One of the great things of travelling is that you get to meet like-minded people who often share the same stories and interests as you. It was in July 2022 that we were in Rovaniemi and Ylläs when we met Lorenzo, owner of Arctic Road Trips. Truly an enthusiastic and energetic guy, who went up the mountains every night to capture the midnight sun. And even though it was in the middle of Summer and we had crazy hot temperatures for Lapland standards, he just couldn’t stop talking about his biggest passion, Northern Lights.
These days it is easy to stay in touch through social media, so we did with Lorenzo after our Summer trip to Lapland came to an end. Soon after that we decided Rovaniemi basically stole our heart and we simply wanted to go back and experience it in Winter. Fast forward to February 2023 for our Winter getaway to Rovaniemi.
When Lorenzo found out about us coming back to Rovaniemi again he immediately invited us to one of his aurora trips.
Arctic Road Trips Northern Lights Tours
Arctic Road Trips is owned by Lorenzo and Luisa. Lorenzo is originally from Verona, Italy and Luisa is from Germany. Student exchange programs brought both of them to Rovaniemi. Lorenzo has always dreamed about seeing the Northern Lights since he was a kid. He is extremely passionate about it and knows all about the science behind it. Both of them are extremely talented photographers and capture the Northern Lights amazingly!
After seeing the Northern Lights themselves and experiencing the magic of seeing them, they knew what they were meant to do. They have a simple goal, to show their customers the best places around Lapland and make their customers dream come true by seeing the Northern Lights.
Northern Lights can never be guaranteed as they are a natural phenomenon. But Lorenzo and Luisa only take off for their Aurora Hunt if they think there is at least 90% chance of seeing them. If that is not the case, they cancel the tour. By doing this, if the tour does happen they give you a 95 % chance of actually seeing the Northern Lights. They have an extremely high success rate by doing their tours this way.
What makes them different from other tour companies?
There is a lot that makes them stand out from other companies that offer Northern Lights tours. Arctic Road Trips has no kilometer or time limit. They go as far and as long as they think is needed for you to witness the magic of the Northern Lights. They don’t stick around Rovaniemi waiting for the lights to appear.
Most tour companies offer tours that are always happening, even if it’s cloudy and Aurora predictions are bad. Arctic Road Trips tours only happen when there are high chances of seeing the Aurora.
They’re not about mass tourism, their groups are always small which makes it more exclusive, individual and personal. Maybe the best part is that you only pay the full price of the tour if you see the Northern Lights. If you don’t get to see the Northern Lights you only pay the fuel price divided by the number of participants. Is there any other company that does this?
Their current success rate for Aurora hunting is 98% on Expeditions and 100% on road trips. Is there even any other company that can deliver these results?
If your trip to Rovaniemi is about that one dream, about finally seeing the Northern Lights, you might want to check out Arctic Road Trips, they could be just perfect for you. They certainly go the extra mile to try to ensure you see the magic Northern Lights.
Aurora Expedition
Aurora Expeditions are one night Aurora hunts. These tours usually start from Rovaniemi, with pick up from your accommodation. They take you as far as needed to have a good chance of seeing the Auroras. There is no kilometer or time limit. Be prepared to make it a full night hunting the Auroras.
Aurora Road Trips Tours
Aurora Road Trips are at least 3 days / nights. You move around Lapland and Northern Scandinavia based on the weather, all to have the best chances on seeing the Northern Lights.
Departure and arrival are in Rovaniemi, but be prepared to end up in other places in Finland, Sweden, Norway or even all three of them.
During the day you’ll visit national parks, fjords or go for a hike. In the evening it’s all about hunting the Northern Lights. If possible you get to sleep in accommodations right under the Northern Lights. How cool is that?!
Aurora Photography
Lorenzo and Luisa are passionate photographers, especially when it comes to the Northern Lights. Their photos are amazing, believe me! They have all equipment with them when chasing the Aurora and they use it to get the best shots out of every Aurora Expedition. If you want they take pictures of you and the Northern Lights. They can also help you set up your own camera.
All professional photos taken by them during the tour will be shared with you afterwards, it’s included in the price.
Our Aurora Expedition
We stayed in Rovaniemi for a week and on the first night of our stay the Aurora Expedition was scheduled. Luisa texted us during the day to confirm pick up times, they could still change forward or backward depending on the solar activity. Around 6.45pm we were picked up by Luisa and our Aurora adventure was about to start.
Depending on weather forecasts and solar activity Luisa decides which direction best to go from Rovaniemi. We ended up about an hours drive away from Rovaniemi at a lake. During the drive Luisa explained a lot about what the Northern Lights are and how they appear. It’s very interesting to hear a bit about the science behind the magic of Aurora. We stopped at a lake and immediately the Northern Lights were visible at the horizon, still very little, but very visible.
It turns out we had an extremely good and exceptional night for Northern Lights. They developed during the night and became more and more visible. At some point you could even see pink colors with the bare eye. The Aurora activity built up to eventually three explosions right above our head. Those were the moments we could see the Lights literally dancing above us. That is just magical and breathtaking.
Especially the moment that Luisa started screaming when Aurora exploded above our heads and just said, don’t use your phone or camera, just look with your eyes, was a realization moment that we were witnessing something amazing.
It was -17 degrees Celsius that night, but we stayed out all night. Yes it was cold at some point, but the adrenaline rushing through our body when constantly seeing the most amazing Northern Lights show kept us warm.
Luisa made a few hundred of photos during our Aurora Expedition. She shared all photos through Google Drive the day after. High quality photos. Fantastic memories for a lifetime and such added value to this tour. Something we really recommend when visiting Rovaniemi.
Thank you Lorenzo and Luisa for having us on one of your amazing Aurora Expeditions. The night we joined you the tour was simply magical!
This blog was written by travel writer and Traveltomtom team member Ashley. She went on a aurora hunt with Arctic Road Trips and wrote this blog about her experiences.