Iceland has rightly earned its moniker of ‘The land of Fire & Ice’. This country will amaze you with the beauty of its volcanoes, geysirs, glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, rivers and of course, the Northern Lights. This beautiful country has calm and soothing skies during the day that can turn into a glorious display of Mother Nature’s tricks at night. The dancing lights twist and turn and swirl, like they are following a conductor’s baton. Trust me, pictures do not do justice to what your eyes will witness and leave you awestruck!
People chase the Northern Lights for days to find the right spot and moment to witness this spectacular jaw dropping aurora show. We were lucky to have witnessed the lights on our first trip out of Reykjavik at Pingveiller National Park. The best time to see the Northern Lights in Iceland starts from late September and lasts until mid-April, when the nights are longer. The lights are at their finest display on clear, cloudless dark nights.
We trusted our Aurora Forecast App to point us to a nice, clear night and booked our Northern Lights tour online with Reykjavik Excursions. Reykjavik Excursions offers various pick up locations throughout the city of Reykjavik at pre-set times. A small bus (typically an 8 passenger van) will pick you up from your designated location and time and transport you to the Reykjavik BSI Bus Terminal. They have convenient pick-up options all over the city, which is why we ended up choosing them over other tour operators. At the BSI Terminal, you will be directed to board a bigger bus depending on the tour you opted for. As the buses start departing to the outskirts of Reykjavik, everyone is requested to keep a lookout for any signs of flare-ups in the sky so that the bus driver can chase them and park at a suitable location for viewing. We lucked out and watched a good show for about 30 minutes at Pingveiller National Park. The best spots are further north of Reykjavik since they are sparsely populated and the aurora does not have to compete with city lights to make their presence felt. There are also boat tours that go out in to the ocean and offer an even clearer view of the lights.
An alternate way to chase the Northern Lights would be to rent a car and pursue them yourself. If you have a bigger group, renting a car definitely makes sense since you can travel to other destinations during the day and also chase the lights at night for multiple days. Renting a car will also end up being more cost effective than booking multiple excursions. If you rent a car, I would suggest you take some sleeping bags along, lay on the ground and enjoy the show. As I write this, I think I am totally doing this if we visit again during winter!
Here are some tips –
- It can be brutally cold so bundle up and pack yourself in layers; the only thing you need exposed is your eyes to watch this breathtaking display. I would recommend that you carry this type of cap.
- You will have to download an app on your smartphone to be able to take good pictures of the Northern Lights. The smartphone camera is not able to capture the flares. You can try the Northern Lights Photo Taker App.
- A regular camera will also not be able to capture the aurora of the flare ups and all you will see is a black screen. Carry your heavy DSLR around for these elusive beauties.
- If you would like to book a tour, I would recommend Reykjavik Excursions
- Try to stay in the heart of Reykjavik – you will be able to walk to most sights like the Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik Harbor, THAT famous hot dog stand, etc. Most of the cool restaurants, stores and bars are located along Laekjargata and Hafnatstraeti, so staying within walking distance of this area will help you make the most of your time.
- Credit cards are widely used in Iceland, so you don’t have to worry about carrying cash on your Northern Lights tour or elsewhere. Free Wi-fi is also available in most places.
- If you are taking a tour and not driving yourself, try to minimize consuming liquids before getting on the bus. The tour lasts between 3-5 hours and there is no guarantee of finding a rest stop along the way.
Hope you enjoy your chase of the Northern Lights!
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