I experienced a dreamlike aurora viewing trip in the remote wilderness of Inari, Finland. On this 4-day, 3-night journey, I encountered mystical auroras lighting up the sky every night. I was unbelievably lucky—seriously, it became a once-in-a-lifetime memory. I stayed at Holiday Village Inari and also tried thrilling tours like husky sledding and snowmobiling. I crashed during the husky sled ride and got injured (lol).
This trip was in February 2025. Auroras can be seen roughly from August to April, but winter—when the dark hours are longest—is the best time to aim for. January has the longest nights, and December and February around it are also quite long. One reason I chose February is that there was a holiday, making it easier to take time off.
You can see auroras in places like Canada, Alaska, and Finland, but in the end it comes down to luck. I’d heard that staying three nights gives you a high probability, so I went all in and decided on three nights in Inari.
- What Is Inari? Location and Key Features
- Recommended Accommodation: Holiday Village Inari
- Aurora Viewing Spots
- The Complete Guide to Photographing the Aurora
- Food and Shopping
- Best Season and What to Wear
- Activities You Can Enjoy in Inari
- Conclusion: Aurora Viewing in Inari Is a Quiet, Luxurious Experience
What Is Inari? Location and Key Features
Inari is a small town in northern Finland, located in the Arctic Circle. At around 68°N latitude, it sits right under the aurora belt, and auroras can be observed on more than 200 days per year. The town center has supermarkets and restaurants, so it’s well equipped enough to serve as a tourist base. Compared with Rovaniemi or Saariselkä, Inari has fewer tourists, making it ideal for people who want to enjoy aurora viewing in peace and quiet.
Why Finland—and Why Inari?
Auroras can be seen around the world, but Finland isn’t as cold as other polar regions thanks to warm ocean currents. Canada and Alaska can hit -20 to -30°C, but in Finland it’s more like around -5°C at worst.
On top of that, Inari is less crowded and still a bit of a hidden gem as a tourist destination. Even without a tour, you can walk to the lakeside for free and reach aurora spots on your own. There’s almost no light pollution, and the sky opens up wide. Lake Inari freezes over, so it feels incredibly vast and open—perfect conditions for photography lovers.
Within Finland, the famous destinations are Rovaniemi and Saariselkä. But those towns are bustling with tourists, and hotels and tours tend to be pricey. There’s also some light pollution, so depending on conditions the aurora can look faint. And aurora-hunting tours are paid and require traveling out to the outskirts of town—something you can’t really do on your own easily.
Inari, on the other hand, is at a high latitude of 68°N and is a small town. In winter, Lake Inari freezes completely and turns into something like a pure white snowfield. The lake is wide open with nothing blocking your view, making it perfect for watching auroras that blanket the entire sky. And if you stay right by the lake, you can step into this location within seconds from your room.
Why I chose Finland for aurora viewing, and why I picked Inari - YouTube
How to Get There
The closest airport to Inari is Ivalo Airport. People heading to Saariselkä use the same airport as well. It’s about a 1.5-hour direct flight from Helsinki. Round-trip flights from Helsinki to Ivalo on Finnair cost about 35,000–40,000 yen (including one 23kg checked bag).
From Ivalo Airport to Inari, it takes about 1 hour by transfer. There are no buses from the airport to Inari, so booking a transfer in advance is essential. There aren’t always taxis waiting either. At first I booked a Visit Inari transfer (150 euros round trip), but later I found a cheaper provider (80 euros round trip, https://ilmarislantky.com/) and switched.
Recommended Accommodation: Holiday Village Inari
This time I stayed at Holiday Village Inari. There are several places to stay in Inari: Hotel Inari in the town center, Wilderness Hotel Inari a bit farther out, Airbnb apartments, and more. But I chose Holiday Village Inari. The biggest reasons were the location and the freedom it offers.
- Direct access to the lakeside—30 seconds from your door to the frozen lake.
- Affordable cottage-style rooms with kitchens, making longer stays possible while saving on food costs.
- Heating and sauna included, comfortable even in extreme cold.
- Quieter than large hotels, with none of the noise from big tour groups.
I also introduced what the rooms at Holiday Village Inari are like in a video, so check it out.
Stayed at Holiday Village Inari and went aurora viewing! - YouTube
On nights when I could see the aurora from the property, it was amazing to be able to step back into a warm room the moment I got cold—even below freezing.
Every cottage comes with a kitchen, including a fridge, microwave, cooking utensils, and dishes—everything you need. You can buy groceries in town at K-Market or S-Market and cook meals to your liking. Eating out in the Arctic Circle is expensive, and doing every meal at restaurants adds up fast, but cooking for yourself lets you keep costs down while still enjoying warm food.
Some cottages also come with a private sauna, so after watching auroras outside in sub-zero temperatures, you can warm up right away in your own sauna. This was genuinely the best—being able to go back and forth between outside and inside multiple times a night is something you don’t easily get with other accommodations. And since it’s a private standalone cottage, you have real freedom. The Wi-Fi connection in the room was also solid.
Check prices for Holiday Village Inari here!
As other options, I also considered Hotel Inari in the center and the upscale resort Wilderness Hotel Inari outside town. Hotel Inari is conveniently located, but some rooms don’t have kitchens, which isn’t ideal if you want to cook. Wilderness Hotel Inari is luxurious, but it’s more for travelers seeking luxury, and it didn’t fit my budget-minded solo trip. The accommodation cost is high, making multiple nights tough on the budget, and the supermarket is far away.
