Aurora Borealis in Finland & Sweden

[efyap]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning a trip up to Finland and Sweden in search of Aurora Borealis towards the end of March. This was a last minute arrangement and there's an ocean of information available on the Internet, not sure where to start. I'll appreciate deeply for any advice given or itinerary shared, including the kind of lens and filters that I'll need to bring over.

Some key data points that I'm working around:
For Finland:
- booked my 1-night stay in Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort (staying in a big glass Igloo) to see Aurora Borealis in the comfort of a heated glass Igloo (I hope)
- booked my 2-night stay in Ivalo for more Aurora Borealis hunting
- the above are mainly night activities, so I may explore some daytime activities like husky rides, visit to the reindeers, santa's village (yah, I know he's not there)
For Sweden,
- it's mainly for the ice-hotel but I heard I can also caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights there?
- perhaps the treehotel if I still have time

looking at around 2 weeks (12 days) of activities.

Many thanks in advance!
Cheers
E Fang

 

[unclejosh]

if you're lucky, you should catch the aurora if you're within the artic circle portion of the two countries.
as for how lucky you get, you can check the forecast.

I personally spend more afternoon sleeping so i could stay up from evening till morning.

 

[Alpc]

Depends on what camera and lens you have. For aurora, usually best is the widest and quickest lens you have. I went with 11-16mm F2.8 in one of my trip and 12-24mm F4 in another trip. No issues with both lens. Filters are not required for aurora, but you might want to think of those daytime activities - if you are taking some photos then, maybe a polariser filter to cut down the glare? But again, this relates to your shooting style.

As long as the place is within the latitude that aurora usually appears in, you should be fine. What is more important is clear skies - and for spectacular aurora, strong CME winds.

 

[icebear78]

Totally out of topic, but are u from CGS?