GLØD Explorer
GLØD Explorer is a Northern Lights operator based in Alta, Finnmark, and one of the pioneers of Northern Lights tours in the region. They have been hunting the Northern Lights since the 2007/2008 season, with experienced local guides and small groups.
How the forecast and the tour fit together
The forecast on Aurora Norway describes one point: the town you have selected. A guided tour is not tied to that point. GLØD’s guides start in Alta and, when they need to, head into the surrounding area — inland or along the coast and fjords — to wherever the sky is clearest that night.
That matters most when clouds are the problem. Alta can be clouded in while the sky a drive away is open, so a low chance for Alta itself does not necessarily reflect the chance guests have on the tour. GLØD reports a success rate of around 87–90% across their Northern Lights tours.
What no tour can change is the aurora itself: on a night with very little activity it is quiet across the whole region. That is why GLØD gives no aurora guarantee and recommends allowing more than one opportunity to see the Northern Lights during your stay.
Hunting the Northern Lights
The tour runs in a small group, eight guests to a guide, in a minibus. Your guide watches the forecasts and the sky through the evening and decides the route on the night, then stops where the conditions are best rather than at a fixed viewpoint.
The guides also help guests photograph the Northern Lights and take photos during the evening, including a portrait under the Aurora when conditions allow.
Pickup is from your hotel in Alta or from the cruise port. Prefer your own group? Private Northern Lights tours are also available.
At a glance
- Based in
- Alta, Finnmark
- Guiding since
- The 2007/2008 season
- Season
- 15 September – 10 April
- Group size
- Up to eight guests per guide
- Duration
- About four to four and a half hours
- Pickup
- Alta hotels and the cruise port
- Price
- From NOK 2,200
- Success rate
- Around 87–90%, as reported by GLØD
From GLØD's nights out
Photos: GLØD Explorer
This is a paid partner page. GLØD Explorer has paid for a season of placements on Aurora Norway, and the text on this page describes their own service. It has no effect on our forecasts, place rankings or guides. How paid placements work.