Part 2 : Igloos with a view at Borealis Basecamp
- Dawn Shaikh
- Mar 6, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Apr 4, 2024
We spent 4 nights at Borealis Basecamp in an igloo. In this post, we do a deep dive on our experience at Borealis Basecamp including a deep dive on the igloo experience, aurora viewing with wake-up calls, and Basecamp activities and restaurants. For our high-level summary, check out our post on Key Lessons.
Witnessing the aurora while snuggled up in an igloo checked off the single item on my bucket list.
Since middle school, I have dreamed of seeing the Aurora Borealis in person. When asked, this was the only thing on my bucket list all of these years. In 2014, I read about aurora viewing from plexiglass igloos in Finland. I became obsessed with the idea and booked a family trip in 2016. The kids were not super thrilled about the idea and neither was the husband... so I canceled it. But the dream lived on!
With the excuse of 30 years of marriage, I convinced the husband to bundle up and hunt the glowing lights with me. In early May 2023, I booked the only available 4-night stay in an igloo at Borealis Basecamp for February or March of 2024. Accommodations include the igloos and the cubes. This place books up fast and usually sells out one year in advance for the best months to see the Aurora (December - March). Despite the hype, we would not stay here again.
For our 4-night package, we paid $4444. The package included the following: roundtrip standard shuttle service from Fairbanks airport or hotels, lodging, breakfast, afternoon charcuterie, 4-6 hour snowmachine (aka snowmobile) tour, one-hour dogsled tour, reindeer meet and greet, and a sunset tour in a Swedish Bandvagn Hägglunds. Optional excursions, lunch, and dinner were not included in the package.
The igloo consisted of
Spacious bedroom area with a king-size bed, a bench (near the door for getting in and out of gear), a coatrack, and a luggage rack
Kitchenette equipped with two bar stools, an electric kettle, a Keurig coffee maker with pods, and a mini-fridge
Bathroom with a large hot-water shower (rain head) and ample space
While we had plenty of room inside the igloo, there was little space to lounge. Our aurora-chasing schedule had plenty of downtime during the day. Other than the bed, there was no place to read a book, do a crossword puzzle together, knit, or play card/dice games. We could have gone to either the reception or restaurant lounge, but (1) wanted to be alone due to our continued concerns about Covid (Wobbly Bits got Covid on day 4 of a 14-day trip to India in December 2023) and (2) we wanted to relax in minimal gear with the heat on high.
This clip shows the main/bedroom area of the igloo... and yes, that is the top of a mitten!
Funky-shaped plexiglass windows in our spacious and comfortable igloo (#303) offered unobstructed views of the sky, perfect for spotting the aurora borealis right from our king-sized bed. The attached deck provided the ideal location for a tripod setup. Unlike the rows behind us, we had an unobstructed front-row seat to view the aurora borealis. The igloo block of Basecamp consists of three rows, meaning rows 1 and 2 have an igloo directly in front of them, which can significantly impact the viewing experience.
The spacious bathroom delighted us with hot water and regular flush toilets (an upgrade from the igloos' previous dry toilets). Our driver from Fairbanks to Basecamp provided a crucial tip: keep bathroom door completely shut when showering to prevent the window from fogging up! We feel this tip should have been stated at check-in and posted in the bathroom, because we saw a few igloos completely fogged up 😔. Wobbly Bits found the shower spacious but, as always, disliked the rain head.
To get into the igloo, there were 5 to 6 stairs that led from the snow-covered path onto the attached deck. The stairs had a railing and were mostly free of snow. The attached deck provided a nice area to set up a tripod for aurora photography.
For those with Wrinkles and Wobbly Bits, the igloo experience is a definite MAYBE! The igloo met most of our needs and we enjoyed much of the overall Basecamp experience, but we would not repeat the experience.
Here is a summary of what we liked and did not like about Borealis Basecamp.
