The Cheapest Places to See the Northern Lights in North America

This year is going to be a big one for northern lights fans. According to NASA, the sun recently reached a peak in its 11-year solar cycle, which could continue into 2026—that means your chances of seeing the northern lights are better than ever in the coming months. Traveling to see them, however, can add up pretty quickly—but there are still places you can go without breaking the bank.

In late January, vacation rental company HomeToGo released its Affordable Aurora Report. To determine which destinations are the most budget-friendly places for seeing the northern lights, the company analyzed searches conducted on its website and also factored in insights from travel experts.

“Last year's solar eclipse sparked an astrotourism trend among American travelers, which we are now seeing carry through into 2025,” Eleanor Moody, a HomeToGo travel expert, said in a statement provided to Travel + Leisure. “With even more travelers wanting to witness out-of-this-world celestial displays, search increases have skyrocketed for places providing strong chances of seeing the northern lights. Nordic countries such as Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland have registered spikes in interest, with year-on-year search increases of 102 percent, 48 percent, 34 percent, and 23 percent, respectively.”

After examining all the data, the HomeToGo team named Whitehorse, Canada, the most affordable northern lights destination in North America for 2025. 

“Yukon’s capital, Whitehorse, is a gateway to some of Canada’s best northern lights viewing spots and offers top value with a median price per night of $160.68 for accommodations,” HomeToGo reported. “Beyond the city, the dark skies of locations such as Fish Lake and the Takhini area offer prime positions for watching the aurora borealis ripple over subarctic landscapes.”

Whitehorse was closely followed by Churchill, Canada, which “sits directly beneath the auroral oval, offering some of the world’s most reliable northern lights displays and a median price per night of $190.55 for vacation rentals.”

And rounding out the top three in North America is yet another Canadian destination: Yellowknife—it's also under the auroral oval (the area of the earth where northern lights activity is the most intense). “Yellowknife is another of Canada's optimal northern lights viewing locations, with a median nightly price of $192.61 for accommodations,” HomeToGo said. “Sitting at higher elevations, popular viewing spots such as Pilot’s Monument and Tin Can Hill offer uninterrupted panoramas of the night sky.”

As for the most affordable international northern lights destinations, travelers should consider Kemi, Finland, which HomeToGo noted has a median vacation rental price of just over $101 per night. Following Kemi, Lofoten, Norway, and Luleå, Sweden, respectively offer the best opportunities to get the most bang for your buck for a northern lights trip.