Short answer: €171 per person is what most people pay. The cheapest we sell is €56 and the most expensive is €2,988. That range comes from 95 real northern lights tours across 34 operators — live prices, not estimates.
How you hunt. A coach from Reykjavík is cheapest and takes 40 people. A minibus or super jeep costs two to three times more, goes further from the city lights and turns around faster when the forecast shifts. Boat tours sit in between.
We can put a number on this rather than guess. Across 55 northern lights tours , the ones you drive to yourself have a middle price of €160, and the ones that collect you from your hotel have a middle price of €186 — 16% more.
The gap is small here, so pickup is usually worth taking. Private and charter tours are left out of this comparison, because their price reflects exclusivity rather than transport.
Medians across 12 meet-on-location and 43 pickup tours, per person, day tours only.
Cheapest is not always right — a €50 saving hurts less than a wasted day. These are the low-price options we'd still put our name to.
4 hoursSep – AprBusTravel Iceland
Leaves from Reykjavík
Our expert guides help you experience the majestic Northern Lights
from
€72 per person
58% below the €171 typical
4 hoursSep – AprMagic Iceland Travel
Leaves from Reykjavík
Chase the magical Aurora across Iceland's dark skies for an unforgettable experience
from
€72 per person
58% below the €171 typical
4 hoursSep – AprNordur Travel Services ehf
Leaves from Reykjavík
Chase the Northern Lights from Reykjavík. Enjoy hot chocolate and the magic of Iceland’s night sky.
from
€72 per person
58% below the €171 typical
If a northern lights tour is the thing you came to Iceland for, pay the middle price rather than the floor — the difference usually buys a smaller group and a guide with time for you. If it's a nice-to-have on a day you're already busy, the cheapest option does the job. Either way, book it for a day early in your trip: if weather cancels it, you'll have another day to try again. Most of these run in Reykjavík, North Iceland, South Coast, Golden Circle.
We sell 95 northern lights tours from 34 Icelandic operators. The cheapest is €56 per person, the typical price is €171, and the top end is €2,988. How you hunt. A coach from Reykjavík is cheapest and takes 40 people. A minibus or super jeep costs two to three times more, goes further from the city lights and turns around faster when the forecast shifts. Boat tours sit in between.
No. You pay the operator's own price and we take a commission out of it, so booking here costs the same as booking direct — with one checkout if you book several tours.
On most of these, yes: cancel more than 24 hours before and you get the full amount back. The exact rule belongs to the operator and is shown on each tour page before you pay.
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.
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.
See all 95 northern lights tours, or fit one into a day-by-day plan.
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