Borealis Basecamp

My wife and I had Borealis Basecamp and Flight reservations when Storm ENZO stranded us in Hilton Head, South Carolina. We wrote three emails requesting the management of Basecamp to either delay our arrival or cancel the trip and reschedule for later in 2025. The reason for the delay was that the nearest airport, the Savannah Airport, was closed for two days and limited flights on the afternoon on the third day. Management refused to move our arrival the three nights we requested and stated flately if we did not show up, our full deposit and total cost would be forefited (over $4,500). This once in a 100- year ice and snow storm with sub freezing temperatures had no impact on them. They finally agreed to move our arrival back one day, but we would have to move igloos. We had to reschedule our flights to fly out of Charleston, SC, a 110 mile drive. After we arrived, our first night there was no Aurora to see because of clouds. The second night we were awakened in our igloo by the inroom alarm and we saw the beautiful Aurora. We then had to change igloos for our third night. The Aurora was out, but we were not awakened for the sighting. It tuns out that an employee walks on paths next to the Igloos and points an electrical "shot" towards an electrical alarm in your Igloo which is supposed to awaken you. One night we were awakened- the second night we were not! The employee has no feedback as to whether the room alarm was triggered or not. We made some friends who shared their pictures with us for this third night; however, they informed us that the night after our checkout, they experienced the same malfunction, the alarm never went off although the staff said they shot the electrical charge towards their Igloo. BEWARE! They need to develop a better wake up process. On a posivtive side, the staff was very friendly and accommodating. The food was average at best and overpriced. The menu never changed.

The experience alone was amazing but the cost to value ratio is off. Overall it's too expensive. The lodging, the restaurant, all of it is too expensive. Went on a northern lights tour in the Fairbanks area and saw the lights went to this location and saw the lights but at a much much greater cost.

Just got back from a great 5 night stay in the igloos. We did a lot of research and was helped tremendously by the reviews left by others. We want to share our experience to help others and will focus on information that might be new. Igloos have much better views than the cubes and while not spacious, they are plenty large for two adults. Plenty of heat and it was useful to have shorts & tee shirts when we were relaxing in the igloo. The 4-6 hour snowmobiling tour was fun even for first-timers but it gets cold by the end of the tour so take all the clothing they offer you. We wished we had mittens instead of finger gloves because the hand warmers we brought were more effective in the mittens. We brought winter caps that had a built in headlamp and that was really handy. If you’re going in the winter time, you will likely be walking to breakfast and dinner in the dark. It’s nice not to have to deal with a separate headlamp. Breakfast was hearty with a made to order omelet station and they now also offer a lower-priced pub menu which is open for lunch and dinner. Dinner at Latitude 65 was good but expensive. To keep costs low, we brought dehydrated camp food which worked out great because sometimes we didn’t want to leave the igloo. It was a great trip and highly recommend Basecamp!

While the total experience was enhanting, I wanted to share that the 1 hour Helicopter tour was excellent. I am not normally a fan of small aircraft the experience was phenomenal. The whole flight was smooth as glass. The tour is highly recommended.

While the guides and experiences were awesome. The communication regarding the time between activities was non existent and the shuttle service was lacking. We were left with a 3 hours before our shuttle could take us back AND then we were dropping off people at the airport. A long day made even longer. Would advise you to seek your own transportation !!!!

This was a memorable trip for us. We stayed in an igloo which was very cozy. The staff was exceptional. Everyone from the shuttle drivers to the onsite staff were informative, warm and friendly. Be prepared for single digit or lower temps, dressing in layers. Also bring a small flashlight for when it is dark and you walk to the restaurant for dinner. When we were there sunset was around 4:30 pm and sunrise at 9:30 am. While the aurora borealis was not as brilliant as we might have expected due to a beautiful full moon and some snow/cloudy skies, it did not take away from the enjoyment and our experience. Don’t worry about missing the lights, the rooms our set up with a bell that goes off when they are sighted - typically, between 11 and 3:00 am. Ours occurred our last night at 2:30 am!