Arctic Night Tours — Local services in Alaska

We had a session scheduled with this business to go aurora chasing on Thursday, December 26th. Four days before our scheduled date we noticed that the weather for the 26th would not be favorable for aurora viewing. So we messaged the owners and asked if we should re-schedule due to weather. They said no, it would be fine. The day of our appointment they cancelled six hours before our 8pm session due to weather and poor viewing conditions.

All of this is fine and I had no problem. It is weather; it cannot be controlled.

The problem I had is that when we tried to re-schedule with them, nothing was working with our timelines or theirs.

Again, still no problem, these are all beyond our or their control. Scheduling issues happen.

So we asked the owners if we wanted to drive around ourselves in our car on one of the few days we had left, what would they would recommend, locations to try, and just general tips on aurora chasing. They flat out refused to offer any advice or tips on aurora chasing, they stated that it was proprietary information.

Why couldn’t you have just given us a few friendly tips? We aren’t running a competing service, it seems obvious from our messaging back and forth that we were tourists and not out to start our own aurora chasing business. Why not be an ambassador to your community and just help out in awkward situation caused by the weather? I would have understood if we had cancelled, but we didn’t, they cancelled on us after we had already inquired about the poor weather forecast.

This was a once in a lifetime trip for us, no chance we could have used any proprietary aurora information to harm or steal from your business in the future. It just seemed rude and really put a negative spin on a situation we were initially very excited about, even when weather interfered. Sure, we were disappointed in the weather, but we didn’t feel disrespected until you couldn’t spare 5 minutes to share a few viewing tips on the couple of days we had left in Fairbanks.

A few months out from this, the thing that bothers me most is being gaslighted. We were not given the option to cancel. The owners cancelled. Furthermore, after we posted our review they gloated in their reply saying they took another group and how awesome it was. I bet it was since they didn’t get their reservation cancelled...

Arctic Night Tours was THE BEST tour my group experienced in Fairbanks! We went on the tour on March 3rd and we rode with Elena. She was amazingly kind and hospitable, making sure everyone in the car was comfortable and cared for. We were the first group to be picked up, so we got to talk to her a bit more than the rest of the van. She shared with us previous stories of interesting tours and informative facts about chasing the aurora. Elena drove us safely to the destination and we experienced amazing aurora that night. We had about 3 big "bursts" of aurora and Elena and Ed took a BUNCH of photos of everyone. What really made the trip was their excitement about the aurora! They were as excited as (if not more) all of us to see the beautiful aurora and encouraged everyone to have their photos taken. You do not have to worry about not getting enough photos with this tour. I know with some other tours, you just get a handful of photos. This tour is completely different. Elena and Ed were literally trying to tell people to come out of the vans to take more photos! Haha They take as many photos as you'd like and with different angles/poses. If you need to take any breaks from the cold, they have their comfortable van running the entire night. They also give you water and some snacks to fuel through the night. At the end of the tour, Elena even gave us some gifts, cake slices, and a handwritten note to take home. A couple days after the tour, you get a link to Google Drive with all the photos that you can download. They even include a time lapse of the aurora from the tour. We're definitely booking with them again next time we're in Fairbanks....

We’ve done several tours while in Fairbanks, but the aurora tour with Arctic Night Tours was by far my favorite. Everything was smooth from the moment we were picked up. The Mercedes-Benz van was spotless, super comfortable, and the temperature inside was just perfect…not too hot, not too cold…which made the long drive so much more relaxing.

Elena and Ed were incredible guides…so passionate, knowledgeable, and genuinely committed to giving us the best experience possible. And they truly delivered. The tour started around 9 PM and didn’t end until 5:30 AM, and not once did it feel tiring or too long. The aurora that night was nonstop and absolutely breathtaking. They took us 150 miles from Fairbanks, and we had a front-row seat to one of the most stunning shows I’ve ever seen.

Throughout the night, they made sure we were comfortable…offering snacks, bottled water, and constantly checking in to see if anyone needed HotHands. The photos they took came out amazing…it’s such a bonus to have professional shots capturing the moment. But what really blew us away was the surprise time-lapse video of the entire experience. We had no idea they were recording, and being able to relive the night through that video was such a special and unexpected gift.

And just when we thought the night couldn’t get any better, during drop-off, they handed out slices of cake and small souvenirs. It was such a thoughtful and personal touch that really stood out.

We’re already planning to come back to try their Arctic Circle tour next time. If you’re in Fairbanks and looking for an unforgettable aurora experience, I can’t recommend Arctic Night...