Northern Lights Guide
Experience the Northern Lights Like Never Before
Welcome to the Aurora Masterplan with Andy Keen—a premium, expert-led consultation designed to help you witness the magic of the Northern Lights in the most strategic and cost-effective way possible. With my years of hands-on experience and in-depth knowledge of the Arctic, I will create a personalised itinerary to maximise your chances of seeing the Aurora while ensuring an unforgettable adventure.
The Aurora Masterplan — Personal Consultation with Andy Keen
A 2-hour one-to-one advisory session that gives independent travellers the expert knowledge they need to plan a successful, memorable and cost-effective Northern Lights adventure.
Not everyone wants to join a group tour — and they shouldn't have to. Some of the most memorable aurora experiences happen when you travel on your own terms, in your own time, with the freedom to stay out until 3am because the sky is doing something extraordinary. The Aurora Masterplan gives you the knowledge to do exactly that, without wasting money on the wrong week, the wrong location, or the wrong kind of accommodation.
In a single two-hour session, Andy Keen — who has spent more than 10,000 hours under Arctic skies since 2008 — will build you a personalised plan designed around your dates, budget, travel style, and experience level. This is insider knowledge that simply isn't available in any guidebook or travel blog.
Andy Keen beneath an extremely rare aurora spiral — one of nature's most fleeting and extraordinary phenomena.
Your Personalised Aurora Masterplan
Every consultation is tailored to you. The following topics are covered as standard, with additional time given to the areas most relevant to your specific plans and destination.
The Northern Lights season runs from late September to late March, but not all weeks are equal. We'll identify the dates that align your travel window with the optimal balance of darkness, lunar cycle, and historical aurora frequency — including why the equinox periods in September and March tend to produce elevated geomagnetic activity.
Norway, Sweden, or Finland? And where within each country? The choice of destination matters enormously. We'll discuss the trade-offs between popular locations like Tromsø and lesser-known alternatives, the importance of latitude, and exactly why being at or above the Arctic Circle gives you a fundamentally different experience to destinations further south — particularly as Solar Cycle 25 continues its decline.
The wrong accommodation can significantly reduce your chances before you even step outside. We'll cover the key criteria for choosing where to stay — proximity to dark skies, access to open horizons, avoiding light pollution, and the difference between staying in a city centre versus a rural cabin. You'll also learn what to look for in terms of cancellation flexibility, given that the aurora can't be guaranteed.
Statistically, the more nights you have, the better your chances. We'll look at the minimum recommended duration for a realistic chance of a sighting based on your destination, and why 5–7 nights is typically the threshold at which most independent travellers succeed.
For those who want to drive, self-drive aurora chasing is one of the most effective strategies available — giving you the freedom to move locations and maximise your time under clear skies. We'll cover vehicle requirements for Arctic conditions, winter tyre regulations, essential safety considerations, and route planning strategies. For non-drivers, we'll cover the best alternatives.
Being caught underprepared in Arctic conditions can turn an unforgettable trip into an uncomfortable or dangerous one. We'll cover the layering system that works, essential clothing and footwear, what most first-time visitors get wrong, and how to stay warm while standing outside for hours at night — because the aurora doesn't always appear quickly.
The Arctic in winter offers far more than just the aurora. We'll talk about how to structure your days — from husky safaris and snowmobile excursions to Sámi cultural experiences, ice fishing, and winter hiking. You'll leave with a full picture of how to make every hour of your trip count, whatever the sky is doing.
Arctic travel doesn't have to break the bank. We'll cover when to book flights and accommodation for the best prices, which costs are worth paying and which aren't, how to avoid overpriced tourist experiences, and the genuine budget differences between destinations. Many travellers who've done the Masterplan report saving several times the cost of the session on their trip as a direct result.
Every session ends with a tailored outline itinerary built around your specific dates, destination, budget, and travel style — something concrete to take away and build on. You'll also receive a follow-up email summary covering the key recommendations from our session, along with a curated list of resources, apps, and tools to support your planning.
Why Andy Keen
The Knowledge Behind the Masterplan
The Aurora Masterplan is only as valuable as the person delivering it. Andy Keen has been guiding Northern Lights expeditions since 2008 — which means he has been doing this through a complete solar cycle and a half, across multiple countries, in conditions ranging from −30°C blizzards to unexpectedly warm Arctic nights when the aurora danced for seven hours straight.
That experience has been recognised at the highest level internationally. Andy has appeared in television documentaries for Spiegel TV, ARTE, Curiosity Stream and the BBC — specifically because he is the kind of expert broadcasters trust to explain the aurora accurately to a global audience.
