Enjoy the lively capital city of Reykjavik before you hunt for the Northern Lights by land and sea!
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Set out on an incredible 8-day excursion through the highlights of Iceland! On this multi-day tour from Reykjavik, you’ll witness waterfalls, glaciers, black sand beaches and more. Spend each night in a different country hotel, the perfect setting to catch a glimpse of the elusive Northern Lights!
During this unforgettable road trip, we stop at every region of the country as we make our way around the Ring Road. Relax in the steamy Mývatn Nature Baths, marvel at Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon, and hike the East Fjords.
Finally, we hit the high seas for whale watching, fishing, and a hunt for the aurora borealis! Your trip begins and ends with two days in Reykjavik. Take time to wander Iceland’s lively capital city!
Went to a tour but didn’t spot the Northern Lights? No worries, you can book another tour to see the lights free of charge. Note that this deal is unlimited and is valid for 3 years. So, don’t give up on your first time, get in touch with our Customer Care to witness this natural phenomenon.
Home to two-thirds of the total Icelandic population, Reykjavik is a colorful city bursting with an eclectic variety of cultural events and places. No matter what you like to do, there’s something for everyone. Shop in a bustling shopping areas, visit a historic landmark or take a dip in a heated outdoor pool. Take a detour from the city scene to explore the wonders of Mother Nature. This day is on your own until the evening. Once night falls, a guided boat tour takes you out to chase the Northern Lights! Check in at your hotel is from 2 p.m. in the afternoon.
Our journey kicks off with a bang as we hit the popular Golden Circle. We pick everyone up between 08:00 and 08:30 a.m. and then ride to Thingvellir National Park. From the Geysir Geothermal Area to Gullfoss Waterfall, we stop at South Iceland’s most famous nature sights along this passage. Witness the force of Mother Nature at the explosive Strokkur Geyser and the powerful Hvítá River. On our way to the hotel in Vík we stop to hike Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss Waterfalls. As we weave along this secret path, discover spectacular views only visible from the falls. Spend the night at a country hotel near Vik before we continue along the South Coast.
Our South Coast route takes us to coal-colored beaches, glacier lagoons, lava fields, and more. Stroll along the world-renowned Reynisfjara black sand beach and witness dramatic views of the Reynisdrangar basalt formation. Photographic the giant crystal icebergs of Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon as they wash up onto the black sand shore of Diamond Beach. Our journey then takes us over Eldhraun Lava Field to Skaftafell Nature Area, a spectacular oasis of flora and fauna. We’ll hike for three hours on a glacier at Skaftafell in Vatnajokull National Park. During winter months (October - April), we replace the glacier hike with a magical journey through the Crystal Ice Cave.
The East Fjords of Iceland presents charming fishing villages and deep fjords. We’ll pass through the fjords of Álftafjörður, Hamarsfjörður, and Berufjörður, each more beautiful than the last. Wander along picturesque Hvalnes, or “whale peninsula,” a small peninsula with a pebble beach. We’ll stop at the charming, traditional fishing village of Djúpivogur for a look at the local culture.
We complete the day by staying at the Wilderness Center, an interactive historical site situated in the vast wilderness of Northern Europe. Embark on outdoor adventures like hiking, biking, and horse riding, offering an authentic glimpse into Icelandic life. Explore the museum's exhibits on highland living and Icelandic history, with free entry throughout your stay. Relax in quaint historic lodgings, indulge in local delicacies, and rejuvenate in the warm pool at the bathing house following your outdoor escapades.
North Iceland is a treasure trove of waterfalls and volcanic areas. The first stop is Stuðlagil Canyon, one of the world’s most enchanting basalt rock formations.
Next up, we head to the Lake Myvatn area. This turquoise lake is surrounded on all sides by steaming cracks, bubbling craters, curious rock formations.
Following our scenic stop, we'll make our way to the renowned Mývatn Nature Baths, offering a tranquil retreat near Lake Mývatn. Take a dip in the warm geothermal waters, surrounded by stunning vistas of Iceland's northern landscape. Whether you're unwinding in the pools or exploring the saunas and relaxation areas, it's an idyllic escape for relaxation. (Optional extra)
Don’t miss the Dimmuborgir lava rocks, also called the Dark Castles. The final stop is Godafoss, a beautiful waterfall on the side of the Ring Road.
