Finland
Northern lights in Levi: a ski trip with aurora as the extra
Levi is a lit ski resort 15 km from Kittilä airport. Its sky numbers sit in the lower half of our twelve places, so come for the skiing and treat the aurora as a bonus.
- Best sky: September
- 78% of 5-night stays
- Overhead from Kp 2
- -13 °C on January nights
Most reviewed tour in Levi
Activity with aurora watch
Northern Lights Snowmobile Tour
If no aurora shows: the listing does not say. Ask before booking.
from €145
See dates and price
Links go to Civitatis. Scores are Civitatis customer ratings. Check the listing for the current price and conditions.
Levi: aurora fact sheet
Best month for the sky
September
78% of 5-night stays had at least one usable night. Number 7 of 12 places that month.
Visible from town?
Hard: a lit ski resort, and only the fell top (531 m) is named as a viewing place
Getting there
Direct winter flights from the UK and central Europe, or via Helsinki; airport 15 km out (KTT)
Cost level
Peaky: January beds average about GBP 739 a night on one aggregator; tours from EUR 101
Best for
Skiers who want aurora as an extra, not the reason for the trip
- Geomagnetic latitude
- 64.5°
- Kp for overhead aurora
- Kp 2
- Coordinates
- 67.8° N, 24.81° E
What works here
- Many direct winter flights to Kittilä, 15 km away, with new routes from Luton and Liverpool
- A full ski resort by day: the season opened on 2 October 2026 and a day pass is EUR 60
- About 64.5 degrees geomagnetic latitude, in FMI's band of roughly 50% of dark, clear nights
What to weigh
- Never above seventh of twelve in our sky data; 60% of five-night December stays had a usable night
- A lit resort: the only viewing place the tourist board names is the top of the fell
- January beds average about GBP 739 a night on one aggregator, skewed by chalets and igloos
The night sky in Levi, month by month
How dark it gets, how often the cloud opens and what that meant for stays of three, five and seven nights.
- 33%78%Sep7 h5 °C
- 21%63%Oct11 h-1 °C
- 24%60%Nov15 h-8 °C
- 21%60%Dec17 h-11 °C
- 26%69%Jan16 h-13 °C
- 27%68%Feb13 h-13 °C
- 28%74%Mar9 h-9 °C
- too brightApr3 h·
- Nights with a usable sky
- At least one in 5 nights
- Dark hours per night
- Night temperature
Levi against the others in September
See the full table
| Month | Dark hours per night | Nights with a usable sky | At least one in 3 nights | At least one in 5 nights | At least one in 7 nights | Night temperature |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 7.3 h | 64% | 78% | 86% | 5 °C | |
| October | 11.3 h | 47% | 63% | 75% | -1 °C | |
| November | 14.7 h | 47% | 60% | 68% | -8 °C | |
| December | 16.5 h | 46% | 60% | 71% | -11 °C | |
| January | 15.6 h | 53% | 69% | 80% | -13 °C | |
| February | 12.5 h | 52% | 68% | 79% | -13 °C | |
| March | 9 h | 58% | 74% | 83% | -9 °C | |
| April | 3.4 h | Not dark enough for aurora | ||||
A usable sky means at least two dark hours in a row with half the sky or more free of cloud, over an area of about 110 km. It says nothing about solar activity, so it is not the chance of seeing the aurora. How we calculate this
By day in Levi
The nights are long, but the aurora fills a few hours at most. What people do with the rest.
- 1
Levi Ski Resort
Downhill skiing on Levi fell. The 2026-27 season opened on 2 October 2026; a one-day adult pass is EUR 60 and the ski bus is included.
- 2
Scenic lift ride
A round trip on a resort lift without skis costs EUR 16.50 for adults, bought on site.
- 3
Samiland exhibition
Indoor and outdoor exhibition on Sámi history and culture at Levi Summit. Daily 10:00 to 20:00, EUR 14 for adults with coffee or tea.
- 4
Snowmobile safari
A two-hour guided trip costs EUR 120 per adult sharing a machine. It runs from 1 December 2026 to 4 April 2027.
What our sky numbers say about Levi
A usable sky, as we count it, is a night with at least two dark hours in a row and half the sky or more free of cloud, averaged over a satellite cell about 110 km across.
Levi's best month is September: 78% of five-night stays had at least one usable night, seventh of the twelve places we cover. Then it drops. October manages 63%, November and December 60% each, with only 21% of December nights usable. Things improve from January (69%) to March (74%), the month we would pick for a ski trip with aurora in mind.
