Abisko Northern lights on earthly budget? (for a maniac-to-see-them!)
 

Hi there!
I'm searching on the posibility to visit the Abisko (or Kiruna) area in February for viewing the northern lights, without spending a fortune!
(although I understand it's mustn't be so easy).
The northern lights is basically my only reason to go there.
After initial searching, mostly luxurious suggestions come up, like based in ice hotel, or booking expensive tours, etc, which are very nice but unfortunately over my limits.
I was wondering for the practical side of D-I-Y, like arriving by train to Abisko, staying in a hostel kind of accomodation (perhaps in a station which is in the area) and walking between the spots (hostel - viewing points - restaurants etc).
If of course all these are really in easy access of each other and the station, in winter.
If anybody has experiences - ideas- alternatives about how to make it, would be absolutely great!
many thanks
Nikos

How should I put this...

There is no "viewing point", they are not restricted to some "point" because the sky is the same sky in Abisko and Kiruna and the place with no name 50 kilometres or 400 kilometres from there. The sky has to be clear (no clouds), it has to be dark, no city lights (so a town like Kiruna is not good, in the middle of nowhere is better). Plus you have to be awake! The lights often dance in the midle of night when people sleep.

If northern lights is the only reason for you to go to Lapland I would forget it, there is a 99 % chance that you will be disappointed. Besides, light activity is now the lowest in 30 years. In active years you can see them even in southern Finland (or central Sweden), but this year – very unlikely even up north.

Where are you travelling from?

As Elina says activity is still low, though picking up. The best chance of seeing them is actually around the equinox in march, provided there clear skies.

If you can wait a year then you may have more chance of seeing them, and more money to spend on accomodation. It would be a shame to go, just to see them and then get only cloud or be at the wrong time so there is little activity.

I am going to Norway next week. The aurora will be a bonus for me, not a necessity.

http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/auroraforecast/ gives predictions for the aurora - and as you can see it is not good.

You may actually have more chance of seeing them by going to Iceland btw.

You should never book a trip just to see the Northern Lights because if you do then you are almost certain to be disappointed.

Book somewhere where there are other things that you want to do and if you do see the lights then treat it as a bonus

Thanks to all for your tips!
Well, I understand the chance not to manage to see them, but I didn't imagine it could be 99% a miss!
The reason I was thinking about Abisko is that it is said to be a good viewing area, because of a local climate which leaves the sky clear much more often than other places in Scandinavia at similar latitude.
perhaps you can comment on this being true, or just a local 'tourism marketing' myth!!?
Maybe the probability of clear sky - average cloud conditions are just the same in Abisco, Kiruna and many other places?
After all, I could let it for next year, if the solar activity might increase.
Besides the northern lights attraction, the whole area must be very beautifull too, but I'd visit it in a warmer season, so I can enjoy hiking, long daylight etc, which is more or less incompatible with a good chance for NL, unfortunately.
So, it will be two different trips, in the times to come...

The lights have to be there for you to see them, they don't happen every night, it's not something that is turned on & turned off

It's currently a very low sunspot minimum so the chances of them happening on a particular night are very low. All that being at Abisko does is reduce the chances of cloud when they do occur.

thanks Alan,
I'm also searching for the statistics about how often they occur in each place- time.
but it seems very complicated, each website I've seen, gives a part of the information and you have to go through complicated estimations to combine all these.
and still could go wrong since we are not really experts.
I'll see more into that, although this years seem to be unfortunate