the aurora. For the best odds of seeing the northern lights, we suggest the 12-day round-trip itinerary from Bergen up the coast of Norway and back. The first time I saw the northern lights, they were a faint glow in the Alaska sky. It was early September, well before peak northern lights season, so the display was fairly weak, but it sparked my curiosity.
Fear not, while you’re transfixed by the sites, the highly experienced staff and crew are always on aurora alert and notify passengers of a sighting. Alaska also affords ample opportunity to spy the northern lights (especially in August and September). Cunard offers a trip from Vancouver, Canada up to Alaska’s Inside Passage and majestic Glacier Bay, then on finally to California via a leisurely coastal cruise. Spend the days pondering the myriad marvels of Alaska’s islets, bays and fjords; and spend the nights searching the skies for the mystical aurora borealis.
Our Northern Lights cruises
Just like Alaska, the northern lights may be seen any night of the year in Greenland, except when you face the midnight sun in the summer. The small fjord town of Kangerlussuaq, which is located right along the Arctic Circle, is known for being one of the best places in the world to watch the aurora. While it's difficult to book a northern lights Alaska cruise since cruises only sail during summer season, you may get lucky enough to see them if you take to the seas in September, which is the earliest you can expect the Aurora to appear.
The community has an excellent museum, gift shop, an abundance of Greenlandic sled dogs and provides the opportunity to meet the friendly locals. Enjoy the crossing to Jan Mayen, accompanied by seabirds as we search for whales. Enjoy informative talks from our team of experts, get to know your fellow expeditioners, stay active in the gym or treat yourself to a massage in the wellness centre. Remember to look to the skies at night and hope for sightings of the northern lights. Norway is often the first country that comes to mind when people think of the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights are a prominent feature of the night sky throughout the country and have even influenced folklore and indigenous culture.
Explore the coasts of the High Arctic in all-suite, all-verandah comfort with no more than 200 guests hosted by attentive butlers, as well as a team of expedition and destination experts. On this elusive route, the Endeavor will navigate the fantastical realm of polar bears, reindeer, pacific walrus and rare bird species. Visit the Solovetsky archipelago, a UNESCO-listed set of islands in the White Sea that’s home to a historic monastery and explore the charming town of Honningsvåg in Norway, the northernmost village in Europe. Iceland, Greenland, and polar regions around the Northwest Passage promote some of their active, adventurous cruises around the equinoxes in September and March as northern lights viewing opportunities as well.
In the Southern Hemisphere, they’re known as the southern lights, or aurora australis. Both are a sight to behold, but it’s the northern lights that have captured our attention throughout history—they were even named one of the seven natural wonders of the world. This process can cause the earth’s magnetic field lines to disconnect from the planet, and when they “snap back” into their normal position, the charged particles push into the earth’s atmosphere, causing the aurora. The more magnetic field lines that disconnect from and snap back to earth, the further south the northern lights are viewable. Travelers can view the northern lights in different places around the world by various means, including by cruise ship. If you love to cruise and want to add the northern lights to your next itinerary, there are ways to make it happen.
Northern Lights cruise: An ultimate guide for 2023 - Good Housekeeping uk
Northern Lights cruise: An ultimate guide for 2023.
Posted: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Increase your chances of seeing the Northern Lights or aurora borealis on a small ship expedition cruise that takes you deep into the Arctic, to iconic destinations such as Greenland, Iceland and Norway. Finding a clear sky typically means driving, often in icy mountainous environments. For many, the best and most convenient solution is to take a Northern Lights cruise, the popularity of which has been booming in recent years. And though you can see the lights from Churchill, consider teaming up with an outfitter like Frontiers North Adventures, which takes visitors on multiple-day excursions through the subarctic. During these multiday trips, you get to stay at different places, like unique yurts and wilderness lodges out in the tundra, before heading back to an inn in Churchill. The best time to see the northern lights in Iceland is as deep into winter as you can go.
As a bonus, you can expect fewer tourists and more room to enjoy the northern lights all to yourself. Although the aurora borealis can be seen regularly in the dark, clear skies of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alberta, the lights can also be viewed near accessible cruise ports. Places such as Prince Edward Island National Park has low light pollution, and Tobeatic Wilderness Area and Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia also have dark skies perfect for viewing the phenomenon.
