Private Northern Lights Tour

by Glaciers and Waterfalls · Northern lights · Super jeeps · private · Reykjavík

Private Northern Lights Tour — Glaciers and Waterfalls

Would this be cheaper direct? No — we sell at Glaciers and Waterfalls'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 Private Northern Lights Tour

Private Northern Lights Tour, photo 6

6 photos from Glaciers and Waterfalls. Tap any one for the full-size original.

  • Duration

    4 hours

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Season

    Sep – Apr

  • Starts in

    Reykjavík

  • Meeting

    Hotel pickup available

  • Languages

    EN

  • Departs

    20:00

  • Cancellation

    Free until 7 days before

About this experience

The Amazing Northern Lights
Even local Icelanders stand in awe and gaze at the Northern Lights when they appear in the winter sky in Iceland. This natural phenomenon is one of the most spectacular things to see.

On the dark winter nights the lights are often seen dancing across the Icelandic sky. Sometimes the lights are visible in Reykjavik, but most often it is best to drive out away from the city to areas where there is little light pollution. Our professional guides know how to read the weather and can find the best hidden areas to see the lights.


The tour is of course completely dependent on weather both on earth and on the sun, and sightings are not guaranteed.

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

Included

  • Transfer to/from Reykjavik in a Superjeep
  • English speaking guide
  • Help with photography
  • Free WiFi in the Super Jeep
  • Hot Chocolate & Brennivín

Not included

Meals

Good to know

  • Warm outdoor clothing
  • Hat and gloves or mittens
  • Sturdy shoes
  • Rain gear
  • Camera/Phone
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Not suitable for pets
  • No public transportation nearby
  • Infants must not sit on laps

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 7 days 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. 1Glaciers and Waterfalls 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 7 days 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 for last-minute planners — free cancellation ends 7 days before, longer than most tours here.
  • 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

Glaciers and Waterfalls 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

€1,361 per person

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