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What to wear on a northern lights tour

Hours outdoors at night in Lapland. Some tours hand you an overall and some hand you nothing. Here is which, and what goes underneath.

Top picks
Northern lights hunt by 4×4 van
Arctic GM Experiences · 5 hours Northern lights hunt by 4×4 van
★ 4.6 (4,456) from €70
Book now
Northern lights tour with photos
BookLapland · 5 hours Northern lights tour with photos
★ 4.8 (2,634) from €70
Book now
Small-group wilderness tour with campfire
Wild About Lapland · 4 hours Small-group wilderness tour with campfire
★ 4.3 (1,535) from €103
Book now
Compare all 9 options

An aurora night means standing still outdoors for long stretches, often far from the van. Several tours provide overalls or warm clothing; the LumiLena barbecue evening states that it provides none. The table shows what each listing says. The layers underneath are always your part.

Which tours provide warm clothing

What each listing states about clothing. A dash means the listing we checked says nothing either way, so look at the inclusions on the product page. Sorted by number of reviews.

Photo Tour Warm clothingFormatDuration Reviews ↕ Price ↕ Book
Northern lights hunt by 4×4 van
Arctic GM Experiences 		Overalls Van chase 5 h ★ 4.6 (4,456) €70 per person Book now
Northern lights tour with photos
BookLapland 		Overalls and boots Chase, up to 200 km 5 h ★ 4.8 (2,634) €70 per person Book now
Small-group wilderness tour with campfire
Wild About Lapland 		Warm clothing Chase + campfire 4 h ★ 4.3 (1,535) €103 per person Book now
Aurora hunt with photos
Lapland Explorers 		— Bus or small group 6 h ★ 4.8 (1,329) €55 per person Book now
Small-group aurora hunt
Into North 		— Small-group chase 8 h ★ 4.9 (354) €149 per person Book now
Northern lights photography hunt
Nordic Odyssey 		Overalls Photography tour — ★ 4.9 (336) €115 per person Book now
Small-group aurora hunt with photos & video
Aurora Monkeys 		— Small-group chase 5 h ★ 4.8 (330) €132 per person Book now
Aurora evening with barbecue
LumiLena 		None, bring your own Campfire / BBQ 3 h ★ 4.7 (179) €67 per person Book now
Ice floating under the northern lights
Safartica 		Clothing for the activity Ice floating (winter) 3 h ★ 4.5 (26) €124 per person Book now

Prices are per person and come live from GetYourGuide and Viator. Where the guarantee is a paid option, it is added on the booking page. A dash means the listing gives no figure for this point. The product page has the details.

The tours in detail

Each tour with what its listing says about the guarantee, the length of the night and the group. Open a card for the full details.

Northern lights hunt by 4×4 van
Arctic GM Experiences

Northern lights hunt by 4×4 van

Full refund if the camera captures nothing · max 8 guests per van · the most-reviewed tour in this comparison.

  • Duration: 5 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €70 ★ 4.6 (4,456 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Guarantee: full refund if at no point northern lights are captured on camera
  • Aurora chase in 4×4 vans with a maximum of 8 guests per van
  • The most-reviewed northern lights tour in this comparison

What's included

  • Guided aurora chase by 4×4 van
  • Overalls

Meeting point

Valtakatu 26, central Rovaniemi.

Know before you go

  • The refund condition is the camera rather than the naked eye: a faint aurora that shows up on a photo counts as a sighting.
  • Read the guarantee terms on the product page before booking, because they are the binding version.

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Northern lights tour with photos
BookLapland

Northern lights tour with photos

Full refund if no aurora is seen · the guides drive up to 200 km · photos included.

  • Duration: 5 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €70 ★ 4.8 (2,634 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Guarantee: full refund if no northern lights are seen
  • The guides drive up to 200 km in search of clear skies
  • Photos of the night are included

What's included

  • Guided aurora chase
  • Photos of the night
  • Overalls and boots

Know before you go

  • Whether "seen" means by eye or on camera is defined in the guarantee terms on the product page. Check them before booking.

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Small-group wilderness tour with campfire
Wild About Lapland

Small-group wilderness tour with campfire

No guarantee as standard (bookable as an option) · max 8 · campfire and up to 3 viewing spots · warm clothing included.

  • Duration: 4 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €103 ★ 4.3 (1,535 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Small group, maximum 8 guests, with up to 3 viewing spots per night
  • Campfire in the wilderness
  • Warm clothing included
  • No guarantee in the standard version; the guarantee is a separate option

What's included

  • Guided wilderness tour with campfire
  • Warm clothing

Know before you go

  • With the guarantee option, the tour is postponed or cancelled with a full refund if conditions look poor, and refunded if no aurora is captured on camera.
  • Without the option, the tour runs as a wilderness evening with no refund promise.

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Aurora hunt with photos
Lapland Explorers

Aurora hunt with photos

Full refund if the camera captures nothing · bus or small group of up to 8 · photos within 2–3 days.

  • Duration: 6 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €55 ★ 4.8 (1,329 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Guarantee: 100 % refund if no northern lights are captured on camera
  • Bookable as a bus tour or as a small group of up to 8
  • Photos delivered within 2–3 days

What's included

  • Guided aurora chase
  • Photos of the night

Meeting point

Korkalonkatu 25, Rovaniemi.

Know before you go

  • Bus and small group are separate options on the same listing, so check which one you select.
  • The refund condition is the camera rather than the naked eye.

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Small-group aurora hunt
Into North

Small-group aurora hunt

Full refund if no aurora is visible through the camera · max 8 · pickup within 10 km.

  • Duration: 8 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €149 ★ 4.9 (354 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Guarantee: full refund if no northern lights are visible through the camera
  • Small group, maximum 8 guests
  • Pickup within 10 km of the centre

What's included

  • Guided aurora chase
  • Pickup within 10 km

Know before you go

  • An 8-hour night, so plan for a late return.

