Fairbanks: Northern Lights Chasing & Free Photography Pickup

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.81 (524 reviews) 92% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/18

Duration4h

GroupUp to 18

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Chasing aurora in Fairbanks night with photo memories and local stories

You’ll ride out from Fairbanks with a local guide chasing the northern lights across dark Alaskan roads. There’s no fixed stop—just you, real-time aurora hunting, and free photography so you can actually remember what you saw (even if your hands are shaking). Expect cold air, laughter in the dark, and maybe a little wonder you weren’t expecting.

Step-by-step itinerary

Northern Lights Viewing and Photography

Pick up from hotel
Drive to chase Northern Lights
Stop to photograph Northern Lights
Return to hotel
Receive photo link within 3 days

The Experience

I’ll be honest, I was nervous when we climbed into that van in Fairbanks—like, what if the northern lights just didn’t show? Our guide (he just went by Mike) had this calm way about him though, like he’d seen it all before. We drove out of town, headlights bouncing over patches of snow, everyone sort of whispering at first. It’s funny how you can feel both sleepy and buzzing at midnight out here.

The air outside was sharper than I expected—cold enough that my breath felt heavy. Mike kept checking the sky through the windshield, muttering updates about “aurora activity” and where clouds were drifting. At one point he pulled over quick and pointed—“There!”—and honestly at first I thought it was just a faint smudge. But then the green started to ripple and stretch, almost shy at first. Someone laughed (I think it was me), and Mike set up his tripod for those free photos they promised. My fingers were numb but I didn’t care; I could smell woodsmoke from some distant cabin and hear nothing but our own voices echoing.

We chased the northern lights for hours, moving whenever clouds rolled in or the color faded. There’s no bathroom on this tour—Mike warned us—but nobody seemed to mind much in the moment. He told stories about other nights when people cried or danced under the sky, which made me feel less silly for grinning so hard. The whole thing felt sort of fragile; sometimes the lights would vanish for twenty minutes and you’d wonder if that was it, but then they’d come back brighter than before. No guarantees here—just luck, patience, and a guide who knows when to wait.

What’s included

Your evening includes hotel pickup in downtown Fairbanks and professional photography service throughout your northern lights chase; after your adventure, high-quality JPG images are delivered digitally within three days so you don’t have to worry about capturing them yourself while shivering under Alaska’s sky.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendly

Operated by Alaska Journey Tours in Fairbanks, Alaska