What is noctourism and why it's on the rise
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
Noctourism, or the recent trend of exploring the world after dark, is set to transform how night owls see the world in 2025. In a Booking.com survey last year, nearly two-thirds (62%) of respondents across 33 countries said they were considering holidays with experiences at night, from stargazing and safari sleep-outs to after-dark city tours. Luxury tour operator Wayfairer Travel reports nocturnal excursions were up by 25% in 2024. 'It's taken off in the past year,' CEO Jay Stevens says.
Lee Thompson, co-founder of tour operator Flash Pack, says demand among millennial travellers increased by 40%. 'We've noticed a growing demand for non-alcoholic experiences in recent years. People now crave unique experiences beyond evenings in a bar, which seems to have fuelled noctourism.'
Perhaps the real reason is simpler. In an age of overtourism, when few parts of the globe are still unvisited, noctourism can provide a new perspective on established sights. It's a chance to rediscover a world transformed at night. Here are some of the best nocturnal adventures to try.
The average African safari in the daytime typically only sees around 30% of mammals — with around 70% of them nocturnal, among them the bush baby and the honey badger. It's no surprise, then, that there's been a rise in demand for night-time wildlife trips. Dan Free, general manager of Wildlife Worldwide, says: 'Guests increasingly want to see more unusual species.' The company has a new South Africa trip to see niche nocturnal mammals, such as the aardvark and aardwolf.
Wayfairer Travel reports a 35% rise in demand for night safaris in Africa compared to 2023; CEO Jay Stevens suggests wildlife documentaries are the inspiration. Rainforest lodges are also increasingly running night-time wildlife walks in destinations such as Madagascar and Costa Rica. Meanwhile, those on the Amazon such as Sacha Lodge in Ecuador already provide canoe trips to see the eyes of cayman glowing in torchlights. In Europe, wildlife specialist Travelling Naturalist is using overnight hides to spot brown bears each June, while Amazing Nature Scandinavia runs camps in 'a wolf pack area' to hear the animals' howls. Increasingly, watching wildlife in their natural habitat no longer relies on daylight.
For anyone keen to explore after dark, the Northern Lights are typically at the top of their list of must-sees. According to the most recent figures, in 2023, the Northern Lights industry was valued at £686m, while in December last year, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) found that one in five UK holidaymakers was planning a trip to a region where they'd have a chance of seeing the aurora, up 3% on 2023. Meanwhile, according to figures from aviation analytics company Cirium, seasonal flights to Tromsø, Norway's 'Northern Lights capital', rose from 22 in 2023, operated by just Norwegian and Wizz Air, to a total of 87 last year — with British Airways, EasyJet and SAS all launching new routes. It's clear that interest in the aurora is surging.
That's partly due to the Northern Lights' solar maximum in 2024 and 2025, when a peak in solar activity creates a bonanza for aurora-spotters, resulting in more frequent and stronger sightings. But the light phenomenon also capitalises on another recent trend: noctourism. As Tom Kerss, chief aurora chaser of Norwegian cruise operator Hurtigruten, says: 'They're the closest thing to real magic you can find in the natural world.'
But they can be elusive, and not all travellers come away with a confirmed sighting, with a combination of aspects such as poor weather and luck sometimes scuppering chances. Aurora Zone, the UK's oldest Northern Lights tour operator, offers 132 Scandinavia holidays within the hotspot of 66-degrees north to 69-degrees north. Managing director Amy Hope says that 86% of its customers witnessed the aurora last season, partly thanks to its camps being located well away from light pollution. Yet, like all operators, it hedges its bets by including other activities on trips.
Some companies offer a Northern Lights promise, whereby guests qualify for a repeat trip if they're among the unlucky ones. For passengers on board a Hurtigruten expedition cruise, for example, this translates to a free seven-day voyage if the aurora fails to materialise during cruises that last more than 11 days. Demand for its Astronomy Voyages, which feature expert lecturers, almost doubled from 2023 to 2024. Bookings by January 2025 had also already surpassed last year's total. Kerss says: 'Quite simply, the ship becomes a floating observatory, constantly moving to chase the clearest skies.'
What explains the rising demand for accommodation with views of the night sky? The sense of connection, says Chris McIntyre, founder of Expert Africa. He believes safari star beds — set beneath epic skies, with a soundtrack of whooping hyenas — provide 'a blend of tranquillity and exhilaration, deepening your connection to the wild'.
