Greatland Adventures - Anchorage, Alaska

Zoe Zell

My partner and I had planned to see the Northern Lights while in Fairbanks. Unfortunately, the weather did not hold up, and despite there being aurora activity, it was completely cloudy in and around Fairbanks. We actually purchased another tour with a high success rate and were sorely disappointed when we were clouded out after chasing the whole night. The next night, we drove south to a lake for viewing and were soon joined by Greatland Tours. The aurora made a colorful and kinetic appearance, and Jacob, one of the guides and photographers for Greatland, ushered us in front of his camera and snapped photos of us while the lights danced. He didn’t care that we hadn’t paid to be on his tour. He genuinely wanted us to have beautiful photos of our experience!

Kindness notwithstanding, the tour appeared well organized and seamless. There were two vans that held easily a dozen people but were capped at a respectable 8 per vehicle. Everyone had autonomy of watching the sky or staying warm with some drinks in the comfort of the van. The guides were super knowledgeable about all things aurora, Alaska, and photography, friendly and easy to converse with, and were totally willing to take as many pictures as each person wanted.

I proposed to my now-fiancé under the lights, and Jacob took shots afterwards and even during the proposal (sneaky, mad props)! He went out of his way to be generous with his time, taking, editing, and sending pictures to us to commemorate our special night. If I ever book another aurora chasing tour, it WILL be with Greatland Tours!

Youngjae Kim (JK)

Most people have a bucket list. Seeing the Aurora was one of my bucket list items. People said it was a bit early in the season to see the Aurora, and when we left, it was raining and the sky was full of clouds. However, the staff here of the Greatland Adventure were truly passionate aurora chasers, and gave us the best memories. The sky we saw from the place we traveled for three to four hours was amazing. The photos I took just with my cell phone camera were like this, and the lots of stars were truly spectacular. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Chris and Steve for their guidance.
For chasing the Northern lights with Greatland was the best choice I've ever done here. Thank you guys.

Bronson Allen

Another trip to Alaska, another unforgettable life moment. I am 3 for 3 so far. This was January 2023. I caught the northern lights, milky way, and Denali all in the same night. Despite the 2 hour drive in the snow and negative temperatures, this was a blast. Our photographer and guide Jacob was incredible. Its been 1.5 years. I wonder if his success streak is still intact? ?

Shayon Bagchi

We did the Fairbanks aurora tour with Mike and it was AWESOME! Mike is so knowledgeable and made sure we spot the aurora even though it was kinda cloudy. He ensured to take super cool pics of us . Very importantly Mike explained us how to "chase the northern lights", by looking at weather patterns, space data etc. It is interesting to know the science behind this natural phenomenon. I can't recommend them more.

Tamia Lemmones

Mike and Shannon were the best guides for our once in a lifetime experience. Josh picked us up and we were off to their cabin where by 11 pm we're seeing auroras across the sky! The lights were so beautiful and the entire group got to experience VIP photo shoots!

The skies were clear on our night and we enjoyed hot cocoa, snacks and even a small walking trail! Once clouds came along we picked up and drove to a few other locations in the area in our heated van! Nice and comfy with a great group of folks into 2 ish

We loved it!

debbie decosta

It was an awesome experience to walk on the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska! Our guide Matt was pleasant, knowledgeable and helped us maneuver on the glacier, he ever put on our crampons for us and instructed us on ascension on how to use them. The lunch spot, The Long Gun, was great, it overlooked the glacier too!

Amanda Anders

Our tour of Matanuska glacier was amazing. Megan was kind, knowledgeable and patient. The tour was well-planned, with hotel pick-up, transport with convenient stops and lunch after the glacier hike. Great experience!

Tamara Engle

We booked a private aurora tour with Greatland Adventures in Fairbanks. Communication throughout the process was excellent! We had an epic experience with Mike, our guide. He went out of his way in every measure, including picking all seven of us up at our rather remote cabin. He used scientific data and Birkeland-like knowledge on our aurora chase, often times pulling over to analyze data & look at the skies to decide which direction had the highest probability of an aurora. After talking with fellow travelers who booked other tours that only went to one viewing spot & never saw an aurora (cloudy weather is a bummer!) we were especially appreciative of the effort. We were lucky that everything lined up and we found more than one viewing spot. We saw arcs, bands, corona & rays - even some dancing lights! Mike’s genuine enthusiasm & incredible knowledge along with some amazing storytelling made our late night/early morning adventure one we will always treasure. Thanks Mike & Greatland Adventures!