The aurora from a snowmobile above Alta
Alta is often called the town of the northern lights, and one tour here is built around them. Æventyr's evening ride climbs the old postal road to the edge of Finnmarksvidda, away from the lights of town, and waits under a dark sky. The aurora may show or it may not, and no one can promise either.
The ride in outline
The Northern Lights Night Adventure from ~$284 lasts four hours in the evening. Æventyr picks you up in Alta and kits you out, then takes the group up the old postal road towards a mountain range called Beskades.
About two hours of that time is driving. The rest covers transport and the briefing as well as dressing in the thermal suit, plus a stop for coffee and tea with snacks.
Groups go up to 17, riding in pairs on shared sleds and swapping seats on the way. The meeting point is Markedsgata 6 in the centre of town.
Why Alta for the aurora
Alta sits roughly 70° north, under the band where the aurora most often appears. The town leans on the link, and its Northern Lights Cathedral is named after them.
Inland Finnmark tends to have a drier and often clearer climate than the coast. Æventyr's listing calls it a dry and stable climate, which helps, though it does not stop cloud from rolling in on a given night.
The ride's real advantage is distance from town. Up at Beskades the streetlights of Alta are behind the hills, and the sky above the plateau is properly dark.
What decides a sighting
Several things have to line up on the night. The sky must be dark and free of cloud, and the sun must have sent enough charged particles to light the upper air. The tour can only deliver the darkness.
No tour can guarantee the northern lights, and this one is no exception. Æventyr does not promise them, and nobody can say in the afternoon whether the evening will bring a green arc or nothing at all.
On a cloudy evening you still get the ride and a dark arctic night sky over snow. Go for the drive under the stars, and count any aurora as a bonus.
Pick a night with a clear forecast if your schedule allows. Our best time guide covers the dark months, from the polar night to the long evenings of March.
Cold on the plateau at night
Evenings on Finnmarksvidda are cold. In mid-winter the plateau often sits around −15 to −25 °C (5 to −13 °F), and on still, clear nights it can fall lower.
Clear nights are the ones you hope for, and they are also the coldest. The wind of the ride makes the air feel colder still, especially for the passenger sitting behind.
Æventyr lends a thermal suit and helmet along with shoes and gloves. Wool underneath does the rest, and a neck tube pulled over the chin keeps the worst of the wind off your face.
A night with no aurora
Cloud is the usual reason for a blank sky. On those evenings the ride still runs, and you drive up a dark road through snowy forest to the open plateau.
Many riders say the ride itself carries the evening even without a display. The silence at the stops and the coffee in the cold are part of the trip either way.
If seeing the aurora matters most, plan more than one dark evening in Alta. That gives you a second chance on another night, even without a snowmobile.
Photos at the stops
Photos from a moving snowmobile do not work at night. A camera needs a long exposure in the dark, and the vibration of the sled blurs every frame.
The stops are where the pictures happen. Brace your phone on the seat of the parked sled and switch to night mode, then hold still for a few seconds.
Cold drains batteries fast, so keep the phone in an inner pocket until the guide stops. Thin liner gloves under the loaned ones let you work the screen, and our what to wear guide covers the rest of the layers.
Who the night ride suits
The listing rules out pregnant travelers and anyone with back problems or limited mobility. Riders over 70 cannot join, and the weight limit is 130 kg (287 lb).
To drive you need a valid class B license, shown before the ride. Without one you ride as a passenger from age 12, which our license guide explains.
The passenger seat is the better one for watching the sky, since the driver keeps their eyes on the track. Our guide to sharing a sled covers how the swap works.
Ratings and where to book
The tour holds 4.7 from 70+ reviews on GetYourGuide, which shows it as a top pick. On Viator it scores 5.0 from 40+ reviews, but the same tour costs more there.
An evening under the plateau sky
The four-hour night ride climbs the old postal road to Beskades and leaves the town far behind. Coffee and snacks at the stop are included, as is pickup in Alta.
The catch is twofold. The aurora is not promised, and half the four hours go on getting there and getting dressed.
Night first or daylight first
A first drive in the dark can feel tense, since the headlight shows only the track ahead. Æventyr's daytime ride at ~$288 follows the same road up to the plateau in daylight.
Doing the day ride first turns the night ride into a second outing rather than a test. Our price comparison sets both beside the longer tours.