Clouded out in Alta? A plan B for night two

No tour can promise the sky

None of the tours on this site guarantees the northern lights, and none could. The aurora depends on activity from the sun, and seeing it depends on a gap in the clouds wherever you happen to stand.

Alta Adventure's listing claims an 80–90% chance of seeing the lights. Read that as the operator's estimate from its own nights out, not a promise for yours.

Cloud is the usual reason a night fails, far more often than a quiet sun. At Alta's latitude even a weak aurora can sit overhead, so a clear patch of sky is most of the battle. Our guide to reading Kp and cloud cover shows how the guides judge it.

What the minibus hunt does under cloud

Alta Adventure's small-group tour, from ~$257, runs regardless of the weather. The guides watch weather maps and the Kp value, then drive toward whichever sky looks clearest, sometimes far from town.

The tour is cancelled only for dangerous weather or driving conditions, and then you get a full refund. A cloudy but safe night goes ahead, which means you can pay and still see nothing.

That rule is also the point of the tour. The inland valleys often carry different weather from the coast, and a minibus can move between them in a way that a farm or a fixed trail cannot.

On the way the guides tell stories about the Stone Age and Sami culture. Reindeer herding and the Second World War come up as well. On a grey night that talk is a good share of what you paid for.

The price is the drawback. It costs about twice the bus tours, so a cloudy night with this group is an expensive one. Our price comparison puts the figures side by side.

Karlsøy's long night out

Amazing Aurora by Karlsøy, from ~$129, plans for up to 6 hours, and its listing says the length and route depend on the night. On a cloudy evening that extra time goes into hunting for a gap.

When bookings are low, the big bus gives way to a smaller vehicle. There is a campfire with marshmallows and hot drinks either way, so a grey night is not an empty one. It holds 4.8 from 37 reviews on GetYourGuide.

The drawback is the size, with up to 45 guests on a busy night, and a late return. If you need to be back at a fixed hour, tell the guides ahead.

A good evening even without the lights

The activity tours head to one fixed area, so they cannot chase clear sky. What they offer instead is a night that still counts when the clouds stay put.

• Æventyr's snowmobile night, from ~$284, with about 2 hours of driving along the old postal road toward Finnmarksvidda
• Finnmark Adventure's quad tour, from ~$235, riding the coast near Kviby with two guests to a quad
• Flatmoen Natur's horse sleigh, from ~$332, where a Fjord horse pulls you under blankets before a 3-course meal by the fire

If the lights are your only reason to go out, these are a weak choice on a doubtful forecast. If you want an Arctic evening whatever the sky does, they are the safer bet. Our guide to the tour types compares all five.

Two nights beat one

The simplest plan B is time. Book your tour for the first or second evening of your stay, and keep at least one more night free in case the first turns out grey.

Put the tour on your first night rather than your last. A cloudy final evening leaves no way to try again, while a cloudy first one still leaves the rest of the stay.

Nothing in the listings we read offers a free second tour after a cloudy night, so a retry means a new booking. Free cancellation on GetYourGuide up to 24 hours ahead helps here, because it lets you rebook once you see the forecast.

Some weeks are steadier than others, though none is safe. Our month-by-month guide compares the autumn weeks with the polar night and late winter.

Matching the tour to the forecast

Look at the cloud forecast in the afternoon. A clear or broken sky suits every tour on the list, including the slow ones that stay in a single spot.

Thick cloud over town is where the minibus earns its price, since it can drive out from under a front. A sleigh or snowmobile booked for that night is still a good outing, but the lights would be a lucky break.

A cheaper second try is Finnmark Adventure's Northern Lights Bus, from ~$149, a heated bus with no fixed route. The drawback is the crowd, with up to 53 people, and a score of 4.4 from 53 reviews, the lowest on this site.

Cruise guests rarely get a second evening at all. If you arrive by ship, read our guide to tours from the cruise pier before you choose.