This trip is designed to coincide with the UK’s school’s February half term and is the perfect family trip for all ages. Our base will be in Vesterålen, which is a fantastic location allowing us to spend the daytime visiting some of the most picturesque locations in the region, as well as travelling out to dark and scenic locations to experience the Northern Lights.
Northern Lights Family February Half Term Holiday
This trip also includes an eagle safari, a visit to the local Sami reindeer farm, and a specially customised visitor experience at Andøy Space and rocket range where you can learn more about the northern lights and the research that happens at the Space Centre.
The average temperature at this time of year is -2.1ºC or 28ºF. It is most likely we will have snow and ice on the ground and many photo opportunities during the day and night.
Overview
Highlights
- Maximum of 8 guests
- Award-winning trip leaders
- Scenic day-time sightseeing
- Aurora Chasing
- Space Centre & Spaceship Aurora
- Eagle safari boat trip
- Sami Reindeer Farm cultural experience
- Hotel accommodation
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners
What’s included
- Maximum of 8 guests
- Award-winning trip leaders
- Scenic day-time sightseeing
- Aurora Chasing
- Space Centre & Spaceship Aurora
- Eagle safari boat trip
- Sami Reindeer Farm cultural experience
- Hotel accommodation
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners
A note on flights
While flights are not included in the holiday price, our team will happily provide a quote and arrange them for you. Simply ask one of our Travel Experts for details of the available options.
Day by Day Itinerary
Upon arrival at Harstad-Narvik (EVE) airport, you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel for the evening. The journey time is approximately 2 hours. Dinner is not provided on this first evening but there will be opportunities to buy food en route from the airport to your hotel.
If weather and aurora conditions are good then we will plan to chase the lights tonight. There may even be an opportunity to view them whilst travelling from airport to hotel.
Journey to Andøya & Andøya Space Centre
Today we will drive the stunning scenic route to the top of Andøya, Vesterålen’s northernmost island. Journey distance is 100km (65 miles) and there will be the opportunity to stop for photos at lots of locations on the way and on the way back. Andøy is most famous for its weathered mountains and long sandy beaches. The island is also home to Norway’s Space Centre which is one of the most active aurora research facilities on the planet.
Andøy Space & Spaceship Aurora
We will visit Spaceship Aurora at the Andøya Rocket Range. There will be short movie presentations followed by the Spaceship Aurora experience where you will be a part of the crew on a simulated aurora borealis research mission.
If you make it back safely from space you will then meet a real-life rocket scientist for a guided tour and to ask questions about anything relating to the Northern Lights and the research carried out at the Space Centre.
After dinner at the hotel we will again plan an aurora chase.
Sami Reindeer Farm
Today is a more relaxing day for you with only a small amount of travelling. After a leisurely morning we will drive 10km out of Sortland and visit the local Sami Reindeer Farm where you will learn about Sami history and culture, enjoy a home made hot lunch and of course meet and feed the resident reindeer.
We will return to your hotel after lunch at the reindeer farm and then the rest of the afternoon is yours to choose to relax at the hotel or explore the town.
After dinner you can relax in the hotel and then enjoy the huge New Year’s celebration fireworks from your hotel room or the waterside!
Sea Eagle & Wildlife Safari
After breakfast we will head out to the far west of Vesterålen, travelling again through some of the most beautiful Arctic scenery. Today is all about the wildlife, notably the majestic White-Tailed Sea Eagle. After a presentation about the sea eagles you will board a boat and sail out amongst the smaller islands along the coast in search of sea eagles. This excursion has never failed to deliver incredible photo opportunities and is the best way to get close to the sea eagles in their natural habitat.
Upon returning to the harbour you will enjoy a tasty hot soup lunch before we make our way back to the hotel for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
This is our last opportunity of seeing the Northern Lights again so we will plan to go out once more.
After an early breakfast we will travel back to Harstad-Narvik airport, arriving in time for you to meet your flight home. Journey time is approximately 2 hours.
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See what our clients say
This was a bucket list trip. The company are specialists and I’ve valued their advice. Everything from the when to go for the best opportunity to see the lights and equipment needed and provided.Our activities included, the Ice Hotel, night photo shoot, snowmobiling, guided walk and the sky station meal. All excellent and well run by knowledgeable experts and guides. The Abisko Lodge is warm comfortable and relaxing the food is excellent and the staff welcoming, friendly and very helpful. I would highly recommend if you’re looking for a different and exciting experience.
We had five fantastic days in beautiful Iceland, as we had never been before Aurora Nights helped with everything and made the holiday so easy and stress free. We stayed at Hotel Ranga which was amazing, we very much enjoyed the tours and the guides were brilliant, very knowledgable and friendly. We will certainly be returning to Iceland and wouldn’t hesitate to book through Aurora Nights again, special thanks to Abigail as her experience and reccommendations made the trip even better.
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The Abisko Mountain Lodge was fantastic, every member of staff was friendly welcoming and charming. Accommodation, upgraded room was excellent. The food in the lodge definitely deserves the high reviews. Good breakfast, great hime made lunch soups and extremely tasty evening dinners.
The included trips were great. The only let down was the camera night, couldn’t see the lights no one fault, but we were walked through thigh high snow to be left on a frozen lake for the duration of the trip. There was no warning of the difficult walk and we had a 91 year old with us and I have hip problems! That said the guide was great, as were the ones on the skimobile and husky rides. We went up to the sky station in a snow storm with high winds, added to the experience!
Would go back in a heart beat.
We had little communication with Weekend a la carte, no need as all communications were clear and contained all the information we needed. Very informative emails
Would use again if going back
We had a fantastic 4 nights that included glaciers, waterfalls, geysers, the aurora borealis and more! Lovely hotels, especially Hotel Ranga. We filled every moment and felt thoroughly invigorated on our return.
Brilliant short break. Hotel Ranga was lovely, excellent food. Managed to see the Northern Lights as well! Iceland on the whole was quite expensive but a lovely place to visit, the people were very friendly.
An amazing trip and excellent service provided by all involved. Great value for money too. Food was excellent. Accommodation was wonderful and the trips booked were outstanding. An amazing trip
My daughter and I had an amazing time on our trip, we didn’t want it to end! Everything went according to plan, each excursion was well organized and everyone involved with each activity, as well as everyone at the lodge was kind, friendly, positive and happy, which makes such a difference to your whole experience. The food at The Abisko Mountain Lodge was also incredibly good. Our room was large, comfortable and well-furnished. The bathroom too was also spacious and well-equipped. The outdoor clothing provided was of very good quality which kept us warm, and the staff members are happy to change items if they are not quite the right size for you. This is my second trip with Weekend a la carte and I’m sure there will be more as I have complete trust in them. I highly recommend Aurora Nights, it was fabulous.
We had a wonderful time! The food at the lodge was amazing and there were some great vegetarian dishes. I had the best beetroot I’ve ever had (beetroot tartare).
Everyone was really friendly and all the guides were good fun and very knowledgeable.
A special thanks to William and Petri who were really friendly and really added a personal touch to our trip. The activities were really well planned and we especially enjoyed the trip with the huskies. The area we were in is stunning and the lodge was very nice. We would definitely recommend this to friends and family.