Levi never ranks higher than seventh in any month. A week in March gave a usable night in 83% of stays, three nights in 58%. Book five or more, and see how many nights to plan.
Solar activity is a separate matter. Levi sits at about 64.5 degrees geomagnetic latitude, where aurora is typically overhead from Kp 2.
Seeing the aurora from the resort
Levi is a ski resort with floodlit slopes, and we found no light measurement for it. Visit Levi names one viewing place, the top of Levi fell at 531 m, and says you need a dark northern sky away from excess light. We could not confirm how to reach the summit at night without a car, and no official page names a darker spot within walking distance. Plan on a tour or a hire car.
Getting there
Kittilä airport is 15 km from the centre of Levi. Visit Levi lists winter 2026/27 directs from Düsseldorf, Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, Manchester, London Gatwick, Milan, Zurich, Vienna and Amsterdam, without dates. Finavia confirms two new easyJet routes: London Luton from 24 November 2026 (Tuesdays and Saturdays) and Liverpool from 25 November (Wednesdays and Saturdays). Brussels Airlines flies from Brussels three times a week from 10 December 2026 to 27 March 2027. Otherwise the usual route is via Helsinki.
An airport bus run by Tunturilinjat is timed to flights, with tickets sold online. Its site does not state the fare to Levi and we could not confirm one (checked 5 October 2026).
What it costs
Beds are the problem. One aggregator shows January as the dearest month at an average of about GBP 739 a night, a figure skewed by chalets and igloos. Listed properties run from about GBP 62 to GBP 397 and up, so fix the accommodation before the flights.
Four tours are listed here, with from prices per person (checked 5 October 2026). A snowshoe outing is EUR 101 and a four-hour tour by road is EUR 145 (score 9 from only 2 reviews). Snowmobile rides cost EUR 145 from Levi (9.2 from 17 reviews) or EUR 182 from Kittilä (a single review).
Tour or on your own
We would pay for one outing and make it the tour by road, the only listing that can move away from cloud. The snowmobile and snowshoe trips are evening activities that may or may not come with aurora. None of the four states what happens on a night without it. One local operator's brochure for this winter is blunter: aurora cannot be predicted and prepaid safaris are not refunded. See is a tour worth it.
"200 nights a year", checked
Visit Levi says the aurora can be seen on average 111 times a year. Another page on the same site is quoted in search results as giving 200. Neither cites a dataset.
The sourced figure comes from the Finnish Meteorological Institute: at the Lapland ski resorts, Levi included, aurora occurs on roughly 50% of nights when it is dark and cloudless. The last two words carry the weight. In our data between 21% and 33% of Levi's nights had a usable sky, depending on the month. That is a long way from 200.
A lit resort is not a dark site either. If the aurora is the point of the trip, Saariselkä scores higher from November to March, and Rovaniemi matches or beats Levi in every month. Levi's case is the daytime: about 43 slopes, a season that opened on 2 October 2026 and a day pass at EUR 60.
More northern lights tours in Levi
Minibus tour
Northern Lights Tour
If no aurora shows: the listing does not say. Ask before booking.
from €145
See dates and priceActivity with aurora watch
Northern Lights Snowmobile Tour
If no aurora shows: the listing does not say. Ask before booking.
from €182
See dates and priceActivity with aurora watch
Aurora Borealis Snowshoe Tour
If no aurora shows: the listing does not say. Ask before booking.
from €101
See dates and price
Common questions
How often can you see the northern lights in Levi?
The Finnish Meteorological Institute says aurora occurs on roughly 50% of nights at the Lapland ski resorts when it is dark and cloudless. In our data 21% to 33% of Levi's nights had a usable sky, depending on the month. Claims of 111 or 200 a year cite no data.
What is the best month to see the northern lights in Levi?
September in our 2001-2024 sky data: 78% of five-night stays had at least one dark night with a usable sky. Within the main ski season March is best at 74%. November and December are the weakest months at 60%.
Can you see the northern lights from Levi village?
Visit Levi names only the top of Levi fell, at 531 m, as a viewing place. The resort is lit, and we could not confirm night access to the summit without a car, so plan on a tour or a hire car.
Is Levi or Rovaniemi better for the northern lights?
On sky alone, Rovaniemi matches or beats Levi in every month in our data, for example 82% against 74% of five-night March stays. Levi sits about 1.5 degrees higher in geomagnetic latitude and has the larger ski area.
