South Coast and Northern Lights Combo: Private Day Tour from Reykjavik

by VAREN Iceland · Northern lights · private · Reykjavík

South Coast and Northern Lights Combo: Private Day Tour from Reykjavik — VAREN Iceland

Would this be cheaper direct? No — we sell at VAREN Iceland's own price and take our commission from them, not from you. What you get here is one checkout across operators, one confirmation, and one place to change or cancel it. If you ever find it cheaper on their own site, tell us and we will match it or explain why we cannot.

More photos of South Coast and Northern Lights Combo: Private Day Tour from Reykjavik

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16 photos from VAREN Iceland. Tap any one for the full-size original.

  • Duration

    12 hours

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Season

    Sep – Apr

  • Starts in

    Reykjavík

  • Meeting

    Hotel pickup available

  • Languages

    EN

  • Departs

    08:00

  • Cancellation

    Free until 24h before

About this experience

Most travellers see the South Coast by day and hunt the northern lights on a separate night. This private tour folds both into one well-paced day: waterfalls at Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss, the ice at the Sólheimajökull viewpoint, and the black sand beach of Reynisfjara by Vík, then an aurora hunt as darkness falls on the drive back to Reykjavík.

With a private sedan or minivan and a dedicated English-speaking guide, the pace is your group's own. On the return leg your guide reads cloud cover and aurora forecasts and stops wherever the chance of a sighting is highest. Pickup and drop-off are door to door from a single Reykjavík address, starting at 8:00.

Honest expectations: aurora sightings cannot be guaranteed and no refunds or retries apply to this combo - the hunt is a second act to a full South Coast day, which runs regardless. Even a faint but visible aurora counts as a sighting; real displays are often softer than the edited photos online.

Description from the operator, VAREN Iceland. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

  1. Reykjavík Hotel Pickup
  2. Seljalandsfoss Waterfall
  3. Skógafoss Waterfall
  4. Sólheimajökull Glacier Viewpoint
  5. Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach
  6. Vík Village
  7. Northern Lights Hunt on the Return
  8. Reykjavík Hotel Drop-off

Included

  • Private transportation (sedan for 1-3 / minivan for 4-8, reserved for your group)
  • Dedicated, professional English-speaking guide for the full day
  • Door-to-door pickup and drop-off at your Reykjavík accommodation
  • Flexible itinerary adapted to your group's pace
  • Northern lights hunt on the return drive, conditions permitting
  • Bottled water on board on demand
  • WiFi and USB charging ports on board
  • Parking fees and local taxes

Not included

  • Gratuities for your guide (optional, appreciated)
  • Meals

Good to know

Clothing & footwear
  • Warm, waterproof, and windproof outer layer - Icelandic weather can change within minutes regardless of season.
  • Thermal base layer and mid-layer fleece for colder months (October-April).
  • Sturdy, waterproof hiking shoes or boots - paths at the waterfalls and Reynisfjara can be wet, muddy, or icy.
  • Warm hat, gloves, and a scarf - the evening aurora stops are the coldest part of the day.
  • Sunglasses - useful for the daylight hours, especially on bright winter days.
For aurora photos
  • Fully charged phone or camera - the cold drains batteries quickly, so a spare battery or power bank helps.
Confirmation & pickup
  • You will receive a booking confirmation immediately after purchase.
  • Door-to-door pickup from a single address at your Reykjavík accommodation is included.
  • Groups of 1-3 travel in a private sedan; groups of 4-8 travel in a private minivan. The full day lasts 12-13 hours.
Northern lights conditions
  • The aurora hunt on the return drive is an added opportunity, not a guaranteed sighting. The full South Coast programme runs regardless of aurora conditions.
  • The aurora is a natural phenomenon; sightings cannot be guaranteed and no refunds or retries are offered if the lights do not appear on this combo tour.
  • Even a faint but visible aurora counts as a sighting. To the naked eye the lights are often softer and paler than in photos online, which usually have raised saturation.
  • Aurora stops are chosen by your guide on the night; guests do not set the route.
  • Season: 15 September to 15 April, when the return drive falls after dark.
Safety at Reynisfjara
  • Follow your guide's instructions at the beach and keep a safe distance from the waterline at all times - sneaker waves are powerful and unpredictable.
Health & accessibility
  • Easy walking on uneven natural terrain; paths at the waterfalls and the beach can be wet, muddy, or icy.
  • The tour is not wheelchair accessible.
Children & age requirements
  • Children of all ages are welcome - please note this is a long day of 12-13 hours. Child seats available on request.
  • Parents or guardians are responsible for the safety of children throughout the tour.
Food & drinks
  • Meals are not included. There is a lunch break in Vík and cafés along the route.