On Day 6, drive around Akureyri to the small harbor in Eyjafjörður Fjors for a whale-watching adventure. The waters of the North Coast have become known for their active and thriving marine life, especially the humpbacks and minke whales. Our tours have a 98% success rate! On Tröllaskagi Peninsula, visit the towns of Siglufjörður and Ólafsfjörður, quiet fishing communities. Visit Siglufjörður’s Herring Era Museum and the setting for Ragnar Jonasson’s Dark Iceland series. Stay overnight at your hotel in Laugarbakki.
On Day 7, we’ll visit highlights of West Iceland, specifically Borgarfjörður. Within Borgarfjordur lies the Silver Circle. We’ll visit four main sights on this tourist route: Deildartunguhver, Hraunfossar and Barnafoss waterfalls, and Reykholt. Our drive back to Reykjavik will take us through the scenic Hvalfjordur. Once you’ve had a chance to rest up, embark on our Northern Lights tour. This minibus tour takes you deep into the Icelandic countryside for a chance to glimpse the elusive aurora.
Look at your Reykjavík bucket list again and take the opportunity to do some things you didn't get to the first time around! We return back to Reykjavik for one last chance to explore the capital.
Wander the streets on foot or by bike. Walk up to Perlan Museum for a panorama of the city or soak in a local swimming pool.
Relax in a coffee shop, try Nordic cuisine, or learn about Icelandic myths at the local museums. The choice is yours!
Our multi-day tours will give you a small group experience as they are operated in a mini-bus and you get a better connection with the guide.
By booking a multi-day tour with us, you don’t need to have to worry about finding accommodation during the time of the tour as our multi-day tour includes accommodation which is often booked far in advance. You will get more opportunities to explore Iceland further and experience places that you would normally not be able to see on a one-day tour.
All of our tours are English guided so you will have English speaking licensed guide throughout the tour that will tell you everything about what you see along the way and knows where the best locations to stop by at to get the absolute best experience.
When booking your tour you are guaranteed accommodations at a friendly country hotel and/or guesthouse. All of the hotels we work with are of the same standard and offer nice rooms with beds and linen. The standard room is a twin room but it is possible to request a double room or a triple room, with no extra charge. The rooms come with private or shared bathrooms, depending on your booking.
Free Wi-Fi, towels, a hairdryer, and a kettle are accessible at all of the hotels.
If you want to have your own room, then a single supplement is payable in order to secure a single room. If you do not wish to book a single room then you will be roomed with another traveler of the same gender.
Breakfast is included at the hotel/guesthouse restaurant during the tour. Meals and beverages are not included on your tour. However, we will make stops at restaurants and conveniences stores where you are able to purchase all necessities.
The average amount spent on food each day per person is 8,000 ISK (80$). Cash is not necessary, as credit cards are accepted at all restaurants and stores. A small amount of cash won't hurt though.
A typical breakfast buffet is included at all the hotels/guesthouses we stay at during the tour, allowing you to fuel up for the day on various slices of bread, toppings, cereal, fruits, and yogurt. Tea and coffee are also included, alongside a variety of additional tasty options.
Your guide will also find a good place for the group to eat lunch, where you can find a wide selection of dishes on the menu, so there will be options available for everyone. The dinner is usually at the hotels/guesthouses we stay at for the night. We will make stops at restaurants and convenience stores where you will be able to purchase all necessities.
The average amount spent on food each day per person is 8,000 ISK (80$). Cash is not necessary, as credit cards are accepted at all restaurants and stores. A small amount of cash won't hurt, though.
For multi-day tours, each participant is allowed to bring a small backpack and one piece of luggage weighing a maximum of 20 kg (44 lbs). If you are traveling with extra bags or heavier luggage, you will need to book suitable storage before you arrive; this will incur a small fee. There is the option to add luggage storage in Reykjavík during the booking process of your order in the extras section.
* The combined dimensions of each bag must not exceed 158 cm (62 in).
We welcome all participants of all ages older than the listed minimum age for each tour. Our average group usually consists of participants between the ages of 22 to 55 years. However, we have people of all ages, ranging from 8 to 99 years, joining our multi-day tours. We get a lot of solo travelers joining us, as well as families and friends.
