Northern Lights Snowmobile Tours in Alta

If you want to drive a snowmobile at night with a chance of the aurora overhead, book the Northern Lights Night Adventure by Snowmobile. Its first date is 23 November 2026, it was $346 per person on that date when we checked in early November 2026, and it holds 4.7 from 76 reviews. You get about two hours of actual riding in a four-hour trip, with pickup in Alta, thermal suits and helmets included. Book it because you want the ride. If the sky clears and the lights come out, that is a very good night on top. Our review →

How a snowmobile night differs from an aurora chase

Snowmobiles in Norway run on marked trails, and the operator, Æventyr, says that for legal reasons every driver follows the guide in convoy. The night route goes up the old postal road to the edge of Finnmarksvidda, toward the Beskades mountains. The guide stops when the aurora appears, and several riders describe pulling over on the way up when it did. What the group cannot do is leave the trail. If cloud sits over the plateau that night, you ride under cloud.

A dedicated chase works differently. On the Small-Group Guided Northern Lights Tour ($258 on 4 November, up to 13 people) the minibus goes wherever the sky looks clearest, and Visit Alta says hunts that drive to clear sky give you the best odds. Neither can promise anything: Visit Alta’s own line is that clear skies are not guaranteed, and the snowmobile listing offers no refund if the lights stay away. The reviews show both sides. One rider had “amazing conditions”, another drove through a snowstorm with no lights and still rated it four stars.

So if seeing the aurora is the main reason for your trip, book a chase for your first clear night and keep the snowmobile for another evening. Our small-group tours page and the guide to which Alta tour to book set out the chase options.

Licence rules and who can ride

To drive, you need a valid category B (car) driving licence and you have to show it before the ride, so pack the card itself. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration says foreign visitors on organized snowmobile trips must be able to document their right to drive a motor vehicle in Norway. Without a licence you ride as a passenger, from age 12. You share each machine, one driving and one behind, and you can swap during the trip, so a couple where only one person drives still gets two seats on the same snowmobile.

The night trip is not suitable for people over 70 or over 130 kg, for pregnant travelers or for anyone with back problems. Other snowmobile operators set their own rules: the Guided Snowmobile Safari on Finnmarksvidda excludes drivers under 18, children under 7 and anyone over 100 kg. Read the “not suitable for” line on any listing before you pay.

When the trails open

Snowmobile season depends on snow, and the dates are set each winter. Visit Alta sells its own snowmobile package from December to April, which is a reasonable guide to when the trails are reliably open. On GetYourGuide, the Daytime Snowmobile Adventure has dates from 16 November and the night trip from 23 November. The Finnmarksvidda safari above starts only on 20 January 2027. If you are booking for late November, the free cancellation up to 24 hours before gives you some room if a thin start to the winter changes the plan.

If you are in Alta before the snowmobile dates begin, look at the Northern Lights Hunt by ATV. It has dates from 5 November, was $235 per person on that date and holds 4.7 from 32 reviews. You ride an ATV, two guests to a machine, along the coast near Kviby, a 30-minute drive from Alta, and the guide picks the route for the night by watching the cloud, so it sits between a fixed trail and a full chase. The driver needs a car licence, and it is not suitable for children under 9 or people over 80. Pickup is from hotels, the harbor or the tourist information center; if you are coming off a ship, check your all-aboard time against the tour’s start time on the booking page. Our review →

Night or day on the snowmobile

The daytime trip rides the same postal road toward Beskades, starting from Æventyr’s 150-year-old mountain lodge in the Gargia valley. It holds 4.9 from 70 reviews, was $305 per person on 16 November, and takes groups of up to 30, against 17 at night. Choose it if you want to see the plateau itself, the open white country the night riders only see under headlights and stars. Our review →

From late November to mid-January the sun does not rise in Alta, so a December “daytime” ride runs in blue twilight. On 1 December there is usable light from roughly 08:40 to 14:00, which is plenty for the trip but nothing like a bright winter day. Dress for it: the operator lends thermal suits, shoes and gloves, but your own warm base layers, a hat and a buff make the two hours on the machine far more comfortable. Alta averages around -7 °C in January and February, and it feels colder at speed.

For a slower evening, our pages on Northern Lights husky experiences and sleigh rides cover dinner-and-sky nights near Alta. If you are still deciding how many nights to stay, the best time to see the aurora in Alta, the tour cost guide and where to stay will help. With two or three nights, I would chase the lights on the first clear evening and ride the snowmobile on another.