For people around the world, seeing the Aurora Borealis – better known as the Northern Lights – is high on many a travel bucket list.
Typically visible in regions near the Earth’s poles, the spectacular phenomenon occurs when electrically charged particles from the Sun reach Earth and interact with its magnetic field and atmosphere, creating vivid ribbons of green, red, blue and purple light across the night sky.
Do you have the Northern Lights on your travel bucket list? Here’s some of the top trips and experiences to book in 2026 and 2027.
Best places and time to see the Northern Lights
While you can see “the world’s greatest light show” in both polar regions, the viewing is “better in the northern hemisphere”, said Bucket List Travels. In the so-called “Aurora Belt”, it appears with the “most intense light and greatest colour variations”.
