Four Yellowknife aurora tours and what each price buys
A night out after the aurora in Yellowknife costs from ~$62 on a small photo bus up to ~$101 for a heated cabin with a midnight meal. The extra money buys warmth and food rather than better odds with the sky. Below, the four tours side by side, then the costs the ticket leaves out.
The four tours side by side
Four night tours cover the main ways to see the aurora from Yellowknife, and each lasts about four hours with pickup from your hotel. The prices below are per person, the lower of the two "from" figures on GetYourGuide and Viator.
The figure on the booking page moves a little with the date and the site. Read the table as a guide to the gaps between the tours rather than as your final bill.
| Tour | From | Length | Style | Group | Base | Included | Free cancellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowknife Vacations (our pick) | ~$62 | 4 h | Bus with three photo stops | Up to 16 | None, the bus is your shelter | Hot cocoa, tea, coffee, cookies, free photos | 24 h on both sites |
| Cozy cabin tour | ~$101 | 4 h | Heated cabin, no chasing | Up to 17 | Cabin about 15 minutes from town | Fish chowder and bannock, hot drinks, phone photos, clothing rental (Viator) | 24 h on GetYourGuide; Viator non-refundable |
| Destination NWT | ~$98 | 4 h | Lodge, plus a chase on cloudy nights | 33–38 | Lodge near Madeline Lake | Light snacks, hot drinks, games, original photos | 24 h on both sites |
| Aurora Bus Tours | ~$69 | 4–5 h | Pure chase by bus | 24–28 | None, the guide picks the spots | Snacks, hot drinks, professional photos | 24 h on both sites |
GetYourGuide lets you reserve now and pay later on all four, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. Viator matches that on three of them, but its listing for the cabin is non-refundable and allows no changes.
The two buses at the low end
Yellowknife Vacations' photo bus from ~$62 and Aurora Bus Tours' chase from ~$69 are the two cheapest nights out. Both fares buy a heated seat with a guide at the wheel. Hot drinks come aboard, and someone takes photos for you.
Yellowknife Vacations caps the bus at 16 and stops at three different spots along the Ingraham Trail. A professional photographer rides along, and the company says plainly that it does not charge for the pictures.
Aurora Bus Tours takes up to 24 people on GetYourGuide and 28 on Viator, and it skips the fixed route. The guide heads for whichever patch of sky looks clearest that night. Snacks and hot drinks are aboard, and the listing includes professional photos.
The saving has a price of its own. Neither bus has a warm building to wait in, so you stand outside at each stop and climb back aboard to thaw.
What the cabin's higher fare pays for
The cozy cabin tour from ~$101 costs the most of the four. A drive of about 15 minutes takes you to a heated cabin in the bush, where staff check the sky every few minutes while you stay warm inside.
Around midnight comes a light lunch of fish chowder with hot bannock and jams. To drink there is tea or coffee, plus hot chocolate. Viator's listing adds that you may bring a drink of your own, and it mentions costumes for fun photos.
The guide takes at least 3–4 good photos of each guest on high-quality phone cameras and sends them afterward. Groups stay at 17 or fewer on GetYourGuide, and the cabin has Wi-Fi.
The catch is that the cabin never moves. If a cloud bank parks over it, you get a warm night and a good bowl of chowder but no aurora. Viator rates it 4.9 from 290+ reviews, GetYourGuide 4.7 from 80+.
The lodge sits in the middle
Destination NWT's lodge and chase from ~$98 prices close to the cabin but works differently. On cold clear nights you spend more time at a spacious lodge near Madeline Lake, and when clouds roam the bus drives on toward a clearer sky.
Besides warm modern toilets and free Wi-Fi, the lodge has a games room with mahjong and cards alongside arcade machines and foosball. Light snacks and hot drinks are included, and a professional photographer hands over original digital photos at no extra cost.
You share all of this with a big group, up to 33 people on GetYourGuide and 38 on Viator. It scores 4.6 on both sites, from 50+ reviews on GetYourGuide and 140+ on Viator.
The lowest fare, with the photos thrown in
Yellowknife Vacations' four-hour bus with three stops on the Ingraham Trail and a photographer on board who does not charge for pictures. Viator rates it 4.8 from 430+ reviews.
Costs the ticket leaves out
Winter clothing is the big one. Only the cabin's Viator listing includes clothing rentals, so on the other three you bring your own parka and boots or rent a set in town. Our guide to dressing for minus 30 lists what you need.
Tips are another line. Yellowknife Vacations' Viator page lists gratuities as not included, so set something aside for the driver and photographer if they earn it.
The flight to Yellowknife is a cost of its own, and it changes how you should weigh the tours. One night is a gamble against clouds, so many visitors book several, which our guide to how many nights works through.
A second or third tour night multiplies the spend, which is why the buses at ~$62 and ~$69 appeal on a long stay. Mixing one bus night with one cabin or lodge night keeps the total down and still gives you a warm base once.
Picking by budget
- For the lowest fare in a small group, Yellowknife Vacations at ~$62 with 16 seats at most
- For a chase that follows the clearest sky, Aurora Bus Tours at ~$69
- For warmth and a hot meal, the cabin at ~$101, booked on GetYourGuide if you want to keep the right to cancel
- For a heated lodge with toilets and games that can still move on cloudy nights, Destination NWT at ~$98
Whichever you pick, the lights come with no guarantee on any of the four. Our comparison of tour styles and the page on nights when the sky stays shut cover the cloudy side of the decision.