(edit title) Planning for Visit for Aurora Budget trip, lots of questions Options

[tsk1979]

Seeing the Aurora has been our dream. So we are thinking of visiting sweden to do so. I know fInland and Norway are the preferred destinations, but sweden seems to be the cheapest when it comes to hotel accomodation around christmas.

We have visited alps in autumn, and mostly drove around. So planning similar thing in Sweden too. Few questions

1. From whatever research I have done, Lulea seems to be the nearest place from where to see Aurora(from Stockholm), however, most people recommend regions around Kiruna - Is this true?
2. Its 1000kms+ of driving. Is it possible to average 70-80kmph? This will allow us to do the drive over 2 days
3. How are the motorways around chrismas time. I presume speeds are slow due to ice on road?

We live in a tropical country, and have seen lowest of -10 in the Himalayas. Done some snowed out driving also on very bad quality roads. However, never have seen -30 degree C

I am assuming all hotels are centrally heated?
For aurora watching we have to go outside wearing warm clothes. I do not think we get such warm clothing here in India?
Should we buy from Stockholm?
Whats the approx cost/person for buying -30 grade clothing including snow shoes and all. We will probably use these clothes once every 3-4 years when we head to cold regions.

Any other advice you can give?
Do lot of people go Aurora watching in winters. Is it very crowded? Do you guys get frequent road closures lasting days etc.,?

And advice would be wonderful

[johnjohn]

The aurora is unpredictable and rare. The chances of just picking a small time window to see it thus problematic. However if you wish to incorporated other adventures then you can have a great time. Buy all your winter clothing in second hand stores for very little money. Hotels are centrally heated apart from the ice hotel near Kiruna as indeed it is built entirely of ice. Virtually 24 hours of darkness means some limitations. Perhaps travel using train and Eurorail passes is cheaper. Iceland could be an option as viewing tours are given daily just outside of Reykjavik and much warmer there too. Once again you chances of seeing the aurora are slim so plan you trip around seeing other things.
photo:last winter in Sweden

 

 

[tsk1979]

Thanks for your answer.
I understand it all depends on solar storms. So have to take that chance.
As for train, I checked ticket prices, and for 2 people, public transport can get expensive.
Esp up north cheaper hotels are in the cities. For Aurora we have to go to countryside, and so getting taxi etc., will be very expensive. Car will allow us freedom.,
However, I am not able to find information about travel times and speeds.
Is it possible to get to kIruna from Stockholm over 2 days of driving. Drive like 300-400 miles in one day.
Then spend 4-5 nights in Kiruna area before starting our drive back,
I am okay with driving upto 10 hours a day or little more.

[byke]

One thing to consider is the skills required to drive in such conditions.
If you have never driven in such conditions, is it wise to attempt such in such a small amount of time?

[johnjohn]

17 hour drive time in good conditions 500 SEK to fly. Cheap $80.00USD. book well in advance.

[skogsbo]

Thanks for your answer.. I understand it all depends on solar storms. For Aurora we have to go to countryside,

Any place you stay that is more than 2 hours drive north or stockholm will be relatively small. A walk from your accommodation of 5-10mins max will take you to the countryside where you will be able to see the lights from. Better to pack a torch, than to worry about background light.

As for chances, they are slim, even if there is solar activity, then there might be cloud cover. You can observe the same thing in the southern hemisphere too. (in case you didn't know), or the USA / Canada, might be cheaper too?

If you can stay very flexible, then look here - http://www.spaceweather.com/ but you will literally need to start travelling the moment the flare erupts from the sun, if you want to get here and up north in time.

One thing to consider is the skills required to drive in such conditions.. If you have never driven in such conditions, is it wise to attempt such in such a small amount of time?

I agree, if you haven't drive on hard packed snow/ice, with winter tyres before, almost entirely in the dark, I think they'll be lucky to average 40-50mph, perhaps less as the level of concentration will be draining too.

[tsk1979]

Thanks!
80$ flight seems reasonable. Is it 80$ from Stockholm to Kiruna?
If so, then we can probably rent a car from kiruna for 2 days less.
Are there nice places within 60-70kms from Kiruna for day trips.

As for driving in snow, have done snow driving in Himalayas, but in M+S A/T tires. I agree I would be a lot slower in such conditions.

As for pricing, tickets to Europe from India are the cheapest as compared to USA/Canada
Also I have heard that Sweden and other Scandanavian countries are very safe, low on crime, and very welcoming to tourists.

I checked sunrise sunset times also, I guess we have 3-4 hours of light in the region.

