Photo taken at Aurora Borealis Lodge, Fairbanks, Alaska
Ben and I finally saw aurora borealis (northern light) at Aurora Borealis Lodge in Fairbanks, Alaska. We were on our late honeymoon after being married for a year, which was also the promised ‘travel wedding’.
This blog post is about our 4-day experience of chasing northern light at Aurora Borealis Lodge, what to expect here and some tips for first-time visitors. I don’t usually write about accommodation but this is an exception – since we didn’t really see much of Fairbanks other than the lodge.
Why Aurora? Why Fairbanks?
It has always been my ultimate dream to see aurora since I was very young, especially in Alaska as I thought it was more remote and romantic. Ben wanted to fulfil my dream and he did. 🙂
We planned this aurora trip over a year ago. We chose Fairbanks because it has a higher chance of seeing aurora than other places in Alaska, according to our research.
Why we stayed at Aurora Borealis Lodge in Fairbanks
We flew from Melbourne (Australia) → Los Angeles → Seattle → Fairbanks
Aurora Borealis Lodge is a perfect place for seeing aurora as it is away from the city lights and has unobstructed views of the northern skies. The lodge is located in the north of Fairbanks which is 20 miles from the city.
We had 2 options:
1. Stay at Aurora Borealis Lodge and wait for the aurora.
2. Stay in the city centre of Fairbanks and then join the Aurora Viewing Tours from 10.30 to 2am each day.
We took the first option so we would have more time to wait for the aurora. The aurora viewing tour only lasts for 3-4 hours. Another reason is that we can enjoy aurora from our room as it is very cold outside. We were happy with our decision.
However, there was a downside. It was very inconvenient to get around here without driving a car. We were not able to visit other parts of Fairbanks as there was no public transportation from/to the lodge. It costs about US$50 to $80 from the lodge to the Fairbanks airport/city (for one-way).
How to get to Aurora Borealis Lodge from the airport/city without driving a car
There are two ways that we know of:
1. Take UBER – Surprisingly, there were quite many UBER drivers in the Fairbanks city though there was no UBER available from the lodge. We took UBER from the airport to the Safeway supermarket for grocery shopping and then took another UBER to the lodge.
2. Take a cab – there were a few cab companies that the lodge’s owner, Mok, suggested to us. We took Moose Cab for $75 for one-way from Aurora Borealis Lodge to the Fairbanks airport.
Most roads were in good condition as above, but some part of the road was completely covered in snow and need extra care
Regarding grocery shopping: if you are not driving like us, we advise you to do grocery shopping first before arriving at Aurora Borealis Lodge since it is very inconvenient to get around here.
Our receipt at Safeway, 30 College Road, and the fridge
On our first day of arrival, we bought the food for the coming 4-day stay. Later we learned that the food was barely enough for us and I got quite hungry starting from the second day.
Our room at Aurora Borealis Lodge
We stayed at Cedar Lodge 2nd floor room for US$189 per night (special rate for staying 4 nights and above). I booked this accommodation about a year ago because it is very popular.
Although the room looks quite small from the photo above, it is actually a very comfortable place to stay.
What we liked about the room:
- It had everything we need.
- The room was warm.
- The kitchen was awesome! It had a lot of spices, coffee, cooking utensils, etc.
- Unexpectedly, it also had a very good dehumidifier – Ben usually has skin problems when the heater is on but it didn’t happen this time.
- Warmed toilet seat – yay!
- We were able to see aurora comfortably from the couch of the room!
Besides, the owner of the lodge, Mok, was kind and helpful. He was responsive when I sent him emails and asked questions. He even taught me how to take good aurora photos with my camera and phone.
And most importantly, there is a walkie-talkie in each room which has been really helpful for seeing aurora. I was so glad to have it or otherwise we might have missed the aurora on the 3rd night of our stay.
What is around Aurora Borealis Lodge?
