Month guide · Prime season
Can you see the northern lights in January?
Deep winter — long, dark nights and prime aurora odds.
The northern lights in January
January is one of the darkest months of the season. Nights are long — near-continuous darkness inside the Arctic Circle — so a clear, active sky can show the lights at almost any hour. It is also the coldest stretch, so the spots that pay off are the ones where you can wait in comfort: glass igloos, heated domes and aurora cabins. Cloud is the main gamble, and dry, continental places like Fairbanks, Yellowknife and Abisko tend to stay clearer than the coast.
What about the southern lights?
South of the equator it is high summer — far too light for aurora australis, even in Tasmania or southern New Zealand. The aurora is the same phenomenon in both hemispheres — see where the aurora reaches for the full north-and-south picture.
Plan the trip
Tours, stays and wheels
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- GetYourGuide
Aurora chasing tours
Guided minibus & boat tours worldwide that drive you to the clearest, darkest skies on the night.
from ~€65 pp
See tonight's tours - Hotellook
Glass igloos & aurora cabins
Heated glass-roof rooms across Lapland, Iceland and the Arctic — watch the lights from bed.
from ~€180 / night
Find stays - Discover Cars
Rent a car to chase clear skies
Self-drive away from town glow to the dark-sky spots. Compare every local supplier in one place.
from ~€40 / day
Compare cars - SafetyWing
Cover the trip
Aurora trips are remote, cold and weather-dependent — travel medical cover from a few dollars a day.
from ~$1.50 / day
Get covered