Northern Lights Vacation

Hi,

My wife and I are planning a visit from UK in 2007 - possibly around Sept 21st with a view to seeing the Aurora. Would anyone care to give me a clue as to how many nights we would need to stay in Fairbanks to be reasonably sure of seeing the lights at this time of year.

We intend to amalgamate this visit with a ride on the Rocky Mountaineer - Vancouver/Calgary, but are unsure how best to get to Fairbanks from these cities. Is it possible to drive at that time of year?

Northern Lights Vacation

I hesitate to give the number of days - the more the better, of course, but at least a week.

From Vancouver, you can fly Vancouver-Whitehorse-Fairbanks on Air North ( http://www.flyairnorth.com ), or Vancouver-Anchorage-Fairbanks with Air Canada. Air North is probably cheaper, and is highy recommended by me and most other Yukoners.

Murray

Northern Lights Vacation

I read your Rocky Mountaineer wrong - from Calgary, AirNorth through Whitehorse is certainly your best option.

Thanks very much for the comments - we have been thinking about other options, once of which may be fly to Anchorage first, and do the Rocky Mountaineer after looking for the Northern Lights

GoAlaska tours offer selfdrive options with accommodation booked at various places, or of course we could just hire a car ourselves and ';do our own thing';

I now realise that Vancouver to Fairbanks is over 2,000 miles, and that self drive this distance, plus time at Fairbanks is not really an option.

Do you have any views about driving in Alaska at the end of September - what sort of road conditions might we experience.

Late-September road conditions can be almost anyhing, including snow in the passes. I%26#39;d do the Rocky Mountaineer first for 2 reasons - to get the last of the fall colours there, and to get to Alaska as late as possible to increase your chances of seeing the aurora.

Murray

Thanks Murray for your comments - we%26#39;ll see if we can arrange it as you suggest

Regards,

Mel

What are the days of the year that you are able to see the northern lights?

Uhm, winter.

Any clear night here in the Interior you have the chance to see them. They may not be out though. You can%26#39;t put an actual date on them.

So if you go in May/June or Sept you have a chance to see them in any of those months?

skier: In May and June, it%26#39;s almost 24 hrs of daylight, so no - you won%26#39;t see lights then. In September, it%26#39;s getting dark again at night, so then there is a chance. :)

Thank you for your info.

When does it actually start getting dark again?