The best time to see the northern lights in Finland is between October and March.
Winter in Lapland is simply magical. Snow blankets the landscapes and animals adapt to the cold. Staying in a cosy hotel in Inari, we will spend our days exploring the taiga, the immense coniferous forest covering the north of our planet. At night, we will enjoy the magnificent spectacle of the Northern Lights.
Northern Lights in Finland
See Northern Lights in Finland is for many a dream, something that at least must be done once in a lifetime. Since the trips to Finland They are not usually cheap: everyone wants to make sure they see this wonder when travelling there.
The northern lights are a natural phenomenon, so agencies cannot guarantee sightings on particular dates. Be sceptical of anyone who does.
Although sightings cannot be guaranteed, travelling in the right season and to the right place gives you a good chance of see the Northern Lights in Finland.
How does the phenomenon of the Northern Lights occur?
To know when it is the best season to see the Northern Lights in Finland, we first need to understand how this phenomenon occurs, something our trip planners consider carefully when deciding when we will travel to Finland.
The first ingredient necessary for the formation of The northern lights is sufficient solar activity. This produces the “solar wind”: energy-laden atoms heading towards Earth. As they approach our planet, they collide with the magnetosphere, the magnetic field that protects us. This excites the particles, creating a wonderful exchange of energy that produces the phenomenon of the Northern Lights.
Depending on the molecular charge of the particles, auroras vary in colour from red and purple to blue and green.
Where to see the Northern Lights?
When the particle collisions mentioned earlier occur, the particles become trapped and follow the magnetosphere, which reaches Earth at the poles. Here these coloured particles come closest to us. For this reason, The Northern Lights are seen far more frequently in polar regions.
Among all the countries close to the poles we could go to see Auroras, we chose Finland. The country provides a perfect setting for viewing, with infrastructure for daytime activities and a relatively convenient location.
Lake Inari, north of the Arctic Circle, is an ideal place to observe the northern lights.
On foot, snowshoes and snowmobiles, we will explore the area around the vast Lake Inari (Inarijärvi in Finnish). In northern Lapland, above the Arctic Circle, it remains frozen from November to June and is an excellent place to watch the ethereal northern lights.
Silence, the Finnish forest’s winter colours and the Northern Lights will be our travelling companions.
The Northern Lights, or northern lights, illuminate the skies of the northern hemisphere.
Created when charged solar particles interact with Earth’s atmosphere, these dancing coloured lights form a unique celestial spectacle. Their appearance in polar regions such as the Arctic inspires wonder and awe, making them one of the planet’s most captivating and mysterious atmospheric phenomena.
When is the best time to see the northern lights in Finland?
Now that we already know how the phenomenon forms and that Finland is an ideal place to enjoy them. Let’s see what is the best time to see the northern lights.
We show you in this chart:
As you can see, months with May, June, July and August have the fewest nights with northern lights in Finland. The reason is very simple, there are still too many hours of light. As winter comes the situation is reversed, with more and more hours of darkness.
Winter begins in September and continues through October, November, December and January.
In December and January, the polar night (or kaamos) leaves regions north of the Arctic Circle without daylight, with almost 2 months of darkness in the far north.
From February, sunlight will gradually return, coinciding with the peak formation of The northern lights. That is when we take the opportunity to travel to Finland; we have daylight for activities and, at night, enough hours of darkness to enjoy the The northern lights.
The years in which we have travelled to Finland to see the northern lights have been fantastic. Our trip is accompanied by a specialist in Arctic activities who understands the Northern Lights, helping you get the most from your trip—and the best photos. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, see for yourself:
Northern Lights trips
Finland✔️ Departures 10 OCT | 4 Nov 2026
✔️ Price from 1750€
✔️ Departures 2, 6 JAN | 3, 10, 24 Feb | 3, 10, 17, 24 Mar 2027
✔️ Price from 1795€
✔️ Departures 13, 27 FEB | 13, 20, 27 Mar 2027
✔️ Price from 1895€
Upcoming Finland departures
| October | Lapland in autumn | 10/10 | 5 days |
| November | Lapland in autumn | 04/11 | 5 days |
| January | Lapland in autumn | 02/01 | 5 days |
| January | Lapland in autumn | 06/01 | 5 days |
| February | Lapland in autumn | 03/02 | 5 days |
| February | Lapland in autumn | 10/02 | 5 days |
| February | Crossing Lemmenjokki National Park | 13/02 | 8 days |
| February | Lapland in winter | 24/02 | 5 days |
| February | Crossing Lemmenjokki National Park | 27/02 | 8 days |
| March | Lapland in winter | 03/03 | 5 days |
| March | Lapland in winter | 10/03 | 5 days |
| March | Crossing Lemmenjokki National Park | 13/03 | 8 days |
| March | Lapland in winter | 17/03 | 5 days |
| March | Crossing Lemmenjokki National Park | 20/03 | 8 days |
| March | Lapland in winter | 24/03 | 5 days |
| March | Crossing Lemmenjokki National Park | 27/03 | 8 days |