What we liked | What we did not like |
👍 Beautiful, picturesque location | 👎 Expected to stay at Basecamp - especially if you used the shuttles for transportation and given the included excursions |
👍 The igloos are hella unique, spacious, and comfortable. | 👎 Small resort meant a lack of privacy and an inability to disconnect from social experiences |
👍 Powerful heating system and very hot water in the igloo | 👎 Small rainfall shower head - does anyone like a rainfall shower head? |
👍 Large bathroom with plenty of storage and fully connected to plumbing (was a dry toilet in the past) | 👎 No place in the igloo to chill and play games as a couple other than the bed |
👍 Mini fridge & tea kettle in the igloo | 👎 The restaurant - many things about the restaurant were not great, especially the lame breakfast that was included with the package and the lackluster menu. |
👍 Excellent, friendly, knowledgeable staff for excursions | 👎 No options for food other than the restaurant (including snacks and beverages) |
👍 Gear for excursions is provided for guests - Carhartt Insulated overalls, NEOS overshoes, mittens, and neck gaiters. Other gear is available for rental. | 👎 Excursions are brief (30-60 minutes) and more of an introduction rather than an experience (except the 4-6 hour snowmobile excursion which we opted out of causing us to have a large credit) |
👍 Wake-up calls when the Aurora is visible - 24/7 | 👎 Packages include excursions without your input. If you do not want to go on an excursion, you get a credit. Large credits are hard to use up given the limited number of excursions (and they cannot be used in the restaurant). |
👍 Photographer on staff to take photos of you and the Aurora (for a fee) | 👎 Neighbors... there is no way to make guests in other igloos turn off their lights when the aurora is visible. The light pollution from nearby igloos really jacked photo opportunities. |
👍 A lounge is available most of the day, but has limited options for food or snacks | 👎 The location of your igloo really matters. Luckily, our igloo had an unobstructed view of the aurora because there were no igloos in front of us. |
👍 Igloos have a private deck that is great for setting up tripods for photos. Cubes do not have a deck. | 👎 |
Video walkthrough of our igloo
Thanks to wake-up calls, we were able to nap a bit and catch the Northern Lights every night.
Borealis Basecamp's wake-up calls proved helpful, ensuring we caught the aurora at its peak. However, we struggled with a plan of attack when debating the best bedtime... bundle up and lay on top of the sheets? Hook up the CPAP? Nap or just stay awake? We tried various things during our 4-night stay and did not land on a perfect plan. Getting the wake-up call and trying to gear up in the middle of the night while keeping your igloo lights out was a challenge. We were very, very thankful for the red light mode on the headlamps we packed.
Why not just observe the lights through the plexiglass window? The lights were visible from our bed, but photography was impossible through the windows. For us, seeing the full-color spectrum was challenging without a camera in night mode or long exposure. After the wake-up call, we geared up and observed/photographed from the attached deck. The cubes do not have an attached deck which would complicate photography using a tripod.
The aurora was spectacular for 2 of our 4 nights! Our second biggest complaint about Borealis Basecamp was our neighbors. Our immediate neighbor, often positioned toward the brightest area of the aurora, kept their lights on all night. Additionally, several igloos flicked their lights on after receiving the wake-up call... and some left them on while standing on their decks. The lights from other igloos made photography challenging and diminished our viewing experience. Wrinkles and I could not understand this approach to aurora viewing, as most expert advice emphasizes complete darkness for optimal aurora viewing. We asked guides and the reception desk about encouraging neighboring igloos to turn off their lights but received limited support. While we acknowledge the difficulty of enforcing such behavior, this significantly impacted our experience and is a major factor in our decision not to return to Borealis Basecamp.
A few photos of the amazing Aurora Borealis. All of these photos were taken with the iPhone's native camera's night mode on a tripod
I used the NightCap app on the iPhone for time lapse shots
The guides at Basecamp were amazing, but the activities were too brief (for the most part).
Activities at Borealis Basecamp were included in our package with no input from us. For example, we did not want to do the 4-6 hour "snowmachine" (snowmobile) activity, but it was included in our package. We did a 6-hour snow mobile tour in 2020 in Whitefish MT and never need to do that again. When I reached out before arrival to express a lack of interest in the snow mobile tour, we were given a substantial credit valid for other activities, snacks in the adventure center, and/or gratuities (but not for food at the restaurant). However, utilizing the full credit required participating in some activities twice, which felt unnecessary. Further, the predetermined schedule, with activities starting at 9AM or 10AM, conflicted with our primary goal -- viewing the aurora which involved late nights (3AM - 4AM). We were able to move activities to later times when available.
Our package also included a one-hour dogsled tour, a reindeer meet and greet, and a sunset tour in a Swedish Bandvagn Hägglunds. Basecamp provided Carhaart Coveralls and NEOS overshoes for all activities that required extra gear.