Full of Christmas trees. Then the snow. Then Christmas trees again. The photo above is the view from our window. It was also very quiet and peaceful. We hardly saw any people except a few guests who were also staying at Aurora Borealis Lodge.
Sometimes, we can see beautiful red skies.
We can also see the Main Lodge from here. On some days, Mok leads the aurora viewing tour in the Main Lodge from 10.30pm to 2am.
During our 4-day stay at Aurora Borealis Lodge, we stayed in our room almost all the time because it was too cold outside and the sun set just after 3pm. Occasionally, we walked around the lodge and played in the snow.
Finally, we saw the aurora!
We will never forget the moment we saw the aurora. We literally screamed! It was a moment when our dream came true, and I was most grateful that I did it with my love. 🙂
I barely slept these 4 nights because I had been waiting for the aurora. Unfortunately, the 1st and 2nd night were so cloudy that we couldn’t even see any stars, let alone the aurora. The sky was finally clear on the 3rd and 4th night, however, the aurora activities were low (aurora KP indexes were 2.67 and 1.67 respectively).
We were very unlucky as there was strong aurora on the day before we arrived and the day after we left. We got stuck in the 4 days in between and also missed the solar storm. The good thing is that we can still see the aurora, though it was a faint one… yet it had already made our trip worthwhile.
On the 3rd night of our stay:
We were watching Australian Open, a tennis competition, when Simona Halep and Serena Williams were having their final set. It was at a very exciting moment when we heard a ringtone from the walkie talkie. Then Ben turned off the show (reluctantly) and we immediately walked out of the room for the aurora. I was so thankful of the walkie-talkie!
On the 4th night of our stay:
Although the sky was clear on the 4th night, the aurora activity was extremely low. We could hardly see the aurora with our eyes, though it did appear in the photos.
How to take aurora photos
They said the camera gear is not so important, instead, it is about using the correct settings on the camera. Most cameras that have a manual mode will allow you to take decent aurora photos. All the aurora photos above were taken with a mirrorless camera, Sony NEX-5T, that I bought 5 years ago.
I used the following settings for my camera:
- ISO = 800 (or try 1600 if the sky is very dark)
- Aperture = 3.5 F
- Shuttle Speed = between 4” and 10”
- Set the focus to Manual Focus
- Use the widest angle
- Set self-timer, i.e. 10 seconds
Some smartphones allow you to do such manual settings. Unfortunately, it is not a default function for iPhones. Therefore, I installed Slow Shuttle app (for USD$4) as suggested by Mok, and then I was able to take aurora photos, though the quality is not comparable with the camera.
Below is the comparison between using a camera and phone:
Photo taken with the mirrorless camera, Sony NEX-5T
Photo taken with a phone
The photo taken with my phone is not too bad after some brightening. In fact, I think it was closer to the real eyes’ viewing experience and I quite like it (though camera photos look nicer).
Usually, the guests are welcome to the main lodge and Mok can take photos for us with his professional camera (for a fee) if he leads an aurora tour that night. I was disappointed that there was no tour during our stay and no one can take the photo for us, so I had to use my old and not-so-pro camera. Ben was also disappointed because he really wanted the complimentary cookies and hot drinks provided during the tour… 😓
Our Special Moments
We walked in the snow 🥶
I was attacked by Ben while taking a selfie 😢
We were the most hardworking guests in the lodge as we shovelled the snow quite often 💪
Ben built a (tiny) snowman for me 🥰☃️
I said the trees look like a fairy tale. Ben said it only reminds him of Christmas trees… 😡
I said the aurora is so mysterious, then Ben went ahead explaining to me why aurora appears, what the solar storm means, and why the aurora is effectively a ‘dump’ from the perspective of sciences. Not so romantic… 😡
I most probably will chase aurora again in the future because I want to give aurora a chance. And most importantly, I still love it so much despite only seeing the faint aurora. For me, aurora is forever beautiful, mysterious and intriguing.
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