Northern Lights and Arctic Circle Trip from Fairbanks

Paid almost $900 for this excursion. Company was extremely helpful in our trip change due to flights so customer service was very good. Thank you to Joshua. However I do feel this was completely a waste of money. I lived in the Fairbanks area for 3 years when I first joined the Air Force but only saw the aurora once, and never made the trek to the Arctic circle. So we booked based on the good reviews of the excursion. I don’t know who my tour guide was, he never said his name (another traveler said Jay maybe?). Commentary on the van ride, nonexistent. At our first stop, the pipeline viewing he spoke a little but as the trip went on, just left us to read the signs to learn more about the sites. The van was cold with drafts, the ice on the windows was a huge bummer on this long trip. Only could see out the front windshield. We ventured out in cloudy weather so no aurora was going to be seen & honestly that was ok and couldn’t be helped due to Mother Nature. It was cool being on the Dalton highway, so I guess that’s a plus. I will say the guide was an excellent driver and my family felt safe. Half way we got our subway sandwiches, with onions, cucumbers and olives. Pretty weird combo. Chips, sweets, & 2 bottles of water were also included. Never received a hot drink as advertised, again it was cold so that was a bummer. The stop at the arctic circle sign was just that, the sign for photos you’ve been there with 2 outhouses. Never received a certificate as advertised. On the way back all 11 of us were told to look for starlight to possibly find the aurora, but how could you out the frozen windows, so we all basically napped. Long van ride in silence back to Fairbanks. I was happy this tour ended early, and I would not recommend this guide to anyone. He was nice & polite but not a good representative of what this trip could have been.

The trip was great, but long. We were the first pickup and the last drop off. Our tour guide , Ryan, had only been on the job since December but we were amazed at his knowledge and driving skills. The van was fairly comfortable for the long trip. We saw two moose while at the pipeline stop. The enchanted forest was very unique, seemed like it belonged in a Tim Burton movie. On the ride back we were exposed to the northern lights very early as the sun had just set 30 minutes earlier and we were already seeing some action.

This tour exceeded all my expectations and I highly recommend it to anyone when visiting Fairbanks. It’s a journey and not necessarily a destination. Great views and the lights put quite a show in our way back to Fairbanks. I will not give it a 5 stars just because the tour guide got me a little worried in our way back - he seemed a bit sleepy. I think the company should consider adding a backup driver so they could take turns - it’s a long drive!