Northern Lights 2017 in Lapland

[Niborn]

Hi everyone ,

I'm shortly going to be the owner of a new T6 Ocean and I'm getting very excited about the prospect .

One of my hobbies is watching the Northern Lights and travelling the area . I've made 5 trips so far having flown up and hired SUV's . I taught myself about the lights and where and how best to see them and been fortunate to have met some regular Northern light enthusiasts who gave me their tips . These have paid off and I've been able to see amazing lights on all the last 4 trips , sometimes massive displays lasting 4 hours.

I was wondering if there are any people out there who would like to make a small convoy up for my next trip? Perhaps three or four Cali's. Don't have to stick together all the time , it's all optional . Your starting point to join up could be anywhere on route starting from U.K. Or Northern France .

I am not an experienced California person and would welcome tips / help on the trip and at the same time I can help others about the lights and the area . It's not nessecary to join any Northern Lights tours which cost a fortune and nothing's guaranteed . I know most of the good places and can fairly safely say you would see them on this trip . I've taken some fairly good pictures too ( people say ) and I can help with this too, it's a little bit of an art to do this well but not very difficult.

This is not a commercial thing I am not interested in any exchange of money just the friendship and mutual help we could all give each other .

Probably the trip would be a mix of staying in the camper and some nice places , not too expensive, in Lapland . I've got good contacts too which really helps in all respects .

Please let me know if anyone has any interest in joining for this trip whole or part . I would be going possibly for some of the time with my wife ( she can get off work ) or perhaps a daughter or a friend and our dog , he's very friendly with other dogs and adults and children yet also a good guard dog particularly at night .

Few pictures attached of what you could expect

Best wishes

 

[T6 CFO]

What a wonderful idea and offer. Great pictures. Its definitely on our list of things to do. At the moment it's difficult to commit to a date but definitely something for the future.

I shall keep an eye out for the dates.


Mike

 

[Niborn]

What a wonderful idea and offer. Great pictures. Its definitely on our list of things to do. At the moment it's difficult to commit to a date but definitely something for the future.


Mike

Great Mike .. and thanks - it's very doable I think just needs time . I'll probably make several trips anyway , I'm picking up my Cali at the start of the new year.., love this forum so much in it ..,

 

[JohnnyP]

Hi everyone ,

I'm shortly going to be the owner of a new T6 Ocean and I'm getting very excited about the prospect .

One of my hobbies is watching the Northern Lights and travelling the area . I've made 5 trips so far having flown up and hired SUV's . I taught myself about the lights and where and how best to see them and been fortunate to have met some regular Northern light enthusiasts who gave me their tips . These have paid off and I've been able to see amazing lights on all the last 4 trips , sometimes massive displays lasting 4 hours.

I was wondering if there are any people out there who would like to make a small convoy up for my next trip? Perhaps three or four Cali's. Don't have to stick together all the time , it's all optional . Your starting point to join up could be anywhere on route starting from U.K. Or Northern France .

I am not an experienced California person and would welcome tips / help on the trip and at the same time I can help others about the lights and the area . It's not nessecary to join any Northern Lights tours which cost a fortune and nothing's guaranteed . I know most of the good places and can fairly safely say you would see them on this trip . I've taken some fairly good pictures too ( people say ) and I can help with this too, it's a little bit of an art to do this well but not very difficult.

This is not a commercial thing I am not interested in any exchange of money just the friendship and mutual help we could all give each other .

Probably the trip would be a mix of staying in the camper and some nice places , not too expensive, in Lapland . I've got good contacts too which really helps in all respects .

Please let me know if anyone has any interest in joining for this trip whole or part . I would be going possibly for some of the time with my wife ( she can get off work ) or perhaps a daughter or a friend and our dog , he's very friendly with other dogs and adults and children yet also a good guard dog particularly at night .

Few pictures attached of what you could expect

Best wishes

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View attachment 17495

View attachment 17496

View attachment 17497

I would love to join you however it will be difficult this year.

We have been to Northern Finland but we're not lucky enough to the lights however we did see an unusual white display of the Northern Lights in Scotland earlier this year and one of our ambitions is to see them again. We are semi prepared to head to the cairngorm carpark if there is a very good chance of a display (but weekends only) and also a more local spot but the timings have not quite worked out yet.

 

[Niborn]

I would love to join you however it will be difficult this year.

