Scotland-Ireland-Norway

Bergen is too far south and too cloudy to be able to see the Northern lights there. And March and April is a bit late in the Aurora season.

I agree with Badger - best months for Northern Lights are December to February. You might be able to see them in March, dependent on the weather, but odds are not good. Unless you have a burning desire to see the NL in Scotland, you'd be better off enjoying Scotland for itself and heading up to Alaska or someplace a bit closer as soon as possible.

That's assuming you are talking about a trip in 2022. If 2023, then just bump up your travel plans, keeping in mind that Scotland is really not the best place to see Northern Lights (although it is possible). But you would be better off seeing them in Alaska, Iceland, Norway or northern Minnesota (my neck of the woods). 😊

If you want to increase your odds of seeing the Lights, go earlier and further north. Forget Bergen, think Trondheim. Or even Tromso.

You could go up to Iceland......but cloud cover has wiped out my luck three different times.

I'm quite partial to Iceland for the Northern Lights, having seen them there a couple of times. The posts above don't really favor Bergen for the lights, but possibly you want to go there for more than just that? Icelandair has flights from Portland (and Seattle) to your destinations (changing flights in Iceland), and a layover policy that would allow you to spend up to a week in Iceland without a difference in airfare. Maybe you could investigate flights through there with the layover on the return? If you don't see the lights in Bergen, you'd have another shot on goal in Iceland? And, if you do see them, you could surely find some other amazing way to spend a few days in a beautiful country!

There are many good reasons to visit Iceland, but for a Aurora trip Iceland is really not the best place. The weather is very unpredictable and it can be very cloudy. Although you might be lucky and get a great show!

Anyone who thinks they are going to hop over to some northern place, spend a night or two there, and have a good chance to see the northern lights is setting themself up for disappointment.

To see the aurora, you need several thing to align...the most critical thing is...luck. If you don't have luck, you can substitute patience (but you often need to be patient AND lucky). You also need clear, dark sky. Being far north helps, but just being in the far north will do nothing for your if it's cloudy (it often is) or the solar wind is not particularly active (it's usually not).

The best thing you can do to increase your chances: stay there for a long time. Weeks, or months. A night or two? You better be very lucky. Mother Nature is fickle.

Honestly, with just 2 weeks, I think you will do better if you just pick one (not three) locations: Scotland or Ireland. Forget Bergen. Enjoy Scotland or Ireland, and occasionally take a look at the sky at night while you're there -- you'll have nearly the same chance of seeing the aurora there as you would with a couple nights in Bergen in March or April.

The best thing you can do to increase your chances

And follow the forecasts.

Thank you all for your input. Maybe Ireland & Scotland is the best way to go. Any unique locations that is a "must see"?

Thank you again.

Adding Bergen is not a bad idea, but you should not expect to see any northern lights.

March too late for Northern Lights from what I have heard. Also, visiting those countries in the Winter would not be fun.