New Northern Lights hunting trips from brand-new The Aurora Zone

Aug. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- NASA is predicting that the next few winters will coincide with the next Solar Maximum – when the Sun’s equatorial magnetic field is at its fastest – resulting in the most impressive Northern Lights display for 50 years.  Witnessing the Aurora Borealis is likely to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience – the best chance for a generation to see the Lights at their most intense.

Focusing on this must-do travel experience, The Aurora Zone (http://www.theaurorazone.com) has created a totally new range of holidays – “Aurora chasing” trips – featuring techniques that will enhance dramatically the chances of seeing the Lights.

The Aurora Zone features trips that actively hunt the Northern Lights using dogsleds, skis, snowshoes, snowmobiles and heated minibuses to give travellers a greater chance of seeing this miraculous sight.  The idea is not to sit and wait for the Northern Lights to appear, but proactively to hunt for them in areas with the best geophysical forecast and very low light pollution.  Says Alistair McLean, MD of The Aurora Zone:  “Firstly, we select areas of very low population – most with 200 people or fewer living and staying there – to ensure minimal light pollution.  We add extremely experienced local guides and specialist forecasts.  Many of the trips involve being out and about, for example moving to areas without cloud cover. Our aim is simply to give clients the best possible chance of seeing this amazing natural wonder of the world.  Our mantra is ‘we’ve been there, we love it and so will you’ - we send all our staff to see the Northern Lights so that they can discuss any aspect of a trip with confidence and can give useful feedback and advice to customers.”

Trips are graded from “leisurely” to “very active” to suit a range of Aurora seekers.  The gentler trips, although situated in one place, are in some of the best locations to see the Lights.  There are also plenty of optional activities to take part in and the fascinating Sámi culture to explore.

The Aurora Zone is the ONLY holiday company to offer a complete Aurora hunting package, including suitable cold-weather clothing, expert local guides and an “Aurora alerter” – a paging device which alerts participants to the presence of the Lights, even in the middle of the night.  Trips are graded according to difficulty and suitability, and all trips include Aurora hunting activities, flights (London), transfers, B&B accommodation and most meals.  The lead-in price for an Aurora Zone trip is £1,045 pp (two sharing).  

Sample trips:

The Northern Lights at Leisure, Luosto, Finland (Leisurely) – 4 nights from £1,045 pp*
With a 55% chance of seeing the Aurora on a daily basis and a near 100% chance during a short stay in January and February, a four-night stay in Luosto offers a perfect opportunity to see the Lights while relaxing in Finnish Lapland.  The Luosto Tunturi and Amethyst Spa is set in the heart of the Auroral Zone and offers excellent spa facilities as well as a range of optional Nordic activities such as ice fishing, dog-sledding and a visit to a reindeer farm.

Aurora and the ICEHOTEL, Level 1: Abisko, Sweden (Gentle) – 4 nights from £1,495 pp*
Abisko – a place almost fabled in Northern Lights circles – is the ideal place to catch some extra-special rays this winter.  Through a combination of prevailing winds and a mountainous perimeter, Abisko has a unique micro-climate which drives away cloud cover, increasing the chances of witnessing the Lights.  This tour provides a thorough introduction to the region and includes snowshoe trekking, a husky safari and a night’s stay in the ICEHOTEL.

Aurora Photography: Harriniva, Finland (Active) – 4 nights from £1,995 pp*
Led by experienced Northern Lights photographer and Laplander, Antti Pietikäinen, this adventure is an opportunity to capture on film the secrets of the Aurora and the magnificence of Lapland.  The tour includes a photography workshop – to give you the necessary tips and tricks for snapping the Aurora – a husky safari, a visit to the Lainio Snow Village and an immersive experience in Sámi culture with a visit to a traditional manor house.  

Arctic & Aurora Adventure: Tromsø, Norway (Active) – 4 nights from £1,675 pp*
This exclusive adventure begins in the exciting Nordic city of Tromsø and takes you out into the fjords and mountains of Arctic Norway.  Join the Icebreaker Vass – as one of just six passengers – as it goes about its daily mission of breaking up ice floes in the picturesque fjords, and go on a husky safari to the remote Camp Tamok for a night under beautifully clear, unpolluted skies.  This tour takes you to the edge of the world and back in just four nights, showing you the majesty of Arctic Norway and some locations with the best potential for seeing the Aurora.

Nellim – Northern Lights over Lake Inari (Very Active) – 4 nights from £1,375 pp*
An action-packed adventure into the Finnish wilderness - the first night ends with a hearty dinner 250 km north of the Arctic Circle.  The next three days unfold with a mixture of activities including ice fishing, dog-sledding, snowshoe trekking and snowmobiling.  There are opportunities to see reindeer and introductions to Sámi culture as well as the chance to stay at the Aurora Camp on Lake Inari – with no light pollution, it’s the perfect place to view the Aurora and stare out at the universe.

*All packages include flights (London), transfers, B&B accommodation, specified meals and – most importantly – appropriate cold-weather clothing for the duration of each trip.  Nordic activities, such as dog-sledding, snowmobile safaris and reindeer visits, are available for all trips and are included where stipulated.  Trips depart between late November and late March.  Group size varies between 4 and 20 members;  over 18s only.  Tailor-made itineraries are also available for groups of four or more, including family groups of all ages.

A full list of tours and itineraries is available at http://www.theaurorazone.com which offers a ‘live chat’ option to discuss itineraries with an expert.  For further information, please call The Aurora Zone on 01670 785 012.  

ENDS
9 August 2011

Note to editors:
The Aurora Zone is a brand-new holiday concept from Activities Abroad.  The company has been offering Arctic tours to see the Northern Lights for eight years, a field in which it thus has a great deal of experience.  The Aurora Zone has been created to highlight the new hunting concept and to promote the fact that the next few winters may offer the greatest opportunity to see the Northern Lights until 2030.

For press enquiries or photography, contact Anthony Sebastian or Richard Mellor, Travel PR, tel: 020 8891 4440, email: a.sebastian@travelpr.co.uk or r.mellor@travelpr.co.uk.

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