Antisocial Tourist

The northern lights (also called the aurora borealis) are at the top of many travelers’ bucket lists. Alaska is one of the best places in North America to get a glimpse of the northern lights, and better yet, you can do it from an igloo! Millions of people travel to Alaska each year from all over the globe to see this stunning display of light and color, but few are lucky enough to score a bed at the famed igloo resort in Fairbanks. We were one of those lucky few, and we can’t wait to tell you all about our experience!

So, what exactly is the aurora borealis? It’s a phenomenon caused by activity on the surface of the Sun that creates solar flares. These solar flares, which are made of electrically charged particles, are ejected from the sun and can travel millions of miles and collide with the Earth’s magnetic field. When the solar flares hit the magnetic field it creates bands of energized particles that appear in different colors and dance across the sky in waves. These waves usually appear as a yellow-green color, but they can also be white, red, blue, and even purple.

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The Best Time to See the Northern Lights in Alaska

The northern lights actually shine year-round, but they can only be seen when the sky is dark enough. The Arctic region of the world where the lights are concentrated is subject to the midnight sun. The midnight sun refers to a consecutive 24-hour period of sunlight, which happens during the summer months in places as far north as Alaska. From mid-April to mid-August, the sun never seems to set in these northern regions, so the sky simply isn’t dark enough to view the lights.

Because of this, most travelers choose to plan their trip to Alaska during the winter months when the nights are longer and darker. Although your odds are best in the winter months, the official aurora season is from August 21 to April 21, so it is possible to see them in the Fall and Spring too. We were lucky enough to see them in late August during our visit to Fairbanks!

If the sky is dark enough and you’re in the right area, your chances of seeing the lights are pretty good, but just like anything in nature, there is no guarantee. If your heart is absolutely set on seeing the lights, your best chance is to plan your trip between October and March.

The Best Place to See the Northern Lights in Alaska

The northern lights can be seen in the northern hemisphere, from countries such as Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and the northernmost parts of the U.S. The lights appear most often inside the auroral oval, which is a region around the Earth’s North Pole where the auroral activity is concentrated. Fairbanks, Alaska sits directly under the auroral oval, making it one of the best places in the world to see the lights.

Fairbanks is easy to get to by both plane and train, and it offers a ton of different tours and activities focused on viewing the northern lights, so it’s a great vacation destination for anyone looking to cross the aurora off their bucket list.

_{💣 Antisocial Tourist Tip — Download an aurora tracking app on your phone or bookmark this site, which specifically tracks aurora activity in Fairbanks.}

The Best Place to Stay in Alaska to See the Northern Lights

The answer is simple — Borealis Basecamp is the best place to stay in Alaska to see the northern lights! Nestled in a boreal forest just outside of Fairbanks, the Borealis Basecamp has some of the darkest skies in the country, which is perfect for viewing the aurora.

With only 20 igloos, scoring a reservation at this resort may take some effort. It’s recommended to book as far out as possible. We reserved our igloo over a year in advance.

If you do land a bed in one of their elegant igloos, snuggle in and get ready for a night of pure magic. Even if the aurora isn’t out, it’s still an amazing experience lying under the starry Arctic sky.

What is Borealis Basecamp?

Borealis Basecamp is an adventure resort located just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. The basecamp is known for its trendy fiberglass igloos, where guests can sleep under the stars and view the northern lights through a unique concave-shaped window that stretches across the igloo’s ceiling. Each igloo is perfectly positioned in the optimal viewing direction of the aurora. The special windows are made of a unique material that is clearer than glass and has no reflection, allowing for a pristine view of the night sky.

Fairbanks is located directly under the auroral oval, which is the geomagnetic area around the North Pole where the aurora occurs. This makes the city one of the best places in the world to view the northern lights. However, light pollution from the city can affect the view of the aurora, which is why Borealis Basecamp is such a popular hotel choice for many travelers. It’s located about 25 miles away from the city (in the middle of nowhere) so there is little to no light pollution.

How do I get to Borealis Basecamp?

