May 23, 2026 — 5:00amOff Norway’s Arctic coastline, a crowd of passengers gather on the top deck of a cruise ship. The sky is streaked with a hooping green band of light, and the winter temperature is well below zero, though nobody seems to notice as they stare up at the celestial vision that flares and flickers overhead.It’s a scene that takes in two phenomena at once – one in the sky and one on the sea. The aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, is arguably the planet’s greatest light show, shimmering brightly as particles from the sun are drawn through the Earth’s magnetic field towards the poles. And just as remarkable is the tourism that now accompanies this dark-sky spectacular. Only a few decades ago, the concept of Northern Lights tourism was all but unknown, but today it’s a global industry worth around $1 billion a year. And Norway is at its forefront.Aurora borealis above the coastline at Hamnoy, Lofoten islands, Norway.
iStockI’m sailing aboard Hurtigruten’s inaugural Astronomy Voyage Signature cruise. Part of the Norwegian company’s premium-end Signature Voyages concept, the Astronomy Voyage brings the long Arctic winter nights, and their brilliant aurora displays, into full focus with a dedicated Northern Lights and astronomy program.Guiding this focus is astronomer Tom Kerss, a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and author of a dozen astronomy books, including a guide to the Northern Lights. As Hurtigruten’s “chief aurora chaser”, Kerss is one of the public faces of the inexorable rise of Northern Lights tourism.The Astronomy Voyage brings the long Arctic winter nights, and their brilliant aurora displays, into full focus.Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletterGet exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.Passengers brave below freezing temperatures to witness the planet’s greatest light show.“The 2014 solar maximum was the tipping point for aurora tourism,” says Kerss. “That was the first solar maximum where the aurora was regularly on the news. It was so widespread that people were keen to make it an actual trip, rather than just a bucket-list item. And it’s been trending upwards since. Aurora tourism exploded from something a few hundred thousand people would do each year to many millions making a journey each year.”I’ve joined the Astronomy Voyage on Signature cruise in the city of Tromso, 350 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle. Midwinter has passed and daylight now stretches to about five hours each day, but night is still king.The MS Trollfjord visiting Honningsvag, Europe’s northernmost town.Of the 350 passengers aboard MS Trollfjord on this North Cape Line sailing, 25 are on the dedicated astronomy program, with capacity to expand this to 70. For 10 of the 15 days aboard, Kerss delivers lectures and masterclasses – technical but intriguing talks that range from the serene green ribbons of the Northern Lights to eclipses, the moon and far-flung nebulae.Northern Lights Cathedral, in Alta, Norway, the town in which the world’s first scientific research into the aurora borealis was conducted.iStockDuring days along the convoluted Norwegian coastline, these lectures are interspersed with shore excursions, but even when ashore the Northern Lights are never far from mind. In Tromso, a private astronomy group shore excursion heads to the city’s planetarium, while there’s a day-long stop in Alta, one of the world’s most northerly cities and the self-proclaimed City of the Northern Lights.The world’s first scientific research into the aurora borealis was conducted in Alta, and even the whimsical design of the city’s cathedral is styled on the curtain-like appearance of the Northern Lights.But ultimately, we’re on a quest for the Lights themselves as we traverse these Arctic waters. Such is their reliability that Hurtigruten sails under a winter Northern Lights Promise – if the aurora isn’t sighted during a cruise, passengers are offered another cruise free of charge.Aboard the ship, the astronomy group has Kerss on call as he monitors data and the sky, sending out regular aurora predictions and alerts.“We’re always ahead of the curve because we have data that even the bridge can’t access,” he says.The first night that the clarion call comes, we dash for the Trollfjord’s top deck with hope flaring as brightly as the finest aurora.An Arctic Superior Cabin on MS Trollfjord.One of the MS Trollfjord’s three restaurants. Up to 80 per cent of the produce on board is sourced at ports along the journey.
