Levi: Best & Original Northern Lights Hunting & photography

About This Experience

Beyond Arctic’s Northern Lights Hunting & Photography tour is an aurora-first chase built around taking good pictures. A small group of no more than eight per guide travels by minivan to usually one to three locations a night, picked from weather systems, solar activity and local forecasts that the team starts analyzing in the morning. If the best conditions are 100 km (62 miles) away, the listing says the team will make the drive.

The photography side is practical. Your guide is a wilderness and photography guide, the inclusions cover headlamps, a tripod for your camera or a mount for your smartphone, and you receive a collection of edited photos after the tour. One reviewer mentions help with camera settings, another a remote hut with sausages around a fire. If heavy clouds or snowfall hide the aurora, the night turns into night photography at locations chosen for it. That keeps the evening useful, but the price stays the same: there is no refund for a night without auroras.

Plan for 5.5–6 hours. The sample itinerary has two drives of about 30 minutes and two outdoor stops of about 45 minutes and 1.5 hours, with walks and camp activities, so you spend real time standing in the cold. The minimum age is 8, because the operator calls the tour photography-based and quite demanding. Winter overalls are not named among the inclusions, so ask the operator or bring full winter clothing. One reviewer found the full van a bit cramped.

Read the pickup line carefully. The inclusion says ‘Hotel pick-up & drop-off outside central Levi area’, and the itinerary lists Sirkka, the village Levi centre sits in, for both pickup and return. Confirm the arrangement for your address when you book. The operator says it has run aurora tours for more than ten years. The tour costs from $138 per person (checked October 2026), with free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. For a longer chase with a camera-based refund rule, compare Arctic GM’s tour (our review); for photos and a campfire in a shorter evening, see the Levi Northern Lights Experience (our review).

Highlights

• Aurora-first hunt with photography at its core, by minivan in a small group
• Usually one to three locations a night, picked from live weather and aurora forecasts
• Planning starts in the morning, with weather systems, solar activity and local forecasts analyzed
• The team will drive about 100 km (62 miles) if that is where conditions are best
• Cloud fallback: heavy cloud or snowfall turns the night into a night-photography session
• Reviewers mention help with their own camera settings and a fire at a remote hut

What's Included

• ✓ Hotel pick-up and drop-off (the listing words it 'outside central Levi area')
• ✓ Minivan transport, with a maximum of 8 people per guide
• ✓ Wilderness and photography guide
• ✓ Tripod for your camera or a mount for your smartphone, plus headlamps and other gear
• ✓ Hot drinks
• ✓ A collection of edited photos after the tour, free of charge

Not Included

• A guaranteed sighting or any refund for a night without auroras
• Winter overalls (not named among the inclusions; ask the operator)
• A meal (only hot drinks are listed, though reviewers mention sausages at a fire)

What to Bring

• Full winter clothing in layers, with a windproof outer layer
• Winter boots and wool socks
• Loose mittens with thin wool gloves underneath for handling a camera
• A charged camera or phone and a spare battery or power bank
• A hat and scarf

Good to Know & Caveats

• The aurora is not guaranteed. If heavy clouds or snowfall prevent a sighting, the tour concentrates on night photography at locations in Arctic nature chosen for it; there is no no-sighting refund.
• Minimum age 8: the operator says the tour is photography-based and quite demanding.
• Pickup: the inclusion reads 'Hotel pick-up & drop-off outside central Levi area', and the itinerary lists Sirkka, where Levi centre sits, for pickup and return. Confirm the arrangement for your address when you book.
• Expect a late return. The sample itinerary has two drives of about 30 minutes and two outdoor stops of about 45 minutes and 1.5 hours, with walks and camp activities.
• Groups are capped at 8 people per guide; one reviewer found the full van a bit cramped.
• Edited photos arrive after the tour, not on the night.
• Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. One reviewer's date was moved because of snowfall and the tour ran the next night.
• First bookable date this season: 26 October 2026, from $138 per person (checked October 2026).

Meeting Point

Hotel pick-up and drop-off are included as the listing words it ('outside central Levi area'), with Sirkka named as the pickup and return point; confirm your pickup when you book.