Reindeer Meet and Greet Our 30-minute encounter with the reindeer was informative, thanks to our knowledgeable guide. We learned fascinating details (like the term "pedicle") and discovered the unexpected softness of reindeer hair. While not particularly exciting, it was a unique experience. The short walk to the pen included a slight incline on packed snow. Those with balance concerns may benefit from walking sticks.
🌟 1-Hour Alaskan Sled Dog Experience. This was our favorite activity of the entire trip! We liked our first outing run by Carl, an Athabascan Sprint Dog Musher, from Pro Dog Racing Kennel so much that we immediately used some of our credit to book another 1-hour experience. Josi Thyr, a 2024 Iditarod rookie musher, shared her dogs with us on the second experience. The time in the dog sled is minimal, but we loved the experience both times. Wrinkles took the standing position on the back of the sled and Wobbly Bits enjoyed the seated position with the best view from the front of the sled. The dogs were happy and friendly and READY to run, run, run! The one-hour tour includes a stop at the puppy pen, a brief introduction to mushing and raising dogs, harnessing the sled, and a brief run on a set track with a stop for photos half way through. The track is about 1 mile according to Google Maps.
Sunset tour in a Swedish Bandvagn Hägglunds. This experience was a bit underwhelming. The ride in the back of the old military vehicle offered limited visibility as we traversed a bumpy trail to a lookout ridge (~3 miles roundtrip). The view from the lookout ridge was beautiful and we enjoyed the coversation around the campfire as we made smores. To enter the back of the vehicle, we climbed a ladder. Neither of us had difficulty with this task, but worth noting for others with wobbly bits.
Additional Activities. There are other activities available as shown in this full list. Wrinkles went on a 30-minute, free, guided nature walk. Because we had the large credit, we did two Aurora Portrait Photo Sessions which we 100% recommend!. Basecamp charges $99/room/night for 6-8 photos with the aurora. This was well worth the money since I did not take my DSLR! One night, we missed the peak, so the photographer took some fun shots without the aurora.
The onsite restaurant, Latitude 65, fell (way) short of our expectations with its fine-dining prices but meh service and food.
All packages include breakfast, served between 6:00 AM and 10:00 AM, at Latitude 65. While the breakfast staff was delightful, the options were limited - on par with a Holiday Inn Express continental breakfast without fresh fruit, offering items like yogurt cups, dry biscuits, salty gravy, cereal, bread/bagel selections, a waffle maker, and a few drink options. The highlight was the made-to-order egg station. Latitude 65 "operates as its own entity" (which means you pay for all meals except breakfast and credit at the Basecamp cannot be used in the restaurant).
Packages also include a late afternoon charcuterie spread held in the Latitude 65 lounge where guests can also purchase beverages or other snacks from the snack menu. The snack menu did not include dessert. We never fully understood the hours for the snack menu. We do not drink, but there is a full bar, and we were delighted to see interesting non-alcoholic options, like the craft soda from 49th State Brewing. During our stay, we tried several flavors and thoroughly enjoyed the Aurora Borealis Soda, Wild Blueberry Cream Soda, and the Spruce Tip Soda.
Guests are on their own for lunch and dinner with one option to choose from - Latitude 65 - unless they are willing to travel to Fairbanks. The lunch menu was small and offered two soup options (one will be the same from dinner the night before). The dinner menu was the same each night except for the specials. While we enjoyed some interesting dishes like wagyu beef, the service and food was inconsistent. One waiter, Christopher, was truly amazing but we also had some of the worst servers we have ever had at a restaurant at this price point. On our first night, I ordered chicken in my risotto, but someone forgot the chicken. When I asked for it, it took almost 20 minutes to rectify the situation and the chicken arrived overcooked. We were compensated with a free brownie.
Meals are expensive... yes, we know there are reasons that cause food to be expensive in Alaska, but check the menus and know what to expect. The igloos do not have a hot pad or microwave, so you are stuck going to Latitude 65. The highlight of the menu was the chocolate brownie... but there are only two desserts and they are the same every night.
Given my caffeine addiction, I really longed for a good cup of coffee or a good Americano during our 4-day stay. We love to take photos of our food when it is beautifully plated, we have no photos to share 😔 Considering the cost of the entire experience, we expected more variety and creativity in the restaurant's offerings.
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