Chasing Northern Light

Five unhurried days on the Kola Peninsula, built around the dark: three nights out chasing the aurora, the Arctic coast at Teriberka, a Sámi village, a float in the ice and a snowmobile ride to finish.

Length
5 days, 4 nights
Starts and ends
Murmansk
Pace
Moderate
Best months
Oct to Feb

Day by day

  1. Day 1

    Arrive Murmansk

    A car meets you at Murmansk airport and takes you to the hotel. The afternoon is yours to rest after the flights. In the evening, a welcome dinner at an Arctic restaurant, then out onto the dark tundra for the first aurora hunt.

    Sleep
    Murmansk
    Meals
    Dinner
    On the road
    Airport to the hotel, then out of the city for the hunt
    Included
    Private airport pickup, welcome dinner, first aurora hunt
    Worth knowing

    The aurora is weather, not a show. The first hunt is on the first night, not saved for later, so you get three chances.

  2. Day 2

    Teriberka

    Across the tundra past the Polar Wind Park to Teriberka on the Barents Sea. The ship graveyard, then a 3 to 4 km walk through the snow to Batareysky Waterfall and Dragon Eggs Beach. The sandy beach, the giant swing, lunch by the sea, and back for the second hunt.

    Sleep
    Murmansk
    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch
    On the road
    Across the tundra to Teriberka and back
    Included
    Teriberka day with guide, lunch, second aurora hunt
    Worth knowing

    Whales come to this coast from spring to October, so on an October trip a two-hour whale-watching boat can be added. If wind or snow closes the road, the day moves south to the Khibiny mountains and Kirovsk instead.

  3. Day 3

    A Sámi village

    A morning at a Sámi settlement: feeding the reindeer, the huskies, and northern games. Lunch is inside a traditional chum tent. Back in Murmansk by mid-afternoon to rest before the third aurora hunt.

    Sleep
    Murmansk
    Meals
    Breakfast, lunch
    On the road
    Murmansk to the Sámi village and back
    Included
    Sámi village, chum lunch, third aurora hunt
    Worth knowing

    A night in a heated glass igloo outside town, watching for the aurora from bed, can be added in place of one Murmansk night.

  4. Day 4

    Ice floating and the city

    Morning in Kola Bay, floating among the ice in a sealed rescue suit, then hot tea in a tent. In the afternoon, inside the icebreaker Lenin, up to the Alyosha monument, the Saviour-on-the-Waters church and the Kursk memorial. The evening is free, unless a cloudy night earlier means a standby hunt tonight.

    Sleep
    Murmansk
    Meals
    Breakfast
    On the road
    Around Murmansk
    Included
    Ice floating with suit and tea, city tour with icebreaker Lenin
    Worth knowing

    If one of the first three nights is clouded out with no hunt, tonight becomes the standby aurora hunt. The rescue suit keeps you dry and afloat whether or not you can swim.

  5. Day 5

    Snowmobile, depart

    Check out, then an hour and a half driving your own snowmobile through frozen woods and tundra, with a guide. Lunch in town and time to shop for local crafts, cloudberry jam and minerals, then the car to the airport in the early evening.

    Sleep
    Home, or your own onward plans
    Meals
    Breakfast
    On the road
    Hotel to the trails, then to the airport
    Included
    Snowmobile safari, private airport drop

Room to change

Every day on this trip can move. These are the changes we’ve already worked out, and what each one involves.

A night in a glass igloo

One Murmansk night swapped for a heated glass dome outside town, with the aurora watched from bed and the lodge grounds.

A slower trip

An extra day in Murmansk, so the busiest days are spread out and there is more rest between the night hunts, plus another night for the lights.

Tell us what you’d change and we’ll send it back with a price, usually within a day.

Chat with an expert

Where it goes

  1. MurmanskStart and end · 4 nights
  2. TeriberkaDay trip

Where you’ll sleep

From people who went

A traveller sitting on a snowbank under green northern lights
A plane wing over snow-covered forest on the approach to Murmansk
A bus on a snowy street at night, past a lit yellow building and strings of lights
Deep snow among bare trees in a courtyard between apartment blocks

The small print

  • Private airport pickup and drop
  • English-speaking guide on every excursion, in a small shared group
  • Three aurora hunts with hot tea, snacks and photos by the guide
  • A standby hunt on night 4 if one of the first three is clouded out
  • Teriberka day
  • Sámi village with reindeer, huskies and northern games
  • Ice floating, with rescue suit and hot tea
  • Murmansk city tour, inside the icebreaker Lenin
  • 1.5-hour snowmobile safari
  • 4 nights at Asgard, Murmansk
  • Daily breakfast
  • Welcome dinner, lunches on days 2 and 3
  • Vegetarian and chicken options at every included meal

  • Flights to Murmansk
  • Russian visa fees
  • Travel insurance
  • Dinners after day 1, lunches on days 4 and 5
  • Whale watching in Teriberka (optional, October only)
  • Longer reindeer sled ride (optional)
  • A night in a glass igloo (optional)
  • Tips and gratuities

  • More than six of you? Ask us.
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