Glass Igloos to See the Northern Lights: A Waste of Money?

Everyone has seen them on Instagram, right?

The glass dome, surrounded by darkness and snow, with a gorgeous-looking couple gazing up at the Aurora Borealis above them as they cosy up in bed.

So?

Are glass igloos to see the Northern Lights worth it? Or are they a colossal waste of your hard-earned money?

Because that’s what everyone wants to know, right? Is it all photoshopped and not even remotely as amazing, as influencers make it look?

We stayed in one of the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights in Finland, and in this post we share our real experience.

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Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.

After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full-time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆

During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia. Btw, even our secret wedding was more of an expedition than a wedding. 😅

And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful travel tips and info with you!

Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own epic adventures too!

So… are you really a glass igloo person?

Not sure if sleeping in a glass igloo under the northern lights is genius or madness?

Don’t worry – this highly scientific flow chart will tell you!

If you pass the chart test, we’ll see you soon.

If not, it’s been nice having you here. Now go check out our other Lapland posts. They might still be helpful for the rest of your winter holiday planning!

Are you still here?

Good!

That means you are:

• Rich (please DM us on our Instagram, we wanna be friends)
• Or willing to make sacrifices to stay in a glass igloo to see the Northern Lights! In that case, you can still DM us and be our friend. And you can also read on to discover all the extra tips on making the igloo holiday your reality!

PS If you are still not sure, whether a glass igloo is a smart decision for you, also read on. We shall help!

Glass igloo holiday: what do you need to know

Okay, first a little background info on our trip.

How did we end up staying in one of the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights?

Well, we are a gorgeous-looking couple with an Instagram account, so that explains everything, right? 🤨

Just kidding!

We paid for our own stay – actually, we did it all on a budget and we were sharing the cabin with Mirka’s sister, so don’t go imagining a romantic holiday. But more on that below!

• As we mentioned, we stayed in a glass igloo in Finland, in a small resort village called Saariselkä. The resort is called the Northern Lights Village.
• Our igloo wasn’t really an igloo though, it was a cabin with part of the roof being glass, for aurora viewing (it’s called an Aurora Cabin).
• This stay was part of our secret wedding trip – we got married in Copenhagen at the start of the trip, without anyone knowing about it. The only guest was Mirka’s sister and even she didn’t know she was coming to our wedding. Yep, you read that right. We are that crazy. 😜
• Speaking of crazy, do you know how we decided our wedding date? We booked the Aurora Cabin – it had only one date available, the rest was booked out – and then counted backwards the days to travel there etc., until we figured out a date for our wedding in Copenhagen. Know anyone else who did this? 😅

This is a bit about how we got to stay in one of the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights.

Now let’s talk about you.

Is booking a glass igloo to see the Northern Lights a crazy idea?

You might be wondering why we planned an entire trip — including our wedding — around one Aurora Cabin stay.

Mirka speaking: “Here’s the deal: our Copenhagen wedding, while super quirky, was secret, and (almost) completely guest-less. Perfect for us, but, well… low-key for wedding standards. So I figured, if we’re going to get hitched, why not go big in a way that actually feels like us? Cue the Northern Lights.

I don’t even remember how I came across the Northern Lights Village resort, I just know that it was at the very start of my research into seeing the Northern Lights.

And it was love at first sight.

I instantly knew I wanted us to stay at that resort – you know how sometimes you see a place and you just know you are meant to go there? Well, this was it. I could see us there, in the beautiful Aurora Cabin, witnessing the Northern Lights for the first time.

A quick check of reviews (come on, did you really think we just booked the resort on a whim? Nah, of course we first checked the prices, because saving money, and reviews, because gotta stay safe, right?), a short conversation with Daniel and we were ready to book.

There was only one date available for us – one that coincided with good aurora viewing conditions (hint: book early!) and so we pitched the idea to my sister (she didn’t really have a choice, since it was our wedding trip, she just didn’t know it!).

Next thing we know, we were booked to stay in one of the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights!

Crazy?

Possibly.

But we are known for doing crazy stuff, such as flying 57 hours across half the planet to see a gig (okay, it was 2 gigs. Does that make it less crazy?).

How about you though? 

Is staying in one of the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights a good idea for you?”

Are glass igloos to see the Northern Lights a waste of money?

Okay, we’ve got to tell you one more story.

Hope you don’t mind – we believe in sharing the real experience with you, so you know what it’s actually like, and the best way to do that is by telling you stories from our travels.

A waste of money or a frostbite prevention?

We spent 4 nights in the amazing Northern Lights Village Saariselkä resort.

Did we get to see Aurora Borealis there?

We sure did, on 2 out of the 4 nights. (This, btw, is the 50% rule, which you should know about when planning your Lapland trip.)

Can you guess what happened on those two nights?

We were freezing outside!

The first time the Northern Lights appeared unexpectedly, in the middle of the night (we had a low chance forecast, hence we are saying unexpectedly). So we weren’t prepared and had no time to get dressed properly.