The resort is located about 25 miles from the city of Fairbanks, Alaska. There are a few ways to get there, including the Basecamp’s shuttle. They do charge $35 per person to use the shuttle and you’ll need to email their office after you book to let them know where to pick you up. Their 10-passenger van will pick you up from any major Fairbanks hotel or the Fairbanks airport.

You can also upgrade to private transportation if sharing a ride isn’t your thing. The private shuttle costs $160 for up to six people.

Lastly, you can drive yourself to the Basecamp. We weren’t sure about staying in such a remote place with no means of escape, so we opted to rent a car and drive ourselves. We were happy with our choice but also agreed that it wasn’t necessary. There’s plenty to do at the Basecamp so we never felt the need to leave (although we did leave to grab dinner in town one night because of how pricey the Basecamp’s food was).

On the other hand, if you’re traveling there during the winter, the drive to the Basecamp can be quite difficult, especially if you’re not familiar with driving on snow and ice. We traveled in late August so we didn’t need to worry about this, but if we had been there during the dead of winter we would have opted for the shuttle instead.

💣 _{Antisocial Tourist Tip — The standard shuttle only picks up at 10:30 am and 3:00 pm. You may find yourself waiting around if your flight arrives too early or late. Try to plan your flight around these pick-up times or spend the first night at a major hotel in Fairbanks and get picked up the next morning instead.}

How much does it cost to stay in an Igloo?

We’d be lying if we said that Borealis Basecamp was in everyone’s budget. It was not cheap. But that’s what happens when you build a really unique accommodation in the middle of one of the best aurora-viewing places in the world. What we can tell you is that it was absolutely worth the splurge.

They do have a 2-night minimum which is the most popular package, and it costs between $800 and $1,100 per person, depending on the season. They offer 2, 3, or 4-night packages which are broken down between Autumn, Winter, and Summer. Each package includes several adventure activities, so when you’re looking at the price, you should take into account how much each activity or tour would cost otherwise. Don’t forget to include the cost of a northern lights tour too, which you would need to book if you were staying in the city.

Our 2-night package cost $1,600 total, which included an early bird discount for booking so far in advance. We did the Autumn package which included dog mushing, an ATV tour through the backcountry, and a reindeer feeding experience. We valued all the included activities, and the cost savings of not needing to do a northern lights tour, at about $800. So although the price seems steep, you have to break it down to really see the value that you’re getting, There were additional tours that could be added as well, including a full-day Arctic Circle tour and a helicopter site-seeing tour.

The resort does offer a 15% discount for return guests, active military, and Alaskan residents! We’d love to come back during the winter season, and we’ll certainly be claiming our 15% discount for it.

If the Borealis Basecamp is simply out of your budget, don’t worry, you still have plenty of ways to see the northern lights while you’re in Fairbanks. You can easily stay at a hotel or rental within the city and sign up for a Northern Lights tour.

We looked into the best northern light tours offered in Fairbanks for those who are still interested in planning a trip here without staying at the Basecamp. Check out our recommendations below.

NORTHERN LIGHTS TOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FAIRBANKS

👉 Moonlight Dog Sled, Dinner, & Northern Lights
6 hours
This tour includes a thrilling dog-sledding opportunity, a hot meal, and a warm yurt to hang out in while you wait for the lights to appear. You can watch the lights from the comfort of the yurt’s north-facing windows or step outside to take in the breathtaking view.

👉 Northern Lights & Chena Hot Springs Tour
10 hours
This tour is perfect for anyone who wants to check out the Chena Hot Springs Resort while in Fairbanks. You’ll tour the famous Aurora Ice Museum before enjoying a soak in the hot springs. You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy a meal at the resort’s restaurant too. After your soak, you’ll walk up to the viewing area and hopefully see a spectacular display of lights dancing overhead. This tour is a great choice for those who don’t want to feel like they’re with a group.

👉 Arctic Circle Northern Lights Full-Day Trip
14 hours
This full-day tour will take you right into the Arctic Circle. You’ll take a rugged ride along the Alaskan Pipeline and the Yukon River as you make your way to a high plateau on Finger Mountain to view the lights. You’ll be further off the beaten path than ever before and you may even see moose, bears, and other wild animals along the way.

What should I know about staying in the Igloos?

