The Northern Lights Hunt

by Icarus Rising ehf · Northern lights · Reykjavík

  • Luxury

from €1,468.16 per vehicle

Next departure: Thu 22 Oct

Book Thu 22 Oct · €1,468.16 the vehicleOther dates
The Northern Lights Hunt — Icarus Rising ehf
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  • Duration

    5 hours and 30 minutes

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Season

    Sep – Apr

  • Starts in

    Reykjavík

  • Pickup

    Hotel pickup included

  • Guide

    Guided in English

  • Departs

    20:00

  • Cancellation

    Cancelling costs 10% of the price within 730 days of departure.

About this experience

Join us for an adventurous drive through the Icelandic countryside as we hunt the magical aurora borealis. Your guide will pick you and your group up from your accommodation in the early evening before sunset and you will set out in the direction of the clearest skies before nightfall. The Northern Lights can only appear wherever there is no cloud cover, so the places we go to will always vary but can include locations such as the Snaefellsnes Peninsula, the Reykjanes Peninsula, or the famous South Coast.

Throughout this tour, your guide will also be your photographer. Meaning that they will take photos of you during this magical experience. After the tour is over, we will edit your photos and send them to you for you to keep as a memory of your epic adventure.

Please note this tour is tailored to you and the daily conditions. Your guide may call you and adjust the pickup time accordingly to maximise your experience. If we do not encounter Northern Lights refunds or rebooking is not automatic as your guide will provide you with epic night photography in any conditions. 

Description from the operator, Icarus Rising ehf. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

  1. Northern Lights From Reykjavik

Included

  • Certified Driver and Professional Photographer
  • Pickup and Return from Reykjavík accommodation
  • Private Group

Photo package included.

All photos will be edited and sent to the client within 14 days via a downloadable drive.

Good to know

✓ Proper Seasonal Clothing- Gloves, Hat, Wind/Rainproof Jacket, and multiple warm layers for freezing or wet conditions.

Please note this tour is tailored to you and the daily conditions. Your guide may call you and adjust the pickup time accordingly to maximise your experience.

The Northern Lights in Iceland can only appear wherever there is no cloud cover and even with clear sky's they might not be visible. 

Cancellation for this tour

Cancelling costs 10% of the price within 730 days of departure. 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. 1Icarus Rising ehf 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 the cutoff shown above, the operator's policy after that.

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

Who this is not for

  • Priced per vehicle, so it is poor value for one or two people and good value for four or more sharing.
  • 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

Icarus Rising ehf is one of 204 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 →

  • One checkout, any number of operators

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  • If it falls short, we fix it

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.

from

€1,468.16 per vehicle

Book Thu 22 Oct · €1,468.16 the vehicle