[johnjohn]

KIruna is 145km north of the artic circle. You are coming at the darkest time thus the sun does NOT come above the horizon. You might get a faint glow but not sunlight. Check SAS for flights.

[tsk1979]

Oh boy, its 6000 SEK, total coming to 1000$ for 2 people(return).
Flight from India to sweden(return) comes to around 1300 USD for 2 people.

I am looking at trains too, but they also do not seem to be much cheaper. lulea at 5400 SEK is slightly cheaper.
But we will spend as much in fuel to reach Kiruna.

Maybe drive over 3 days to Kiruna?
That should be doable, right?

[tsk1979]

I also checked out flight and hotel costs during other times, Its one third!!
Looks like Christmas is not a good time to come there.
I presume Aurora will be visible even late feb or something? That is supposed to be off season, right?
Flights cost 1/3, hotel cost is half, and even car rentals are cheaper. There will be 7-8 hours of light(with 3-4 hours of sunshine) also available?
Do you think that is a better idea(we are not skiers, this is an "aurora trip")?

[skogsbo]

I presume Aurora will be visible even late feb or something? That is supposed to be off season, right?Flights cost 1/3, hotel cost is half, and even car rentals are cheaper. T ... (show full quote)

I presume Aurora will be visible even late feb or something? That is supposed to be off season, right?
Flights cost 1/3, hotel cost is half, and even car rentals are cheaper. There will be 7-8 hours of light(with 3-4 hours of sunshine) also available?
Do you think that is a better idea(we are not skiers, this is an "aurora trip")? ... (hide full quote)

are you smoking something local?

The Aurora happens at random according to the suns activtity, at ANY time of year. It's just hard to see in the summer due to the daylight. There is no season for it, early 2013 is predicted to be an 11year (or something like that) peak.

Feb - just because to you the peak winter is the 22nd Dec, doesn't mean winter has left Sweden in Feb, it's often the coldest month, so don't expect to be swimming in the lakes. As a rule Decembers are the start of the coldest months, with the season slowly turning to spring in March, but it will still be dark then on a night too!

[Puffin]

I saw the Aurora over my house a couple of weeks ago (Dalarna)I watched out the window without leaving the house - but whether or not you can see them is pretty weather dependent - if the conditions are right you will be able to see them from any of the small towns/ski resorts in the north

The roads will be very busy and slow around Christmas and conditions will be icy - but a hire car will be equipped with winter tyres

[animesh]

Hi,
Let me set the expectation right... north of sweden is expensive.
A 5 day trip to Kiruna in february 2012 for 2 , including 1 night in icehotel , dog sledge, snowmobile , winterclothing and total cost was around 35K SEK .
But that includes investment of 10K for winterclothing for lifetime
I travelled from Malmö to Kiruna by air and believe me driving is not you should try up north.
just 1 week after the solar storm and everything was worth it.
It was coldest day in decades in Kiruna while we were on snow mobile (-45 degrees)

am an India btw and my wife is vegetarian who had a hard time over the arctic .

Animesh

[tsk1979]

I understand Aurora is dependent on Solar storms.
When I mentioned Feb/March, I meant dark night skies.

Looking at solar activity calendars, it peaks around March often.
So that window(end march) has a high chance.
I also looked at the weather conditions at Abisko in March end

-10 minimum and close to zero max. The blue hole is famous for clear nights.

Question is, is End march off season? I checked air ticket and hotel prices, and they seem good.

Animesh, we did 2 week Switzerland/Austria/Hungary/Germany trip self driving, and the cost was 30,000 SEK including flight tickets.
So I guess we will be driving around in March(with 12 hours of light).

Even if we do not get much of Aurora, I hope the northern Swedish landscape will make up for it

[luisarias20]

Hey,

Why don't you go to Abisko? When I lived in Stockholm I went there with some former classmates. It's cheaper than Kiruna, but it's located further north... near the border with Norway. We went there by train and it wasn't expensive... though the train ride was looooong, something like 16 hours. You can buy the couchette option, that's what I did.

Also, what the others are saying is completely true: late december is the darkest time of the year in Sweden and you might not find many activities to do outdoors... actually, I can't think of any activity to do outdoors around that date in Abisko. I went to there in mid-february (2011) because it's supposed to be less cloudy than december and january so it's easier to see the aurora, but it can get really cold (-30ºC). The trip was 4 days and I got to see the aurora everyday. Also, we planned dog-sledding and cross country skiing.

Hope this helps, let me know if you need more information.

Luis