Northern lights hunting with car

Experience with Aurora

The experience was phenomenal. The guide was very pleasant, friendly, ready to answer any question. He tried his best to ensure that we saw and experienced the Aurora. That sight, that energy, that experience is unique. You should definitely do a trip like this. All praise.

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Great time in Pyha-Luosto

As the aurora phenomenon is unpredictable, we were undecided on which day to go on the hunting tour. Our guide was patient and explained the contributing factors in detail which aided in our decision to choose the day with the highest chance. We were taken to several locations with different backdrops and were very fortunate to witness the display of aurora on the night. We also joined the below activities organised by Kairankutsu. - Northern Lights Workshop: Arctic Nature & Sky Even though there was no aurora sighting on the night, probably due to the cloudy weather, we had a cozy evening having in-depth discussion on the aurora and the best way to photograph them. The grilling of sausages, sharing of biscuits and berry drink in a wooden Finnish hut was a highlight too. - Lampivaara Amethyst Mine with Snow train The tour was mainly guided by the staff at the mine but our guide helped us a lot at the dig-your-own amethyst activity. There was no snow at the time so we didn’t take the snow train. - Pyhä-Luosto National Park – Guided Hike to the Sacred Waterfall An enjoyable hike through Finland’s deepest gorge with breathtaking scenery. Gained much knowledge on the geology, history, flora & fauna of Lapland. - Reindeer - Reindeer experience & a Farm Visit The tour was guided by the staff at the farm. We fed the lovely reindeers and were shown several buildings within the farm. The booking was smooth and the pick-up was punctual. Our guides were all professional, knowledgeable, warm and sensitive to our needs. A special thanks to Jukka.

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Disappointed – Northern Lights Tour Should Have Been Canceled or Rescheduled

Disappointed – Northern Lights Tour Should Have Been Canceled or Rescheduled I understand that the Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and can never be guaranteed, but I at least expected the tour company to make an effort to find a location with clearer skies. Instead, they took us out on a heavy snowing evening with absolutely zero chance of seeing the lights—something any local would know was pointless. The guide was friendly, but we spent hours just circling in complete darkness, knowing there was no real possibility of a sighting. The company advertises that they check conditions before running the tour, but that is clearly false. They should have canceled or rescheduled instead of knowingly taking people out in bad weather. I would have completely understood if we went out, searched for clear skies, and still didn’t see the lights—that’s nature. But this felt unfair and like a waste of time and money. That being said, I also did their husky and reindeer tours, which were great experiences, and I highly recommend those. The guides on those tours were professional, and everything was well-organized. However, based on my Northern Lights experience, I would not recommend booking this specific tour with them unless they change their policies on weather conditions.

Response from the operator: Hei Maya. Sorry to hear that you had bad feelings for the tour. Your actual booking was for the thursday and you asked last minute reschedule for the tuesday. I actually first check the weather data before i made the chance for you and it promised for better chances for the evening and some openings in the sky. As in Thursday and the next days more snow storm. Sadly the weather wasnt like it promised in the morning, and the sky didnt open for the night. But I can open hearted say that I choose the best possible night in between Tuesday- Thursday with the forecast and my deepest apologies that We could not find the opening in the sky fo you. In our area the weather can chance rapidly. It can some time promise only clouds and then in 20 minutes time it chance for clear sky, but sadly this can be also other way around. Also the fell area effects and can block us a gaps between the clouds even in the snowy weather. Thank fully this year We have had more than 95% success, but Sadly every night is not the same.

