Northern Lights and Stargazing

by Happyworld · Northern lights · Reykjavík

4.80· 314 TripAdvisor reviews of this tour
  • Fine on your own
  • Couples

from €219.17 per person

Next departure: Mon 26 Oct

Book Mon 26 Oct · €219.17Other dates
Northern Lights and Stargazing — Happyworld
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  • Duration

    5 hours

  • Difficulty

    Very easy

  • Season

    Sep – Apr

  • Starts in

    Reykjavík

  • Pickup

    Hotel pickup included

  • Guide

    Guided in English

  • Departs

    21:30

  • Minimum age

    10

  • Cancellation

    Free until 24 hours before

Meeting point, in Happyworld's words: You have not entered a pick up address. Please contact us with more info.

About this experience

Northern Lights & Stargazing – Small Group Experience

Join us for a cozy and personal Northern Lights adventure.
We pick you up and whisk you away from the city glow to remote locations chosen through expert analysis of meteorology and space weather data giving you the best possible chance to witness the Aurora Borealis in peace and quiet.

At our selected spot, while waiting for the lights to appear, we’ll use our powerful stargazing telescope to explore the wonders of the night sky. From the craters of the Moon to Saturn’s rings and deep space objects millions of light years away.*

Your Chances of Seeing the Northern Lights

The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon and can never be guaranteed. For a successful sighting, three elements must align:
Solar wind
Darkness
A clear or partly clear sky

We maximize our chances with exceptional weather expertise, the first and most crucial step in Northern Lights hunting. With over a decade of experience, our success rate is an impressive 90%.

When chances are low, we cancel the tour and offer a free re-schedule or full refund.
If you join a tour and don’t see the lights, you’re welcome to join again for free, as often as needed within 2 years.

Tour Details

  • Go/No-Go Decision: Sent by email no later than 18:30 on the day of your tour.
  • Pick-up: From your doorstep anywhere in central Reykjavík, between 21:00–21:30 (9–9:30pm).
  • Duration: Approximately 3–5 hours, depending on conditions.
  • Group Size: Minimum 2, maximum 7 guests per guide/vehicle (up to 2 vehicles traveling together).
  • Destination: Determined by the weather, we go where the skies are clearest.
  • Included:
    Pick-up & drop-off
    Guided Super Jeep tour
    Stargazing with telescope*
    Photos under the Northern Lights*
    Traditional Icelandic homemade hot chocolate & pastry

What to Wear

Dress warmly. Expect to spend extended time outdoors in cold weather.
We recommend:

  • Wool base layers
  • Thick sweater (fleece or wool)
  • Windproof winter jacket & pants (ski gear works great)
  • Winter boots & wool socks
  • Hat & thick mittens
  • Optional: Heat pads for extra warmth

Optional Add-ons

  • Tripod rental (ensure your camera has a tripod mount)
  • Hand & foot warmers (5–8 hours of cozy warmth)

Please Note

The Northern Lights, or their intensity, can never be guaranteed.
Stargazing depends on cloud cover, humidity, and wind, and visible objects vary with Earth’s position in orbit.
If you don’t see the lights, you’re always welcome to join again for free within 2 years.

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

Included

Pick-up, Photos, Stargazing, Home Made Real Hot Chocolate and pastry, Free Re-run If Non-Sighting, Local English Speaking Guide.


Unlimited free re-runs in case of a non-sighting, until we find you the aurora's, lasting for two years.

Not included

Hand & toe warmers can be booked additionally for 1.000 ISK. 

Tripod can be booked additionally for 2.000 ISK.

30% discount on your next tour during your stay in Iceland booked through Happyworld, in case the tour had a sighting, but you want more.

Good to know

Recommended clothing: Please layer up in very warm clothes prepared to be standing outside in the cold for a long time. Woollen undergarments, thick sweater (fleece or wool), wind breaking winter coat and trousers (ski outfit perhaps), winter boots and thick woollen socks, hat and thick mittens. Heat pads are a brilliant idea.

Recommended clothing: Please layer up in very warm clothes prepared to be standing outside in the cold for a long time. Woollen undergarments, thick sweater (fleece or wool), wind breaking winter coat and trousers (ski outfit perhaps), winter boots and thick woollen socks, hat and thick mittens. Heat pads are a brilliant idea.

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. 1Happyworld 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 →

Why this one and not the cheaper one?

The nearest cheaper Iceland Reykjavik Northern Lights Bus Tour guided in Chinese冰岛雷市中文极光团 from Magic Iceland Travel is €73 — €146 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

Happyworld · €219Magic Iceland Travel · €73
How long it runs5 hours4 hours
Getting therePicks you upYou make your own way
How hard it isVery easyEasy

The €146 buys you 1 more hour out and hotel pickup. Whether that is worth it is your call — but that is what the difference is.

Who this is not for

  • Children under 10 cannot join this one.
  • Not available in summer; the operator runs it roughly September to April.

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

Why we list it

Happyworld is one of 207 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.

Reviews arrive the day after each trip — none yet for 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.

Hotels

Where to stay for this tour

From the cheapest to the top end of what is near Reykjavík, from our hotel partners. Rooms are booked on our hotels site.

All hotels in Reykjavík →

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Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout — about €24 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.

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€219.17 per person

Book Mon 26 Oct · €219.17