Why Now
The Right Moment to Plan Your Aurora Adventure
Solar Cycle 25 reached its official peak in October 2024 — but this is not a reason to delay. It is, in fact, precisely the right moment to plan.
History shows that some of the most powerful geomagnetic storms of any solar cycle occur during the declining phase, often years after the official maximum. Solar Cycle 24 peaked in 2014 and produced its two largest solar flares in September 2017 — more than three years later. Strong individual storms are expected well into 2027 and beyond.
The next solar minimum is projected around 2030–2031, with Solar Cycle 26 building toward its maximum around 2035–2036. The window of strong, accessible aurora activity at higher latitudes is still very much open — but it will narrow. The Masterplan helps you make the most of the years that remain.
Exceptional Value
What £175 Gets You
To put the cost in perspective: a single night of guided aurora chasing with a professional guide in Scandinavia typically costs in the region of £200 or more per person. The Aurora Masterplan costs less than that — and gives you the knowledge to plan and execute your own successful aurora trip, independently, for the rest of your life.
The knowledge you gain from the Masterplan doesn't expire after one night. The principles of location selection, timing strategy, and itinerary planning apply to every aurora trip you take, now and in the future.
The Process
How to Book Your Masterplan Session
Request Your Session
Complete the short form below to request a session. Tell us a little about your planned trip and any specific questions you have in mind.
Confirm Date & Payment
Andy will contact you personally to agree a date and time, and confirm payment details. Sessions are available via WhatsApp video or audio call, or Microsoft Teams.
Your 2-Hour Session
A focused, personal consultation covering all the topics above, tailored to your specific destination, dates and travel style.
Follow-Up Summary
After the session, Andy will email you a written summary of the key recommendations, your personalised itinerary outline, and a curated list of tools and resources to support your planning.
For Television Productions & Independent Filmmakers
An aurora sequence that fails to materialise is not a minor setback for a television production — it is a fundamental gap in the programme, and it cannot be fixed in post-production. The difference between a crew that returns with extraordinary footage and one that returns empty-handed almost always comes down to one thing: local expertise that operates at the intersection of space weather science, Arctic geography, and practical field experience.
Andy Keen has contributed to television productions for Spiegel TV, ARTE, Curiosity Stream and the BBC — broadcasters who understand that credibility in front of a global audience depends on the accuracy and authenticity of their science contributors. That experience informs everything he offers to production teams, from pre-production planning through to on-location delivery.
A dedicated pre-production consultation for production teams, researchers and directors planning aurora sequences. Covers optimal shooting windows and locations, aurora probability by date, equipment recommendations for extreme cold, cinematographic considerations for aurora structure and movement, and practical logistics for Arctic crew management. Conducted via video call; written briefing document provided on request.
On-the-ground production support for visiting crews, covering aurora forecasting and real-time decision-making, location scouting and access, ground transportation in Arctic conditions, crew safety briefings, liaison with local communities and landowners, and equipment management in extreme cold. Andy brings his own professional field kit and can operate independently or integrate with your existing crew structure.
Available as an on-screen expert contributor for documentary, factual and science programming covering the aurora borealis, solar activity, astrophotography, and Arctic exploration. Andy has extensive experience speaking to camera for international audiences across multiple broadcast platforms and languages, and is comfortable across both studio and field-based documentary formats.
All production enquiries are handled directly and in confidence. Please use the contact form below or email in**@************ts.guide with a brief outline of your project, proposed dates, and location. Andy will respond personally, usually within 48 hours.
Ready to Plan Your Northern Lights Adventure?
Complete the form below to register your interest. Andy will respond personally, usually within 48 hours, to arrange a suitable date and time for your consultation.
Sessions available via WhatsApp or Microsoft Teams · Conducted in English · Up to 2 participants per session
Book Your Masterplan Session →By booking the Aurora Masterplan you agree to the Northern Lights Guide Terms & Conditions. Northern Lights Guide is owned and operated by Andy Keen · in**@************ts.guide
Book Your Aurora Masterplan — Personal Consultation with Andy Keen
Fill out the form below to request your Aurora Masterplan session. Tell me a little about your planned trip — destination if you have one in mind, rough dates, and any specific questions you’d like to cover — and I’ll come back to you personally to arrange a
suitable time.
Sessions are £175 for two hours and are available via WhatsApp video or audio call, or Microsoft Teams. With over 16 years of Arctic guiding experience, 10,000+ hours beneath northern skies, and a 95% aurora success rate, this is the most direct way to ensure
your Northern Lights trip is planned by someone who genuinely knows what they’re doing.