Northern Lights en Chena Hot Springs Night Tour vanuit Fairbanks

This was our second tour with 1st Alaska Tours and it was another great experience! Our guide, Tanner, was entertaining, friendly, helpful, and professional. He helped us spot moose on the way up to the hot spring and did his best to ensure we all had an interesting drive up. Before even going to the spring, we toured the Ice Museum on premises. Small, but interesting in the diversity of the ice items they had. There was also an early escape if the cold got to be too much. The locker room at the spring was pretty much what you would expect from any locker room: lockers squeezed together in small areas, tight fit for heavy clothing in the locker, tight fit for women changing by lockers. However, it was clean and comfortably warm. Bring your own towel to avoid paying for one and bring quarters for the lockers! I was a little nervous about the locker key as there was no way to attach it to me, but I just left it on my flip flop, and it was fine. It was recommended that we go into the hot tub before going to the hot spring, but the tub was pretty crowded so we took our chances. Street shoes had to be left in the lobby so flip flops or slides are highly recommended and can be left close to the entry to the spring. Many of us wore hats since any part of you that was wet and not under water was subject to freezing (eyelashes, eyebrows, hair, etc). The short walk from the locker room to the spring was chilly but it was not difficult to transition from the walkway to the heat of the spring. There were pockets of intense heat in the spring and also some rocks around the edges so walking gingerly is recommended. The heat felt wonderful and we had more than enough time to enjoy it before getting dressed for heading outside to view the northern lights. We stopped a couple of places on the way back to town and the lights did not disappoint. Tanner knew where to find dark skies for us! A memorable night to be sure and I would highly recommend this tour.

It was a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience. Our guide, Colleen was friendly, knowledgeable, and really went out of her way to ensure we got an amazing experience. She showed us how to set up the cameras on our phones to get AMAZING pictures. Seems straightforward to set up, it's not. Phones can be finicky when trying to get northern lights pictures. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone looking for an amazing adventure in chasing the northern lights. The Chena Hot Springs and Ice Museum were also wonderful, unique experiences and Colleen ensured we knew where to go, what to expect, and how to maximize the experience. That being said, the northern lights portion is something my wife and I will never forget. All pictures were taken with a plain Samsung S22+...not anything new or high-end and they turned out great! Thanks 1st Alaska Tours and Colleen for the experience of a lifetime and memories I will always cherish.

This was a fabulous experience! Tanner, our tour guide, went out of his way to make sure we got to experience Chena resort. We were also fortunate to have a great night of northern lights. Tanner made sure we visited spots with great viewing, and was a huge help with settings on our phone cameras.

Tanner was our guide. He was wonderful. He picked us up on time, gave tour details. He added a brief pull over to see the Alaska pipeline. After arriving at Chena Hot Springs he again provided details to the evening events and where to find him if necessary. He monitored the solar activity and when we would meet him he gave an update. During the Aurora showing he was on the lookout for flares that popped up and which way to look. On our trip back he added a couple pull offs with less lights to again get better views and pictures of Aurora. Above and beyond. He has knowledgeable about the Northern Lights and viewing. He was very personable with our group and great to get to know. He didn’t bring the lights but made the experience the best.

Tanner was a great guide. Got lucky with a wonderful display of the northern lights. Tanner even stopped to let us see the Alaskan pipeline. He also made a couple of extra stops for photos in non light areas for us to get the best pictures

There are 3 facets to this review: 1) Chena Hot Springs: this was Ok but nothing to write home about. The Ice sculpture stuff was good, but then dropped when trying to get meal service (too busy short staffed blah blah blah). When we finally got in there the server (Juan) was great and the food was good - just did not give us enough time to enjoy the hot springs. 2) Tanner the guy who picked us up and brought us back. This dude was a ROCKSTAR! Personable, friendly and really knew his stuff about the Northern Lights! Took us to his honeypots for great viewing and tossed in the pipeline to boot! 3) Northern Lights - I guess we have Mother Nature to thank about this as they were spectacular! Thanks to Tanner for finding them for us!

Tanner was an absolutely wonderful driver and escort on the various stops. Our only complaint is that the seats are not suited for the length of the trip, but designed for an airport shuttle. Jake (not from State Farm) is a trivia king and enjoyed his knowledge. Colleen was a joy to have as a driver. Paul is very knowledgeable about the Auroras and enjoyed the stop for the spring water.

Tanner is the best! Hang on to him! Great tour guide! 10! Personable. Wishing him well! Sara & David

Tanner, our tour guide, did a fabulous job as our driver and guide to Chena Hot Springs and viewing the Northern Lights that evening. We very much enjoyed our tour because of Tanner's informative guidance.

I really enjoyed talking with you over dinner. The sky was so clear and the stars were incredibly beautiful. I’ll always remember how we all wished that we might see the Northern Lights that night, and how we drove around in the van searching for them under the starry sky. In the end, we couldn’t find them, and that made me feel very sad. But every moment has become a precious memory. The disappointment of not seeing the Northern Lights makes the memories of the times I have seen them before—and the joy I will feel when I see them again someday—even more meaningful. I sincerely hope that you will be able to see beautiful Northern Lights. I’ll be wishing that for you.