Midnight sun tours in Iceland: which are worth it
An evening boat or paddle in the north is worth it. A seven-hour night drive mostly isn't. In Reykjavík the sun does set in June; it just never gets dark.
The short version
- In Reykjavík the sun sets for about three hours around the June solstice, but it never gets properly dark.
- The further north you go, the closer you get to true midnight sun. Only the far north coast and Grímsey come close to 24 hours.
- Midnight sun tours are ordinary tours at a late hour, usually starting between 19:00 and 23:00.
- The best ones are short and on the water: evening whale watching from Húsavík or Dalvík, or a kayak in Eyjafjörður.
- Bring an eye mask. Hotel curtains in Iceland range from blackout to decorative.
The good midnight sun tours are short ones on the water in the north: an evening whale watch from Húsavík or Dalvík, or a kayak on Eyjafjörður. They cost the same as the daytime trip and the light is softer, the sea usually calmer and the boats emptier. The long night drives around the Golden Circle are a harder sell. You pay more, you get home at two in the morning, and the sights are the same ones you could see at noon.
What “midnight sun” means in Iceland
Strictly, most of Iceland doesn’t get it. Reykjavík sits just south of the Arctic Circle, and around the June solstice the sun sets a little before midnight and rises again around three. In between it only dips just below the horizon, so the sky never goes dark. You’ll read a book outside at 1 a.m. without a torch.
Go north and the gap shrinks. Around Akureyri and Húsavík the sun barely goes under. The Arctic Circle crosses Grímsey, the small island off the north coast, and that’s the one place in Iceland with the real thing for a few days either side of the solstice.
For tours, none of this matters much. What you’re buying is the light: long, low and golden for hours in the evening, from roughly late May to late July. That’s the season. By mid-August evenings are dimmer and it gets properly dark around midnight again.
The tours worth doing
Evening whale watching in the north. This is the one we’d book. Midnight Sun Whale Watching from Húsavík, from €102, sails at 20:00 for three hours on Skjálfandi Bay, with hot chocolate and cinnamon buns. It’s the same trip as the daytime one, just later and quieter. From Dalvík, Midnight Sun Whale Watching, from €140, leaves at 23:00 on a fast RIB boat into Eyjafjörður, late May to early August. The RIB is wetter and bumpier, and more fun. Whales are likely in summer, never promised.
Kayaking in the north. Kayaking in Midnight Sun, from €164, starts at 22:00 from Árskógssandur on Eyjafjörður. Two hours, minimum age 14, and the guide picks the route on the night depending on the wind. On a calm evening the fjord goes glassy and pink. On a windy one it’s cold and you’ll work.
Evening whale watching from Reykjavík. Midnight Sun Tour, from €109, leaves the Old Harbour at 21:00 and is back just before midnight. It’s a good fit if your days are full. The light over Faxaflói is lovely, but Reykjavík never gets as golden as the north, and sightings in the bay tend to be less reliable than out of Húsavík. More in whale watching from Reykjavík or Húsavík.
The ones to think twice about
Evening glacier hikes. Midnight Sun Glacier Hike on Sólheimajökull, from €145, starts at 19:30 for three hours, with crampons, helmet and a photo package. The glacier is quieter late in the day, which is a real plus. But it’s two and a half hours from Reykjavík, so you’re driving back past midnight. Only book it if you’re sleeping near Vík or Skógar.
Night drives on the Golden Circle. DT 16 Midnight Sun Golden Circle, from €364, sets off at 18:30 by super jeep for seven hours, including an off-road stretch after Gullfoss. The pitch is that the coaches have gone home, and at Geysir and Þingvellir that’s true. The catch is the price, roughly triple a daytime bus, and the time. You’re back in Reykjavík well after one. If crowds bother you that much, it’s a fair trade. If not, it isn’t.
The private evening Golden Circle tours cost well over €1,000 per group. That’s a private car at night, not a different experience.
Sleep
This is the part people underestimate. Light at 2 a.m. keeps you awake, and a late tour on top makes it worse.
- Bring an eye mask. Some hotels have blackout curtains, many don’t.
- Put the late tour on a night when the next morning is free.
- Don’t stack two midnight tours in a row. You’ll feel it by day three.
- Driving back yourself after a late tour is the real risk. Tired drivers on empty roads in bright light is how accidents happen.
Our honest take
Book one evening trip, in the north if your route goes there. A Húsavík whale watch at 20:00 or the Dalvík RIB at 23:00 gives you the best of the light for around €100–140, and you’re in bed by one.
Don’t plan a whole trip around the midnight sun. It’s not an event, it’s just what June is like. You’ll see it from your hotel window, from the car, from a hot pool at eleven at night. A night-time Golden Circle for €364 is for people who hate crowds more than they love sleep.
And if anyone offers you northern lights with it: not in June. The sky is too bright. Lights season is roughly September to April.