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure; no refund after that. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.

If the weather cancels this tour

Iceland's weather is real. What usually stops this one is a solid cloud forecast — most operators call it by late afternoon and let you rebook on a clearer night free of charge. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

  1. 1VAREN Iceland decides, and tells us. Operators cancel when it is unsafe or pointless, and we back that call every time — we do not ask them to run anyway.
  2. 2We contact you by email, and by phone if your tour is the same or next day. You choose: another date if there is one you can make, or a full refund. There is no fee and nothing to argue.
  3. 3The refund goes back to the card you paid with, through Stripe, usually visible within a few working days. If this tour was one of several in your booking, the others are untouched.

What you do not get is the day back. If this is the only free day in your plan, put a spare day next to it — the planner leaves days free with the rest-day option. And if you want out because the forecast looks bad, that is your own cancellation: free until 1 day before departure, the operator's policy after that.

Questions on the day: [email protected] · +354 497 1373. How cancellations work in Iceland →

Sold out on your date?

Seats come back — a cancellation, or the operator adding a vehicle. Tell us the date and we will check once a day and email you if one opens. One email, then we delete the address; nothing else is ever sent to it.

Who this is not for

  • Not a good fit if you want a relaxed day: 12 hours is a long time on the road, most of it spent getting there and back.
  • Priced per vehicle, so it is poor value for one or two people and good value for four or more sharing.

Read off the operator's own conditions. If none of it applies to you, this is a good one.

Why we list it

VAREN Iceland is one of 154 operators we work with — chosen for reliability, honest descriptions and how they treat guests when weather changes plans. We don't list everything; we list what we'd book ourselves. The six checks every operator passes →

Read before you book

Reviews from our travellers

Only people who booked this tour through us can write here. We publish every review in full — good or bad.

No reviews yet from our travellers on this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Northern lights — questions people ask

When is the best time to see the northern lights in Iceland?

September to April, when the nights are dark enough. Within that, late September to March gives the longest dark hours, and the equinox months, September and March, often have active skies. There are no lights in June or July; the sky never gets dark. Anyone selling you a June lights tour is selling you a bus ride. Give yourself at least three nights, because clouds, not the aurora, are the usual reason people miss them.

Are the northern lights guaranteed on a tour?

No. Nobody can promise them, and we will not. Two things have to line up: a clear sky and solar activity. Guides check the cloud forecast at vedur.is and drive to gaps, which is the real value of a tour over standing outside your hotel. What most operators do promise is a free second attempt if the lights do not show. Check the exact retry policy on the tour page, because the number of retries and the validity period vary.

Is a northern lights bus tour or a boat tour better?

Bus, if you want the best odds. A minibus can drive an hour inland to find a clear patch; a boat stays in Faxaflói and sees whatever sky is over Reykjavík. Boats are shorter, about two hours, and pleasant with hot chocolate, and Reykjavik Sailors' cruise (/experience/6637/) includes a free retry. For a serious hunt, a small-group minibus like BusTravel's (/experience/150646/) or a 4x4 tour (/experience/1088067/) is the better bet.

Can I see the northern lights from Reykjavík itself?

Yes, on strong nights. The city is small and the sky over the sea to the north is fairly dark. Grótta lighthouse at the western tip and the Ægisíða shoreline are the usual spots, twenty minutes' walk from the centre. On average nights the street lights drown out a faint aurora, which is why tours drive out. If the forecast shows high activity and clear sky, walk to Grótta first and save the tour money.

  • One checkout, any number of operators

  • Rankings are not for sale

  • 153 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted

  • If it falls short, we fix it

Pairs well with

Everything here goes into the same basket and the same single payment, however many operators it comes from.

from

€1,998 per vehicle

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