We have been to Northern Finland but we're not lucky enough to the lights however we did see an unusual white display of the Northern Lights in Scotland earlier this year and one of our ambitions is to see them again. We are semi prepared to head to the cairngorm carpark if there is a very good chance of a display (but weekends only) and also a more local spot but the timings have not quite worked out yet.

Yes white display are common , sometimes the start of the display can be rather like a whisps of thin cloud, so people move on and don't wait . Cameras mor easily show up the full colours , although some times these are seen with the eye too ...Scotland can be ok if it's a big one but on the west coast of Norway is really best . Even when zero activity meant to be we have seen them ... Also much warmer because of the Gulf Stream. Attach a picture of that starting display

 

[Verity]

We've got our Cali on order (Week 48 build, whatever that means - sometime Feb/March arrival?), so probably wouldn't be able to come with you in 2017, but we would LOVE to do this - it's on our bucket list and doing it with someone who knows where to go and when would be brilliant. Please keep us posted!

 

[LowMan]

LOVE this idea. Something we've been thinking about for a while. Keep us posted on how this idea develops. Certainly interested.

 

[Niborn]

We've got our Cali on order (Week 48 build, whatever that means - sometime Feb/March arrival?), so probably wouldn't be able to come with you in 2017, but we would LOVE to do this - it's on our bucket list and doing it with someone who knows where to go and when would be brilliant. Please keep us posted!

Ok will do - thanks for your interest

 

[Niborn]

Ok - thanks for your interest , will keep you posted on any news about it

 

[Niborn]

Ok - thanks for your interest , will keep you posted on any news about it

Also just thought if we go in Late November you can see From the road side along the tiny fjords in some special viewing spots the humpbacks and orcs whales chasing the herring ! That in the day and lights at night !!!!

 

[Cali Ali]

Great pictures.

Definitely on our list of things to do, just need VW to build the Cali first, we expect delivery March time next year, so would be interested in joining a trip late 2017

 

[Ben Nevis]

Yes white display are common , sometimes the start of the display can be rather like a whisps of thin cloud, so people move on and don't wait . Cameras mor easily show up the full colours , although some times these are seen with the eye too ...Scotland can be ok if it's a big one but on the west coast of Norway is really best . Even when zero activity meant to be we have seen them ... Also much warmer because of the Gulf Stream. Attach a picture of that starting display

View attachment 17498

Definately on our list of travels! What would you suggest as the most scenic routes and viewing locations and what would be the best time of year avoiding extremes of weather/poor road conditions?

 

[Bellesca]

This is definitely on our list too, but will need to wait til fully retired. Love the idea of a Cali convoy/meet to view the lights.

 

[A1RGG]

Very interested to be a part of the convoy- would just depend on exactly when and for how long...

 

[Niborn]

Definately on our list of travels! What would you suggest as the most scenic routes and viewing locations and what would be the best time of year avoiding extremes of weather/poor road conditions?

Well that's a lot of good questions without very good answers because all the winter period the weather isn't very predictable. Finland though is normally MUCH colder than Norway .

Roads and Routes and Scenic areas : There is a famous Northern Lights route between Tromsø and Finland , in fact there's not many other main roads up there anyway , the best viewing spots are little places off this route or the coastal villages on the North West coast of Norway . You can look it up the Northen light Route . However The little stopping places aren't named and some of the best ones are at the end of the fjords, maybe next to a beach where the setting is magical . In Finland there are a lot of lakes too and there are places along the Russian border where we've seen great lights too . Ivalo is used as one base in Finland and kilpiski

I'll make a list of nice places and possible places to stay including the Magic Mountain lodge at Lyngen , very social place and ideal for this kind of meeting , although really not the very best viewing places unless one drives away a bit . I see a Nice review made here by the guy I think who made a trip in a T 6 in Scotland loaned by VW - I think it's his blog https://wildaboutscotland.com/2013/03/10/chasing-the-northern-lights-the-lyngen-alps/

For viewing I think the Calis be wonderful as bases to view from , we can be out for many hours sometimes starting at around 7 or 8 pm till about 2am or even later . The days are spent relaxing and chatting and sleeping preparing for long nights . It might be possible to only sleep in the Cali for the whole trip , I don't know because I'm not experienced enough , however I would think a mix might be best for this kind of trip at this time of year . The weather could dominate the trip .

