This year’s travel trends are out of this world – and in the case of noctourism, we mean it literally.
Travel firms including Booking.com have reported a rise in searches and bookings for locations where travellers can adventure after dark, from celestial activities like star gazing and northern lights chasing (this year’s solar maximum will see a ‘once-in-a-decade’ northern lights display) to full moon parties and nighttime festivals.
Just ahead of the trend is journalist Stephanie Vermillion, author of the new National Geographic book 100 Nights of a Lifetime: The World’s Ultimate Adventures After Dark. Her book details all the adventures you can have after dark, from lantern festivals and sleeping under the stars to aurora-seeking and wildlife encounters. We asked her why she finds it so exciting.
‘Just being out in the dark, whether it’s a full-moon hike or a twilight safari, adds a layer of excitement, mystery, and adventure,’ she said. ‘And I think nature becomes even more enchanting at night, with sparkly fireflies, kaleidoscopic auroras, and the animal kingdom’s nocturnal soundtrack – the night provides such a visceral reminder of our world’s multisensory beauty.’
Here are some of the best ways to take your travels nocturnal this year.
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Laura Hall is an award-winning author, travel writer and journalist based in Copenhagen. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.
