Seeing the Northern Lights is something that recently has become a personal travel goal for me. I worked several years on and off in the northern parts of Alaska, but always in the summer when the sunlight stretched late into the day. Since we moved to Europe last year I knew that this would be a good chance to fulfill that dream, especially with so many news reports of high magnetic activity pushing the lights as far south as France. So I began looking at all the Scandanavian countries that have land in the Arctic Circle and researching which towns are best to visit for the Northern Lights. Tromso, Norway, Abisko, Sweden and Rovaniemi, Finland were the three that popped up for further investigation.
We chose Rovaniemi because it was recommended by friends as a great location to visit Santa Claus and to see the Northern Lights (my primary goal). I chose to visit in October to avoid the higher cost, the extreme cold, and the full arctic winter nights. Personally I am not a cold weather person, so the thought of needing to rent or buy heavy duty cold weather gear was not of interest to me. October also tends to have slightly clearer skies and no snow on the ground yet.
During our trip the sun set at 5pm, so we still had enough darkness to be able to see the aurora borealis. We booked a glass igloo so that we can watch the lights even after our kids fall asleep (which is exactly what ended up happening and I was so glad that we did).
Rovaniemi
The resort that we stayed at in Rovaniemi is definitely geared toward more outdoorsy, adventurous guests. The cabins are situated a little bit away from the main lodge, primarily to keep light pollution down. There were a number of free activities to do, like the nature walk around the lake, seeing the reindeer in their pen, using the pedal cars, having a fire in one of the traditional koti, and even a big swing. Additionally, there are even more seasonal activities. We got to visit the Husky farm and play with some of the sled dogs. We even took a ride in a dog pulled cart and ended the adventure with warm blueberry juice around the fire in a koti. And if you’re concerned about the health and wellbeing of the dogs, don’t. They are treated better than most humans with their own chef, regular vet checkups, and even a doggy masseuse! And they were all jumping up and down and howling when the dog trainers showed up to start strapping them into their harnesses. Yet they were all gentle enough that we were encouraged to pet the kenneled ones through the fences and we got a chance to cuddle the dogs that pulled our cart.
Our first night I was a little disappointed because the Aurora Alert app went off while I was in the shower. I thought I had missed them or that it was too cloudy to see them. I went outside and took a couple pictures and videos anyway. It wasn’t until I looked at them the next morning that I realized I had captured some of them in the distance. I was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t seen them with my eyes but tried to convince myself that it was ok because it might be as good as it got.
The second night was forecasted to be the better night for Aurora activity but the overcast skies all day weren’t making me hopeful. But somehow everything lined up and we had several hours on and off to be able to see very active lights dancing across the sky in all directions. They were exactly as awe-inspiring as I had hoped they would be.
Helsinki
After 2 days in Rovaniemi we flew to Helsinki. There is also an option to take an overnight train for this same route, but it takes around 12 hours and I was told that sleeping on that train is not great. Helsinki was a surprisingly good city to visit. I had next to no expectations for our trip there; we planned to walk around looking at the architecture and eat yummy salmon and maybe do some thrift shopping. Really we were only staying there because that’s where all the flights from Rovaniemi go. But because of those low expectations I ended up having a spectacular time!
My family tried Georgian food for the first time. We love Indian food (which we also found an amazing restaurant of) and there are definitely some similarities, as well as some Asian and Russian influences. The restaurant we ate at had many vegan options as well, so we were able to navigate my daughter’s egg allergy easily. In Finland everyone we interacted with in shops and restaurants spoke perfect English. Yet many of the signs are still in Finnish, which makes for a very fun and easy travel experience as an English speaker. You are still reminded that you are in a country very different from your own, yet it is very easy to move about the city and interact with people.
We had an amazing time and this entire trip is one that I will really hold on to because it met my high expectations for the Northern Lights and far exceeded my expectations for Helsinki. Finland in general is a very expensive location, Rovaniemi even more so. Visiting in the middle of a government shutdown that questioned our next paychecks was maybe poor timing, but I would say that this was a once in a lifetime trip (although I would do it again in a heartbeat.)
If you are interested in planning your own trip to Rovaniemi and Helsinki I invite you to check out the exact itinerary that I used, including an interactive map. Using Mindtrip AI you can fine tune it to your needs and even book hotels directly through the app.
Objects in Motion Travel 
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