In Finland there are plenty of marvellous time share places , very high quality and very inexpensive like the holiday club at sarriselka , I'm a member and can sort this for a group at the much lower price I get , if anyone else is a member of RCI who comes they can too . in Norway there are a few private houses on the west coast ( many in Booking . Com , which locals offer to rent out during winter ( they don't care about the lights but they do about the whales ) , these are their summer houses , not used in winter . I grew up in Norway I've got old friends in Alta and Hammerfest so maybe I could arrange something possibly for a group to use as a base .

My favourite area :

http://www.thenorwayfjords.com/Tromso-Area-Fjords.html

Best time of year and weather : the lights can be seen in early winter or even late winter or early spring but winter is best . The weather conditions can turn terrible very quickly and especially along the coast , we've been days unable to go out , such winds and snow on a few of the trips . After that the roads get quickly ploughed ( within hours and sometimes through the night ) . I'll post a few more pics of that later .

Driving on these roads of ice and snow : Excellent winter tyres are essential and studded tyres are used by just about all locals . They are better on Ice But the new winter Blizzard tyres from Bridgestone are meant to be nearly as good . My friends say these could be Ok ( still not as good as studded ) I'm investigating options for my new T6 . To get though the nasty road conditions I don't 4wD is essential , of course it's better , we've tried both and some good small FWD cars were great too . A Fiesta I hired once was marvellous. It's the tyres which matter .

Forget all season tyres , too dangerous in these conditions .

 

[Niborn]

Very interested to be a part of the convoy- would just depend on exactly when and for how long...

Great --- Yes dates to be set ...mid or late Nov 2017 ? I don't know really but around 3 weeks or a month or more ? Possible though I think to join part way . Some family members if they could take off all the time - could fly in to Tromsø . It's vetry cheap now with Norwegian air to do that .

 

[Niborn]

Great pictures.

Definitely on our list of things to do, just need VW to build the Cali first, we expect delivery March time next year, so would be interested in joining a trip late 2017

Ok that sounds very possible

 

[Swissian]

I would love to join as I've already done a Tromso trip and we saw the lights every night. Unfortunately it's a long drive and would require more time off work than I'm allowed! :-(

 

[Niborn]

I would love to join as I've already done a Tromso trip and we saw the lights every night. Unfortunately it's a long drive and would require more time off work than I'm allowed! :-(

How long did you take for your trip ? When did you go and do you have any tips ?

 

[Niborn]

Definately on our list of travels! What would you suggest as the most scenic routes and viewing locations and what would be the best time of year avoiding extremes of weather/poor road conditions?

Good link to read

https://en.m.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Driving_in_Norway

 

[zeratul]

Just got back from Greenland (ran the Polar Circle Marathon) and saw the northern lights again. I've seen them many times over the past years.. iceland (last February, stunning), north of norway (pulka/trail ski expedition in 2013) and north of sweden (pulka/trail ski expedition in 2012).
Take note though that I would never drive in the north of sweden or norway without studded tires. You really, really need them. The roads are very icy and not cleared at all. The tires can be expensive for just one trip. Ideally you change somewhere around Stockholm. I heard they can be rented there but I have not further info.

I've driven all the way to the north only in summer (it's a 3 day 3500 km journey from Belgium to Tromso) and in Winter it will be very beautiful but also you'd need more time. If you have the time and can make it to Tromso.. it's worthwhile to take the "domestic" plane from Tromso to Longyearbyen (Svalbard) for the most stunning scenery.. for a couple of nights.

Best time of year I'd say sept-oct or feb/march though Christmas/new Year is also a good time, except that it's very dark. I'd recommend february for bigger chances of snow (pictures.... )

 

[Niborn]

Wonderful experiences ... I agree about the times to go , I didn't like being there at Christmas and New year myself because as you say it's the darkest time and also it's very very shut .. so deserted , even in Tromsø .

 

[MattBW]

Wow sounds like an amazing idea!

Very interested, would need to look into cost of tyres etc but I would like to be a maybe on your list.

 

[MattBW]

Forget all season tyres , too dangerous in these conditions .

True, I have seen a Citroen city car with winter tyres drive past a Range rover stuck on a hill. Tyres are definitely the most important part.

 

[Niborn]

Wow sounds like an amazing idea!

Thanks Matt, yes and I think we would enjoy the memories and friendships made too for years to come