There are a few things you should know before staying at the Borealis Basecamp. First, it’s important to know that staying in one of their igloos is not comparable to a typical resort. It leans more towards the “glamping” end of the accommodation spectrum, in our opinion. It is absolutely magical and the view is unbeatable, but if you’re a bougie traveler (nothing wrong with that), you may be a bit uncomfortable here.

The beds are really comfy and the igloo itself is clean and cute. Each igloo has a small bartop with two stools, a coat rack, a gas heater, a mini fridge, a kitchen sink, and a bench. The bathrooms have a stand-up shower, a small sink and mirror, and a toilet that we need to tell you a few things about.

There is no running water at the Basecamp because of its remote location. Because of this, they decided to use “space toilets” in each of the igloos. These toilets are one of the more interesting toilets of the world. They don’t use water to flush, and instead, each one is lined with an aluminum-type lining. Guests do their business, close the lid, and hit a button that activates the toilet to twist up the contents into the aluminum bag and drop it below, revealing a new bag for the next use.

Inside Igloo at Borealis Basecamp Alaska

The toilet only gets about 6 – 8 flushes before it has to be emptied. Once your toilet indicates that it needs to be emptied, the resort staff will come to your igloo and change it out for you. Staff members told us that the toilets are the number one complaint that they get from guests. They have taken these complaints seriously and even though it’s too late to run plumbing lines to the igloos, they have built 5 new “cubes” which guests can also book now. Each of the cubes have regular toilets that flush as you would expect. You can read more about the cubes here.

Lastly, it’s worth noting that they offer an aurora wake-up call to all guests. There’s a small alarm in each igloo that will go off if the aurora is shining. This was a great feature and we were relieved that we could fall asleep without fear of missing out on the show.

What is there to do at Borealis Basecamp?

Best Place to Stay in Alaska to See the Northern Lights

There is so much more to do here beyond just soaking in the natural beauty. The Basecamp offers a ton of cool adventure activities. Every package includes a dog sledding experience and a UTV or Snowmobile experience. You can also add on reindeer feedings, helicopter tours, Arctic Circle tours, and photography packages.

When you book your stay and add on the experiences that you want, the resort will put together an itinerary for you before you arrive. They’ll plan out your days perfectly, so you won’t have to worry about a thing.

Between activities and relaxing in your igloo, you can have lunch or dinner at the on-site restaurant, Latitude 65. This restaurant was really delicious but be prepared to pay a lot for very little. We ate one meal here and left hungry, so we decided to drive to Fairbanks for pizza on our second night.

Can I get pictures of the Northern Lights without a professional camera?

The northern lights are difficult to see with the naked eye, and they actually appear much more vivid in photographs. This is because our eyes cannot pick up as much color as a camera can.

The Basecamp does offer a photography package. You can choose between a private session or a group session. We weren’t sure if the lights would show up in pictures taken with our phones, so we added a private session to our package just to be sure we left with great photos. We were really happy with the results!

We did snap a few pictures with our phones using the night mode feature. We were surprised at how great they turned out. There was a big difference between the pictures we took on our phones and the professional camera, which you can see in the photo above. The professional camera was able to pick up a lot more color because of the longer exposure time. We actually like the colors from the photos we took on our phones better, but only about half of them turned out, so we had no regrets about doing the professional photo session.

Final Thoughts: Borealis Basecamp

We adored our time at Borealis Basecamp and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a luxury glamping experience or a chance to see the northern lights. It is the definition of a bucket list-worthy destination! We also love that the property offers a large variety of activities to keep guests entertained in such a remote location.

As we mentioned already, the Basecamp offers 2, 3, or 4-night packages which are broken down between Autumn, Winter, and Summer. We personally felt that 2 nights was perfect, although 3 nights would be ideal if you plan on signing up for a day trip to the Arctic Circle, which is one of the activities offered.

If you’re on the fence about splurging to stay at the Borealis Basecamp, we hope the information in this article can help decide what to do. For us, it was absolutely worth the splurge.

Thank you for reading our post! We hope it helps you plan the perfect trip! Check out our other guides here and follow us on Instagram (@AntisocialTourist) or on Facebook to see our latest adventures!