STANDING on a pitch-dark, icy road in bone-chilling arctic cold, a small tinge of green appeared in the sky. Seconds earlier we had screeched to a halt and jumped from a minibus.
At first we could only see it by looking through phone cameras. Then a bigger band of green started to spread and change. Was there purple too?
Now we could see it without using cameras. Another band of colour started to appear.
This was the moment when I saw the Northern Lights on an astronomy voyage with the Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten.
“Look to the south east, there’s another,” said one of our group.
“This is insane.”
“Oh, wow! Just wow!”
“Look over there!”
“I never thought I would experience anything like it!”
We were 11 miles from the Norwegian border with Russia, and had been hunting the lights for nights by ship and road.
The must-see cosmic phenomenon is a little shy and it takes perseverance to experience it.
But Norway above the Arctic Circle is an ideal place to see it. And the next 18 months could be the best time in a decade as the sun is at its most active.
Hurtigruten has been running ships along the Norwegian coast since 1893. It makes 34 stops between Bergen and Kirkenes on the Coastal Express route.
Our own on-board Chief Aurora Chaser, Tom Kerss, tells guests how and when they have the best chance of catching the lights.
A decent smartphone is all you need plus a power bank in case the battery dies in the cold.
Tom explains our eyes have evolved to make it hard to see colour at night but a camera can detect it. If you are in the dark long enough, your eyes can adjust. But this takes time.
Astronomer Tom, who has worked at the Royal Observatory in London’s Greenwich Park, delivers on-board lectures which are a deep dive into the science of the Aurora Borealis.
You are introduced to “coronal mass ejections” and “solar wind” — take away as much or as little info as you need.
Tom constantly monitors the space data. He explains: “We work out the best protocols for spotting the lights.”
A WhatsApp saying, “Something’s happening”, was the cue to grab our coats and dash to the deck to stargaze.
But being on a ship means that despite the extreme cold there is a warm place to relax between stints of aurora-spotting.
My cabin on MS Nordkapp was cosy, with a double bed and an en suite stocked with seaweed-based toiletries from Norway’s Lofoten islands.
There is a main restaurant which served mouth-watering breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
From pancakes, to lamb and locally sourced arctic chard, take your pick.
The cafe serves ice cream in flavours including, yes, stockfish and brown cheese.
Suite passengers can also enjoy the Kysten fine-dining restaurant every night.
We sampled Hurtigruten’s sparkling wine, Havets Bobler. It’s from the English Rathfinny vineyard but with a twist — bottles are sunk to the bottom of a fjord and left for eight months to mature before being hauled up.
Our trip, meanwhile, was more of a quest. We were hit by what Norwegians simply call “weather” — stormy seas that caused some port stops to be cancelled — and heavy cloud preventing astronomy on some nights.
When we had a first glimpse of the lights at sea they were fleeting.
Hurtigruten offers a Northern Lights promise on 11-day voyages.
If the aurora does not occur within sight of your ship, the company will give you a six-day southbound or seven-day northbound Coastal Express voyage free.
But it stresses this is not a guarantee. And passengers must do their best to try and see the lights — when there is a sighting the ship makes an announcement.
King-crab safari
One night we were on the freezing fore deck well after midnight. The aurora had been announced but was elusive.
We sailed past a shore white with snow, like explorers looking for the Northwest Passage.
But the excursions from the various port stops are also bucket-list thrills.
I jumped off in Kjøllefjord to go snow-mobiling to our next port, Mehamn. Riding across a glacial snowscape at night, it felt like being in a Bond film.
Elsewhere there was a chance for a stroll, and a reindeer hot dog at the “tiniest bar in the universe” in Tromsø.
The end of the line was Kirkenes — a mining and fishing town of about 3,500 people. We stayed at the Snowhotel — a giant man-made igloo.
Each ice room has its own ice sculpture — a cat, an owl, a polar bear or a scene from Frozen — and guests sleep on a ice bed in an avalanche-standard sleeping bag.
The hotel also has 180 friendly Alaskan huskies for dog-sledding trips — and the ride through the countryside was magical.
Next up was a king-crab safari. A skidoo hauled us in a sledge on to the frozen fjord, and to a hole in the ice where our guide pulled up a trap. Inside were five crabs — which can measure up to 6ft across.
They are an invasive species secretly introduced to the Barents Sea from far-east Russia in the 1960s and the population has spiralled.
From fjord to table, the king crab was served in less than an hour and was the freshest seafood I have ever tasted.
So far so incredible, but we were yet to get a decent look at the lights — until at teatime Tom sent the alert and an aurora was already forming above us.
Hotel manager Milivoj Krzanic wasn’t going to let that be all. We jumped into his minibus and drove into the countryside as a solar substorm erupted. He will take you as far as Finland if needed.
But we only had to go a mile or so before he pulled over — and that is where we experienced the most spectacular of light shows.
At last. Some of my group were moved to tears. Aurorasome!
GO: Northern Lights
GETTING / SAILING THERE: Hurtigruten’s 12-day Astronomy Voyages start from £2,675pp – based on two guests sharing a Polar Outside Cabin aboard MS Richard With.
Route: Bergen- Kirkenes-Bergen. Chief Aurora Chaser Tom Kerss is leading voyages starting on October 18, November 16 and March 13, 2026.
Price includes return flights from Gatwick, full-board, astronomy lectures and wifi. See hurtigruten.com.
STAYING THERE: Overnight stays at the Snowhotel from £278pp per night with transfers, three-course dinner and breakfast, use of snow shoes and thermal overall.
Hurtigruten offers pre- or post-cruise stays at the hotel as part of a package. See snowhotelkirkenes.com.