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Amazing experience and memories

We booked this excursion via call of the wilderness months before we visited Finland over Christmas. We had not heard of this company before but we read reviews and looked at their social media pages and saw they had some amazing reviews and even more amazing excursions to offer. They are also well priced in comparison to UK travel companies who offer similar experiences. So we booked the Northern lights by van due to having our son who is 5 years old incase it was too cold for him. And yes it was cold however we did not go into the van during the excursion, but it was handy to have the option. Obviously seeing the northern lights is weather dependent and not guaranteed but with help of experienced guides you increase your chances and this was something I really wanted to experience. The guide and driver picked us up from our hotel which we did pay extra for but it was great value. They arrived before the estimated time and were very friendly. The van was warm, in good condition and clean. We were taken to a location where the guide felt we would see the lights. A camp fire was lit and we were offered hot drinks and snacks while told stories and talking to other guests waiting to see the lights. The guides were amazing and so friendly. They kept an eye out for the lights while we kept warm by the fire. We enjoyed being by the campfire but others did go back onto the van to keep warm, mainly other children. It is a long excursion but that allows time to travel to different locations if required to see the lights. We did not need to travel to another location and we started to see the lights from 8pm. We are so lucky we got to experience this amazing place and to tick off something from our bucket list. If you do want to do this experience check your camera and phone settings before you go as some people on our excursion were having problems but my iPhone 16 took these beautiful memories. Thanks again call of the wilderness, you delivered this experience and your guides were amazing.

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We Expected a Better Experience

We were highly disappointed with both tour guides and some aspects of the tour. Preparations and communications prior to the tour were good. We had 2 adults & a child, December 25? We got picked up at our hotel timely. The night was snowy, dark and hazy. We asked our guide, should we do this given the hazy weather? any possibilities we would see any lights under these conditions? the guide said, " Not very good". We were driven to a frozen lake, the guide who claimed he was from Switzerland & Italy gave us some details about the Northern lights, we entered a Cabin where they cooked some good sausages & gave us a warm berry drink. They claimed, we got plenty of sausages for everyone, but only cooked 10 sausages for a group of 10, while some people ate 2 sausages, others did not get one until I had to say, a couple of people did not get sausages. They then cooked 4 more sausages for everyone and kept saying, if anyone wants more, we have lots more, a couple asked for more, then they cook 5 more sausages and I had to say, the lady next to me is still waiting. Both guides argued over who was a better cook and who was a better mechanic, they were not on the same page. In fact, a few of us in the van were joking over how disorganized these 2 guys were, the Finnish & Swiss guy. We were then taken on a hunting trip for lights, driving around aimlessly for 1.5-2 hours, there was no need to simply drive us through snowy, dark roads where there was obsolutely nothing to see. I asked once, where are we actually going? to a spot to see if we get lucky, again, it is hazy & snowy, little visibility. No need to waste our times any longer. We paid $350 to drive around & not even see a beautiful sky. Someone asked the Swiss guide, how often have you seen the lights, he said, "Ah, once or twice in 3 months here, it's just not good weather for this, he said". Darn it, so they knew well in advance, the probability to see lights were remote at best. Why even offer this tour in the first place? We asked some locals if they ever see the lights, rarely if ever, you tourists are funny how you pay for this some said :)

Response from the operator: Thank you for your honest feedback. I have to say as a local who has lived and my family has born in the area, I have a different opinion of the information you got from the other local persons, because they don´t know what we are doing. Most of the restaurant and hotel workers don´t hunt the northern lights. They are working in the hotel areas with light pollution or sleeping the time when something happens in the sky. In different areas we can have totally different opportunities and one area can be totally cloudy and with light pollution and other area we can have clear sky or a gap in the clouds and better darkness to see the lights. We are watching on the tour from the mobile phones the cloud movements and also space and ground cameras to get to the place where sky should open. I´m so sorry if our guides didn´t inform this right way, but this he was meaning about getting better spot. This year we have had more cloudy days than normally, even tough we have this and next year the best activity of the sun to see the northern lights. We also have had more extreme weather conditions from -34 to + 2 in few days and going back and forth the hole winter. Boys have some times strange sense of humor, have to say to them that not everyone understand their humor correctly and they have to think more what they are saying on the tour to each other. I´m so sorry about this.

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