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Northern lights photography hunt
Nordic Odyssey

Northern lights photography hunt

Professional camera · max 8 guests · overalls provided · the operator states the aurora is not guaranteed.

from €115 ★ 4.9 (336 reviews)
Book on Viator
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Photography-focused aurora hunt with a professional camera
  • Small group, maximum 8 guests
  • Overalls provided

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Small-group aurora hunt with photos & video
Aurora Monkeys

Small-group aurora hunt with photos & video

100 % money-back guarantee · max 8 · photos and videos of the night.

  • Duration: 5 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €132 ★ 4.8 (330 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Guarantee: 100 % money back
  • Small group, maximum 8 guests
  • Photos and videos of the night

What's included

  • Guided aurora chase
  • Photos and videos

Know before you go

  • The exact refund condition (eye or camera) is set out in the guarantee terms on the product page.

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Aurora evening with barbecue
LumiLena

Aurora evening with barbecue

No guarantee, no warm clothing, no professional photographer · 3 hours · stop at Santa Claus Village.

  • Duration: 3 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €67 ★ 4.7 (179 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Aurora evening with a barbecue
  • The route includes a stop at Santa Claus Village

Know before you go

  • No warm clothing is provided, so bring your own full winter gear.
  • There is no refund if the aurora does not appear.

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Ice floating under the northern lights
Safartica

Ice floating under the northern lights

Float in a frozen lake in a floating suit · clothing included · minimum height 120 cm.

  • Duration: 3 hours
  • ✓ Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start
from €124 ★ 4.5 (26 reviews)
Book on GetYourGuide
Full tour details

Highlights

  • Ice floating: float in a frozen lake under the night sky
  • Clothing included

What's included

  • Clothing for the activity

Meeting point

Koskikatu 9, Rovaniemi.

Not suitable for

  • Children under 120 cm

Details from the operator’s listing on the booking platform. The guarantee terms there are the binding version.

Layers under the overall

  • Base layer: thermal underwear, ideally wool or a synthetic fibre that keeps you warm when you sweat in the van and then stand outside. Avoid cotton next to the skin.
  • Mid layer: a fleece or wool jumper. Two thinner layers are warmer than one thick one.
  • Outer layer: the provided overall, or your own insulated, windproof jacket and trousers if the tour provides nothing.
  • Head, hands, feet: a warm hat that covers the ears, a neck warmer, mittens over thin liner gloves (so you can use a camera), wool socks and insulated winter boots.

Why aurora nights feel colder than the thermometer says

On a husky or snowmobile tour you move; on an aurora night you mostly wait. You get out of a warm van, stand on snow or ice and look up, sometimes for a long time. Standing still, cold feet and cold fingers are the usual complaints. A reviewer who loved the night still ends the review with “Dress warm though!”, and another calls it super cold but worth it.

Small things that make a long night easier
  • Spare batteries for phone and camera, kept in an inside pocket.
  • Hand and foot warmers, which are cheap, light and welcome after midnight.
  • A headlamp with a red light, so you do not spoil everyone’s night vision.
  • In autumn, without snow, waterproof shoes and a rain layer matter more than heavy boots.

What to wear under a floating suit

On floating tours you wear a thick floating suit over your clothes. Safartica includes the clothing for its winter ice floating. Wear warm, close-fitting layers underneath and bring dry clothes for afterwards. Reviewers of a comparable floating tour describe the suits as bulky and, when they fit badly, not fully watertight. Details on our aurora floating page.

Children

Children lose heat faster and get bored of standing still sooner. Dress them in the same layers, pack a spare pair of gloves and consider a shorter format. Tours that provide clothing do not always have small sizes, so check the product page. More on our northern lights with kids page.

The cold, as guests describe it

Even the five-star reviews mention the cold. Take it as a packing list rather than a warning.

“Fantastic! our guide did his best to show us the lights and took great pictures and videos of us with them. Dress warm though!”
Lipika · Germany · April 2026 Aurora hunt by heated minivan · Lapin Taivas
“Amazing experience!!! It was super cold but in the end it was worth it. The night was cloudy so the guide drove to Sweden and found clear sky, so we were able to see the northern lights. My guides were amazing, they took pics of us and were patient.”
Vanessa · Brazil · May 2026 Northern lights hunt by 4×4 van · Arctic GM

Real traveller reviews from GetYourGuide.

FAQ

Do northern lights tours in Rovaniemi provide warm clothing?

Many do, but not all. Arctic GM provides overalls, BookLapland overalls and boots, Wild About Lapland warm clothing on its wilderness tour and Nordic Odyssey overalls. The LumiLena barbecue evening provides no warm clothing. For other tours, check the inclusions on the product page.

What should I wear under the overall?

Thermal underwear, a fleece or wool mid layer, a warm hat, a neck warmer, mittens over thin gloves, wool socks and warm boots. Avoid cotton next to the skin.

Do I need special boots?

Warm, insulated winter boots with room for thick socks. BookLapland provides boots; on most other tours your own footwear is what you stand in all night.

What should I wear in autumn?

In the snow-free weeks, warm layers plus waterproof shoes and a rain layer. The nights are milder than in winter, but you still spend hours outdoors in the dark.

What do I wear for aurora floating?

A floating suit goes over your clothes. Wear warm, close-fitting layers underneath and bring dry clothes for afterwards. Safartica includes the clothing for its ice floating.

Related on this site

Best time

Autumn without snow, winter with it.

Aurora camps & campfire

Where the fire keeps you warm, and where you bring your own gear.

With kids

Short formats and cold-weather rules for children.

Tours with and without warm clothing

Format, guarantee type and duration in one table.

See the comparison