Has anyone seen the Northern Lights in another country?

[TheAngryDog]

I've wanted to see them for years, and I am considering going to see them next year. Has anyone seen them? Is Iceland or Sweden the best place to go see them? When is the best time of year? I've been looking at various sites and they all sort of seem to contradict each other. Some say that the Abisko National Park is the pace to go, others say Iceland.

Thanks!

[TheAngryDog]

HenryJM said:

I've seen them three times, although one of those was only small. The other times were from a plane and from Churchill in Northern Canada.

To be honest neither did much for me, it's not that it wasn't what I expected it to be, it was which in a way was the problem.

But I've also been in Norway, Sweden and Finland at times that you might see them and didn't, I'd certainly say that where ever you go do it to see other things and treat them as a bonus if you do see them.

That is something that has crossed my mind, and it wouldnt be the only thing I would be going for, I'd definitely want to take in more of the country. I fancy Iceland as it is an interesting country, so its more than likely going to be the one I'd pick, as I dont know if Sweden as a tourist destination offers much, other than the chance to see the Northern Lights..

[TheAngryDog]

Crossflow Kid said:

If you get your timing right and the meterological conditions are good you can see them in Scotland.
I saw them in Scotland one February some years ago. Quite a surprise at first.

If I need a passport to get into Scotland, I'd rather go somewhere interesting

Shaoxter said:

Seen them in both Abisko and Iceland, it all depends on the weather and cloud cover at the time. In the 4 days we were in Iceland it was always cloudy and the lights were only faint.

Abisko is a good location to see the lights because of the lack of cloud cover (for some meteorological reason), if there are clouds just drive further inland towards Kiruna. A proper lights display is one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. yr.no is a brilliant site for checking cloud cover and it updates hourly. Also check this site for aurora forecasts. Remember it needs to be dark, clear skies and strong auroral activity.

We drove from Tromso to Lofoten via Abisko, absolutely amazing drive. But Iceland is even better in terms of variety of scenery, go to both places if you can!

Cheers for your info. Yeah the cloud and rain can make it very difficult to see the lights I have read. This is the thing, I want to see the lights, but I want to do other things as well, and Iceland seems the best for that. For two of us to fly to Iceland is less than £300 return which without looking too much seems quite cheap, which is another reason why I am looking at this for next year, though I need to work out the best time of year to go. Its a hard decision! haha