Btw, speaking of getting dressed, make sure to check out this post about buying clothes for Lapland – soo important for the -10°C (or worse!) temperatures.

The second night we were wearing proper clothes. But the lights stayed dancing for HOURS. And, even if you are dressed well, when you are standing motionless in an arctic forest in the middle of the night, you do start getting cold, eventually.

The solution

The thing that saved us on both of those nights?

Being able to go back to our Aurora Cabin, cosy up on our big bed and just watch the Northern Lights straight from there.

So for us, staying in a glass igloo to see the Northern Lights was absolutely worth it.

How can you decide, whether it would be worth it for you, though?

We’ll help you with that.

Should you book a glass igloo to see the Northern Lights?

You’ve heard our story, now let’s talk about what makes sense for you.

The truth: no one will be able to tell you whether staying in a glass igloo to see aurora is worth it FOR YOU. It depends on your unique situation – but we are here to help you make this decision for yourself.

Here are the different things you should consider when deciding whether you should stay in one of the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights:

#1 Budget

This will probably be the most important deciding factor.

If you are an heir (/heiress) to a family fortune – sure, go for it! Also DM us on Instagram, we wanna be friends! 😁

If you have a small budget and seeing the Northern Lights is the goal, regardless of how? Maybe save yourself the extra money you would pay for a glass igloo and spend it on other experiences instead – there is so much to do in Lapland.

If you are somewhere in between, do a bit of research to see if you can find any cheap glass igloos to see the Northern Lights. Or just check out the gorgeous resort we stayed at to see what their prices are like at the moment!

#2 Managing expectations

An important thing to remember when planning a northern lights trip?

Aurora Borealis is a natural phenomenon. Yes, you can increase your chances of seeing it, but at the end of the day, no one can guarantee you actually will.

This means two things:

1. You should make sure everyone in your travel party is aware of this. Especially with children, don’t go promising them that they’ll see the Northern Lights – it might be especially heartbreaking for them, if they don’t.
2. Don’t base your whole trip around seeing the lights. This is an advice anyone will give you about northern lights trips in general, but it applies even more so for staying in glass igloos to view them.
   
   Why?
   
   Because the glass igloo resorts usually come with a premium price. The question you have to ask yourself is: am I willing to pay the price for the resort, even if I don’t end up seeing the Northern Lights from it?
   
   Actually, one more question you should ask: Is there anything else to do at the resort, aside from seeing the lights? Will you or your kids be bored at the resort? Maybe you are not into adventurous activities, like winter hiking, skiing or snowmobiling. Or maybe you just simply won’t be able to afford any of these activities, because you spent so much money on the glass igloo resort. This goes back to our first point on budget.

The best advice for planning a northern lights trip is to plan it so it’s epic even if Aurora Borealis isn’t visible. Otherwise it can end up as a veeeery pricey disaster.

#3 Bucket list experience

That being said, if staying in a glass igloo is a bucket list experience for you, whether the Northern Lights are visible or not, it might be worth paying the price for it.

If you want to be surrounded by beautiful arctic winter. Or get Instagrammable photos. Or just feel closer to nature. Whatever your reasons, if staying in a glass igloo is high up on your bucket list, it will, most likely, not feel like a waste of money.

Still, do shop around, unless you have your heart set on specific glass dome resort.

#4 Special needs

Something you might not have thought of – aurora hunting can be pretty tough.

We’ve already touched on it here, but chasing the Northern Lights usually involves:

• being up in the middle of the night
• being bored if nothing is happening for a long time
• driving (often on snowmobiles)
• and standing/sitting around in the arctic winter (yikes!)

This might seem like a first world problem, but when the Northern Lights showed for us the second time? They lasted for HOURS. Which is amazing, of course, but if you don’t wanna miss a second of it, you will get serious neck pain, looking up at the sky, while standing in the arctic forest. Not joking, it really was a painful (but absolutely unreal) experience.

Why this matters

You might be a person that isn’t happy with having to put themselves through all of that discomfort to see the Northern Lights. Or maybe you are travelling with children. Or someone who is disabled. Or elderly. Or allergic to the cold.

Lots of different reasons why aurora hunting might be a struggle – for you or the people you are travelling with. 

This is where the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights come in.

The solution

If you spend ages chasing aurora or standing around in the cold watching it?

Being able to get inside your toasty, comfy igloo/glass cabin/dome, get out of your million layers and just stretch out on your bed while you watch the Northern Lights, is wonderful.

Not having to get up and put on the million layers in the first place to see the lights? That’s also pretty freaking good.

Staying in one of the glass igloos to see the Northern Lights can be such a lifesaver, so do think about these things too, when making your decision.

Warning: Obviously, do keep in mind the point we made earlier. No one can guarantee the Northern Lights will show for you and no one can guarantee that they will be visible from your glass igloo either. So while it’s a good solution, it doesn’t come with a 100% guarantee.

What do you think then, after reading our stories?

Are glass igloos to see the Northern Lights a waste of money?

Or do you want to stay in one?

Let us know in the comments below or DM us on our Instagram!