There were also cheaper cabins and Airbnbs, but if you’re far from the lake, it’s a dealbreaker—you can’t quickly go outside when the aurora appears. Auroras can show up anytime, and if you only start getting ready and moving after an alert, you might miss it. In that sense, Holiday Village Inari was perfect because I could reach the shooting spot within a minute from my room.
In the end, choosing this place meant I could fully enjoy auroras on all three nights while minimizing stress from cold and travel. I can say with confidence it was the best choice for me.
Aurora Viewing Spots
You can see auroras even from town, but I recommend the lakeside or inside the forest where there’s less artificial light. Holiday Village Inari is an excellent viewing point with no need to travel. I also joined a tour that went deeper into Lake Inari, and it was great. Honestly, aurora forecast apps aren’t reliable at all, so you just have to stay up late and wait.
The Complete Guide to Photographing the Aurora
You can capture the aurora on an iPhone, but it’s tough without a tripod. With a tripod, you can definitely shoot it even on an iPhone. Video is difficult, but photos come out clearly. When you keep the iPhone fixed, it switches to Night Mode, so setting the shutter time to 30 seconds or 10 seconds lets you capture beautiful shots. The photos below were taken with an iPhone 16 Pro.
For a mirrorless/DSLR camera, these settings are a good guideline:
- Shutter speed: 5–15 seconds
- ISO: 1600–3200
- Aperture: around f/2.8
- A tripod is essential
A remote shutter you can operate while wearing gloves is helpful. Also, a foldable chair. Batteries drain quickly below freezing, so keep spares in your pocket with a hand warmer.
If you have a GoPro, you can film the aurora using Night Lapse. Here’s the video I actually shot.
Inari Aurora Timelapse - YouTube
Food and Shopping
There are large supermarkets (K-Market and S-Market) in the town center, where you can find groceries and daily necessities. Many restaurants serve local dishes, salmon, and reindeer. Everything is just expensive!
A downside is that Holiday Village Inari doesn’t have a restaurant, but realistically you’ll probably head into the town center during the day anyway. So I think a good balance is eating lunch out when you’re in town and cooking dinner at your accommodation. Cup noodles and pasta can be bought for 1–2 euros, so cooking for yourself can save you a lot on food costs.
Best Season and What to Wear
Finland’s aurora season runs from September to April. Among those months, December to February is especially recommended. The reason is simple: nights are very long during this period, which massively increases your chances of seeing auroras. December and January are close to polar night, with many hours of dim daylight. In February, daylight returns a bit, but the nights are still long enough—and the weather also tends to be relatively stable.
For clothing, you need to go all in on cold-weather gear. At minimum, you need proper winter outerwear, thick gloves, a knit hat, and a neck warmer. Footwear is especially important—thick-soled snow boots are a must. You’ll often be standing still on snow for long periods, and the thickness and insulation of your soles becomes seriously critical. I added thick insoles, too.
You should also bring as many disposable hand warmers as you can. In particular, sticking heat pads on your back, lower back, and around your ankles over your socks helps keep you from getting chilled even when you’re standing still. For your upper body, a winter down jacket or ski wear you use in Japan can actually work, but a windproof outer layer is essential.
In fact, I got most of my gear from Workman, and functionally it was more than enough. You don’t need expensive outdoor-brand clothing—if you get windproofing, insulation, and layering right, you can handle the Arctic Circle just fine. Honestly, hand warmers make a huge difference, and with Holiday Village Inari you can always get back to your room quickly. Comfort on site depends more on “how you combine and wear layers” than the “price of your clothes.” You don’t need to buy a whole new set of expensive winter gear.
If you join multiple Visit Inari tours, it seems you may also be able to borrow winter gear for free during your stay.
It was fun freezing the soap bubbles I brought with me.
Activities You Can Enjoy in Inari
Husky Sledding
It’s run by a local tour company. Flying across the snowfields on a husky sled is an Arctic Circle–style activity. It gets incredibly fast, and the wind chill feels brutal, so you’ll want to be fully prepared for the cold. I crashed into a tree and got injured. 198 euros. Expensive!
https://visitinari.fi/husky-experience/
Tried the Husky Experience - YouTube
Snowmobile Tour
Snowmobile tours that race across frozen lakes and through forests are also popular. Tours held at night can sometimes be paired with aurora viewing. Going deep into the wilderness takes you to places with truly zero artificial light, and the most beautiful aurora I saw during my stay in Inari was actually on the way back from this tour. Highly recommended. 139 euros.
https://visitinari.fi/exclusive-aurora-camp-at-husky-farm/
Tried the Exclusive Aurora Camp - YouTube
Conclusion: Aurora Viewing in Inari Is a Quiet, Luxurious Experience
Compared with famous tourist destinations, Inari has fewer people, and you can enjoy auroras right from the lakeside or from near your accommodation. With plenty of Arctic Circle–style activities like husky sledding and snowmobiling, it truly checks all the boxes for “recommended aurora viewing in Finland.” If you want to spend quiet, luxurious time, Inari is definitely recommended.
I’ve also uploaded a complete guide video with more detailed explanations on YouTube, along with a travel VLOG of Helsinki and Inari, so please check those out too.