Though pioneered by early African safaris, comfort levels have changed radically. McIntrye says: 'We've seen a big increase in interest for star beds. A decade ago, a high-end sleep-out meant a foam mattress and a duvet; now, you have king-size beds with the best linens.' Basecamp Samburu in Kenya launched four deluxe star beds this year, elevated under canopies and each with their own hot tub.
The Maldives has been quick to embrace the concept as well. From this year, guests at Milaidhoo in Baa Atoll can book a Sleep Under the Stars experience — a bed on a private sandbank accessible only by boat. In 2021, the Swiss tourist board also launched the Million Stars Hotel concept. Booked through wild camping platform Nomady, the project lists around 50 unique stays that offer spectacular night-sky views, from geodesic domes to mattresses on a farmer's hay cart.
With worldwide light pollution growing 10% annually, and the Milky Way already invisible to a third of the world's population, starry skies have become a reason to travel, says Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society. 'People want an experience that's hard to get at home.'
Massey's pick of stargazing destinations includes the COAA observatory in the Algarve, where amateur astronomers have the opportunity to use the telescopes; and the light-pollution free landscapes of Chile, Namibia and the Australian Outback. 'All have extraordinary clear skies, which is why they're home to observatories,' he says.
Global non-profit DarkSky International has certified over 160,000sq miles as dark-sky sites worldwide, generally as Dark Sky Reserves and Dark Sky Parks. The Tāhuna Glenorchy Dark Sky Sanctuary, near Queenstown in New Zealand, is a 2025 addition.
The 22 reserves in the UK have also led travel operators to embrace stargazing. In the Lake District, the hotel Another Place runs full-moon stargazing swims with a cold-water expert, providing wetsuits and tow floats, while in Dorset, Fore Adventure now runs night-time kayaking in Studland Bay.
It's the obvious solution to soaring daytime temperatures and overtourism — visit at night. In Jordan, the weekly Petra by Night display permits after-hours access to see the Nabatean Treasury illuminated by thousands of lanterns. The Taj Mahal in India also opens for five days around the full moon for just 50 people at a time, offering a whole new perspective on the site.
Wayfairer CEO Jay Stevens says 67% of visitors to Tokyo (up 30% on 2023) are increasingly seeking night-time experiences. 'Instagram has been a huge driver of this in my opinion, because users see images of neon signs in Shinjuku's Kabukicho or tiny izakayas [bars] in Omoide Yokocho and want to experience it.' He recommends visiting Senso-ji after dark to see Tokyo's oldest temple at its quietest, plus nocturnal cruises along the Sumida River.
Food markets are often hubs for nocturnal activity, especially in East Asia and Latin America, where you go to people-watch as much as to eat. Inside Asia runs food-themed trips, which include Gwangjang Market in Seoul after sun down, as well as Taipei's Yansan Night Market, while Intrepid offers trips to take in the nightly carnival of food stalls on Marrakech's Jemaa el-Fnaa square.
The sea at night remains an undeveloped market — between 2020 and 2024, numbers taking PADI's Night Diver Course rose just 2%. Eric Albinsson, the PADI training executive who co-wrote the night-diving course, says while nerves are 'normal' for first-timers, 'many find night diving to be peaceful and meditative'. He reframes the adventure: 'You feel like you're experiencing space when night diving, with the chance to witness the glow-in-the-dark marine world, too.'
It's also far more accessible than space; any diver with PADI's Open-Water Certification can book a guided night dive. Albinsson recommends dives with manta rays off Kona in Hawaii. Joanna Charter, Regaldive product executive, notes how night can transform familiar dives. 'Fluoro diving is a disco. UV torches expose the biofluorescence of coral and reefs explode with colour.' Bonaire island is extraordinary, or Regaldive offers Buceo Anilao resort in the Philippines.
Non-divers can also make do with bioluminescence, when plankton emit light, creating a glowing effect that looks like stars. Images of beaches glowing with neon-blue light have driven travellers to the Maldives' Mudhdhoo island, aka the 'Sea of Stars', and Mosquito Bay on Puerto Rico's Vieques coast, home of the world's brightest bioluminescence according to Guinness World Records.
Published in the April 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
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