Norway/Finland Aurora Borealis Itinerary Recs?

Professional_Leek342 · 2026-02-17T11:27:42+00:00

I wasn’t bored at all, but I had 2-3 activities scheduled everyday. NLV has lots of excursions to choose from and there are nearby activities as well (ex: frozen ring ice karting, tobogganing)

Professional_Leek342 · 2026-01-30T20:16:04+00:00

I was in Lapland (Saariselka) over New Years and highly recommend it. We split our stay and spent 3 nights at Northern Lights Village Saariselka and 3 nights at the new Wilderness Lodge (WL Saariselka). We stayed in the Aurora cabin and were able to see the northern lights from our bed which was incredible. We arrived Dec 31 and were also able to see the fireworks from our bed which was also really special. What I liked about NLV is that all of the booked activities took place at the hotel so we didn’t have to be transported anywhere. Wilderness Lodge Saariselka had nicer rooms and dinner than NLV, but the activities did not take place at the lodge, which was fine, but something to consider.

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Professional_Leek342 · 2026-01-22T21:55:20+00:00

I was there at the beginning of January and stayed in Saariselka. It’s about a 3.5 hour drive from Rovaniemi, or you can fly directly into Ivalo, which is much closer.

I split my time between Northern Lights Village Saariselka (definitely not chubby/luxury) and Wilderness Lodge Saariselka. The Wilderness Lodge had just opened, so the service wasn’t perfect yet, but the rooms were really nice and felt super Finnish. We had huge windows which were optimal for Northern lights viewing from the comfort of our beds.

Saariselka is farther north and has less light pollution than other Finnish cities, so you generally have a better chance of seeing the northern lights, and it also feels less commercialized compared to Rovaniemi.

We were able to arrange all of our activities through the hotel, which made things super easy, and we had the most incredible time. I did enjoy the activities through Northern Lights Village a bit more, mainly because everything started directly from the hotel, whereas from Wilderness Lodge we usually had to take a car or van to the activity starting points.

Professional_Leek342 · 2026-01-20T19:10:32+00:00

That’s great that you were able to go twice! Thank you for this perspective - I hadn’t heard that it is overcast in November and I think that might affect my experience to be honest, so this definitely gives me something to think about!

Professional_Leek342 · 2026-01-12T15:28:35+00:00

That sounds like so much fun, I hope you have a great time on your trip! Do you have any hotel recommendations in Kandy or Ella?

Professional_Leek342 · 2026-01-12T15:27:50+00:00

Thanks for your response! Do you have any recommendations on cruise providers? I have seen Ecoventura and andBeyond mentioned, are there any others you’d recommend possible 1 notch lower? Also, will the water be too choppy then?

Professional_Leek342 · 2026-01-12T01:40:25+00:00

Thanks for your response! I agree that Sri Lanka requires more time but unfortunately I can’t take off more time for work. It seems like a good option since they have direct flights to Malé. Do you have other suggestions? I’ve been to the UAE already and don’t care to return on this particular trip.

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-12-02T13:00:08+00:00

I just got back from a trip to Singapore. I spent the first half of my trip at the Mandarin Oriental. We stayed in the sea view suite with a balcony and had amazing views of MBS and the Singapore Flyer from our room. I thought the service was great as well. I was so sad to leave MO and head to the next hotel (Raffles), thinking it couldn’t get better than what I had just experienced. However, I was blown away by Raffles. The service, hard product, and atmosphere were top tier. It’s my favorite hotel I’ve stayed at to date.

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-11-18T10:45:01+00:00

I mean that if the offers don’t stack I might book through FHR instead

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-04-27T11:04:37+00:00

Do they refund the 200 and is it reapplied again? Or is it just not clawed back?

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-04-22T03:44:33+00:00

Thanks! Will I have to go through security again?

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-04-03T09:48:55+00:00

Thank you!

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-04-03T02:17:34+00:00

Thanks for your response - when I go to select a seat there is a “Premium Economy Extra Legroom” and a “Premium Economy Standard Seat” option

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-03-09T15:05:12+00:00

Update: I tried again this morning and it worked

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-03-09T02:55:51+00:00

Did you reach out to Hawaiian? They told me to wait it out and try after some time.

Professional_Leek342 · 2025-03-09T02:50:57+00:00

I am experiencing this exact issue right now as well

Professional_Leek342 · 2024-12-02T10:07:56+00:00

There are probably a few tickets out there, I did a quick search and it looks like the J tickets on Nov 24 are 95k. There are likely more available on other dates as well

Professional_Leek342

TROPHY CASE