If you find yourself having difficulties participating in any of the activities included in the tour, for example, a glacier activity, then you are more than welcome to skip it. Iceland is surrounded by beautiful scenery so you can explore your surroundings in the meantime r wait elsewhere while others do the activity. Our guide should be able to drop you off at a nearby place where there are some services available if requested.
The average is around 300 km (186 miles) per day on our multi-day tours. You’ll spend approximately 4-5 hours in the car each day. Stops are of course, made at multiple locations throughout the tour for sightseeing, activities, bathroom breaks, lunch stops, etc.
We do offer some necessary items for rent. For most of our multi-day tours, we rent out waterproof jackets and pants as well as hiking shoes. These items are available to book under the selection “Extras’’ in the booking widget when booking your tour on our website.
If you have already booked the tour and wish to add some rental gear to your booking, you can do that at least 24 hours before your tour starts, via our Customer Portal.
We always highly recommend booking a multi-day tour starting at least one day after arriving in Iceland. If you’re flying in from the US or will be landing early (4-6:30) you should be able to join the tour, but be aware that some risks could follow such as flight gets delayed and could, therefore, miss out on the tour.
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.
Iceland is known for unforeseeable weather. It is likely that you can see all 4 seasons in one day.
Dressing for that kind of weather can always be demanding, so we suggest dressing in layers. 3 or 4 upper layers are highly recommended, for example, a light t-shirt (preferably wool) next to the skin, then a fleece or heavy wool garment topped off with a waterproof windbreaker.
Jeans are not recommended for our trips as they are not suitable for the weather conditions, they become very heavy, cold and uncomfortable to wear when they get wet.
Lightweight hiking pants, track pants or long cotton pants are convenient and wear wind/waterproof pants over them. There is high UV and sunlight reflecting off on the glacier so we highly recommend using sunglasses and sunscreen even if it is cloudy.
You will need sturdy hiking boots that fit crampons for the glacier hiking tours. If you do not own a pair then we rent out suitable hiking boots as well as a waterproof raincoat and trousers.
It is good to bring your own backpack on our full-day or half-day tours. It’s the best carry-on for a small lunch, extra clothes, and other necessary items.
The scenery on the tour is full of stunning, breathtaking views that you’ll almost definitely want to capture forever, so you should definitely bring your camera along. Your tour guide will also be happy to take your photo.
This is surely a personal choice, we do not deny pregnant women on our glacier trips but we highly recommend you to take a closer look at our trip description and difficulty ratings, they will hopefully give you a better idea. We also recommend you to contact your physician, as pregnant women’s health can be quite different. If you have any further questions or concerns then feel free to contact us.
Lunch is not provided on any of our trips, therefore we recommend you bring your own lunch, snacks, and a bottle of water (you can refill it on the trip). It is especially important to make sure you bring lunch on our longer trips.
Crampons enable you to walk on the glacier ice without slipping. They are metal spikes that we attach to the soles of your hiking shoes.
Yes, we have specially trained and certified glacier guides on every glacier tour that we offer. And for our 3rd party tours we only partner with operators that meet our quality and safety standards.
Yes, we provide you with all the necessary glacier gear for our glacier hiking tours. Ice axes, crampons, harnesses, and helmets are provided. This will help you to complete the tour safely. The minimum shoe size to attach crampons is EU 35.
Iceland is known to have a lot of snow and when the snow stays long enough in one place than it turns to ice. Over long periods of time, the ice layers up becoming huge blocks called glaciers. It forms to create ginormous glaciers that sweep across huge masses of land. Iceland is home of the largest glacier in Europe that is called Vatnajökull. The Glacier Guides can tell you more about and everything you need to know about the Glaciers.
Rain is common in Iceland but we never let the rain be in our way to go forward with our tours.
That’s why we highly recommend appropriate clothing so you can stay warm and dry.
Nature is out of our control and therefore we need to adapt to the weather. Your safety is our priority so if your safety is compromised by going on the tour then we will cancel it and you will get full reimbursement.
The guide on your glacier hiking tour will provide you with all the information you might need when preparing for a glacier hike.
Yes, the parking fee depends on your car category.
Category A - Passenger car, 5 seats or less: ISK 750
Category B - Passenger car, 6-9 seats: ISK 1,000
Motorcycles: ISK 300
You can always check the newest fees here.
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!
