This tour from Reykjavík combines a guided aurora hunt with time at a cozy countryside base away from city lights. Warm up by the fire with hot chocolate and Icelandic treats before heading out to search for the lights. Forecasts are carefully monitored each day to give you the best possible chance of seeing the Northern Lights!
Join this Northern Lights tour from Reykjavík and spend the evening combining comfort with a guided aurora search.
Your experience begins at a secluded countryside location outside the city, away from artificial lights. The darker surroundings create better viewing conditions while giving you time to settle in and stay warm. Thermal overalls, blankets, and sheepskin seating are provided around a firepit. You can toast marshmallows, enjoy hot chocolate, and sample traditional Icelandic treats as you prepare for the night ahead.
When conditions look promising, you’ll head out with your guide to search for the Northern Lights. Cloud cover and aurora forecasts are carefully monitored throughout the day to select the best viewing areas. Locations may change depending on weather patterns to give you the strongest possible chance of seeing the lights. Professional photos of the aurora are included during the tour, so you can focus on watching the sky while the moment is captured for you.
After the tour, you’ll be dropped off at your original pickup location in Reykjavík.
Northern Lights sightings depend on weather conditions and solar activity. If the forecast is unfavorable, the aurora portion of the tour may be canceled by 6:15 PM local time on the day of departure. In this case, you may choose to reschedule for another available date or receive a full refund.
If the tour operates but no Northern Lights are seen, you may join again free of charge. Re-tries are valid for up to three years from your original tour date and are subject to availability.
Refunds are not issued if the tour takes place as scheduled but Northern Lights don’t appear.
Customer Care can assist with arranging your rebooking.
Pickup for this Northern Lights tour is scheduled at either 8:30 PM or 9:30 PM, depending on the season. Your exact pickup time will be confirmed during the booking process and listed on your final voucher.
Pickup may take up to 30 minutes, as multiple designated locations in Reykjavík are serviced along the route.
Available pick-up points can be found here.
The Northern Lights are natural phenomena and we, unfortunately, cannot promise you will see them. Their appearance depends upon atmospheric and weather conditions.
For more information on the Northern Lights, please have a look at our Northern Lights tours.
We, unfortunately, do not have one simple answer to this question.
There isn’t just one single setting for your camera that ensures great photos. However, if you have manual options, you are probably best served with experimenting with various combinations of ISO, aperture, and exposure settings. As a rule of thumb, ISO setting between 800 and 3200, aperture between f/2 8 and f/5.6, and shutter speed at between 15 seconds and 30 seconds have proven effective.
A good thing to keep in mind, ISO setting between 800 and 3200, aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6, and shutter speed between 15 seconds and 30 seconds have given great results.
Different combinations may give very different results. Higher ISO setting will allow you to capture faster exposures, but the downside to this might be for example grainier images.
If the shutter speed is above 15 seconds it will result in a slight star movement.
Wider angle lenses are usually more versatile in low light settings, but longer lenses give you different options for compositions. Make sure that you remove all lens filters, as they may distort images. You will probably get the best results with manual setting for infinite focal length.
Reimbursement is not given if the northern lights tour goes ahead and no lights are seen but we do offer you the change to join a Northern Lights Minibus tour free of charge.
Please contact our Customer Care to re-book your tour.
When Northern Lights tours are canceled it’s usually due to unfavorable weather conditions.
In that case, your options will be to:
Please go to the customer portal to re-book your tour or contact us by phone at +354 562 7000.
The northern lights are a pretty difficult thing to predict. We recommend you to check en.vedur.is to see the forecast and if the level is high and the skies are clear then it’s very likely that the tour is going ahead. We do update our website’s tour departure sheet with the information at 17:00 pm the latest. If your tour is canceled then you will receive an email from us.
If we think there is no chance at all of seeing the lights we will cancel the tour. We don’t want to bring you out and disappoint if there is no chance of the lights to be seen.
Yes, the guide on your tour will take a photo of you with the northern lights in the background.
These can be single or group photo’s and are free of charge.
The Northern Lights season is from late August until mid-April. However, if you want to increase your changes of seeing them, it is best to wait until the clear winter months of mid-September until March.
The northern lights depend on luck and weather if that is in your favor than you will be able to see the Aurora Borealis above the inviting streets of Reykjavík. Whether you see the lights or not they depend on two different factors. The first being the weather. If the sky is clear, no clouds, then you are halfway there to seeing the astonishing spectacle that is the Northern Lights (although light pollution can sometimes be a problem). Increased solar activity is the second half so, if these two merge together you may well be able to see the Northern Lights from Reykjavik.
If you’re visiting between mid-October and mid-April, it’s highly recommended to use lightweight crampons, also known as ice spikes. These small traction devices attach to your shoes and help prevent slips on icy paths, making sightseeing safer and more comfortable. You can purchase them during the booking process to ensure you’re prepared for winter conditions. They are yours to keep after the tour ends!
