See the Northern Lights on a Norwegian Cruise

Due to strong solar activity, the coming Norwegian winter promises a particularly impressive Northern Lights season.

See the Northern Lights from Norway

This assurance has come from cruise line Hurtigruten, who believe that a winter voyage on one of its ships offers the optimum conditions for observing this polar light phenomena. In addition to experiencing the Northern Lights from the deck of the ship, Hurtigruten is also offering a number of varied activities on land and at sea, including pre- and post-cruise programs to experience Norway in winter.

The company cited solar scientist, Paal Brekke of the Norwegian Space Research Centre, who has reported optimum conditions for Northern lights observations this winter. “It is highly probable that we shall be seeing even more of the Northern Lights between September 2012 and April 2013 than we did last winter, because solar activity, which varies over an 11-year cycle and affects the intensity of the Northern Lights, is expected to reach a new climax in the coming season,” he said in a prepared statement.

Some of the land options being offered by Hurtigruten include dog sled tours, snow scooter safaris or reindeer sleigh rides venturing far from light sources. One of the most popular shore experiences is a “cool” night’s sleep in the Snow Hotel in Kirkenes. The hotel is constructed anew every year from snow and ice, and lodges its guests in illuminated snow suites.

Nightseeing with Hurtigruten - Norway's midnight sun

Another one is the Red King Crab Safari in Kirkenes – at the end of the snow scooter trek to a frozen fjord, participants cut their own hole in the ice and try their hand at fishing for the Red King Crab. The crabs, which can reach up to 2 metres and weight up to 15 kilos, are then prepared in a traditional fisherman’s hut and served as a meal “truly fit for a king,” according to Hurtigruten.