Premium van or minibus with fifteen seats?
Premium small group, if…
- You want only a handful of people at the viewing spot and around the guide
- Help with your own camera matters to you, and the tour photos are a priority
- You bring proper winter clothing, because the AdventuresGuide tour does not hand out thermal suits
- Your dates are fixed; check the cancellation terms before you book
Minibus with up to fifteen, if…
- You want a small group but a thermal suit, campfire and hot food as part of the package
- A long chase across the border is fine: Northern Horizon and the Snow-travels unlimited option go into Finland when the sky is clearer there
- You are travelling with children: Snow-travels takes them from age seven, Northern Horizon is for adults only
The premium tours
AdventuresGuide takes no more than six guests in a minivan for one of the longest chases on this site, about eight hours. Professional photos are included, and video when the weather allows. The tour may cross into Finland, so bring your passport. There are no thermal suits: come in your own warm winter clothing and bring extra food for the night. The listing sets an age range of eighteen to sixty-five.
Greenlander drives a four-wheel-drive van with up to eight guests. The cancellation terms differ from most tours here; the product card and the table show them. Inclusions, length and clothing are listed on the product page.
The minibus chases with up to fifteen guests
Northern Horizon runs an all-inclusive night in a minivan: thermal suit and boots, a bonfire with reindeer sausages and hot drinks, a guide plus a photographer, and border crossings into Finland and Sweden when that is where the sky is clear. Photos are collected the next day. Snow-travels sells two options of different length. The longer one has no time limit and drives deep into Finland if needed; thermal suits and photos are included on both. The Chasing Lights minibus includes a warm meal and all photos, and states that there is no refund if the lights do not show. The Green Adventure serves soup on the way; its photos carry a watermark.
What a small group does not change
A smaller group means more attention, not a clearer sky. The guides on every tour depend on the same forecast and the same clouds, and none of the tours on this page that state a rule for a night without lights offers a free repeat or a refund. If that rule matters to you, compare it on the page about nights without lights before you book.
Comfort is also a matter of the seat, not only the group: on long chases you sit in the vehicle for hours. One reviewer of the Snow-travels tour found the van uncomfortable for tall passengers, worth knowing if you are over 1.80 m.
