3 Questions to Help You Book the Best Aurora Borealis Iceland Tour
If you’re visiting Iceland, you’re probably itching to cross a northern lights tour off your bucket list. I know that was at the top of my list for our trip, though I tried to temper my expectations just in case. Catching sight of the aurora borealis is hit or miss, but there are some things you can do to increase your chances. One thing you can do is to choose the right aurora borealis tour.
Tourism is now Iceland’s leading industry, so it should come as little surprise that your options for tour companies are endless. This can be overwhelming when you’re trying to build your itinerary. It took a healthy does of research before I landed on this aurora borealis tour for our visit, which ended up being a good experience. The following guide will help you decide what kind of northern lights tour is best for you.
How to Choose the Best Northern Lights Iceland Tour
Choosing the right northern lights tour was important to us. We had a great experience with the company we selected (see our review at the end), and to help you pick the right tour for you here are three questions to consider:
1. How much time do you want to devote to hunting the aurora borealis?
There are entire expeditions, spanning a few nights, designed around chasing the northern lights. These often include visits to other popular sites during the day, and chasing the aurora borealis by night. If you’re okay with being on a guided tour for basically the the entirety of your trip, then this type of multi-day tour is a good option for you. But, if you’re going for a short period of time (a week or less) and prefer to be mostly self-guided then you’ll want an alternative northern lights experience.
We only had a few days in Iceland and while seeing the northern lights was high on the priority list, we didn’t want it to take up our entire weekend. We had a lot else to explore! We knew we did not want to commit more than 4-5 hours in the evening to chasing the aurora borealis. So, the multi-day option was not for us.
2. Do you want a big group or small?
There are two main types of groups you can join for a standard northern lights bus tour: big or small. While the bigger bus tours are more affordable, they’re also less nimble and more crowded. When you’re hunting the aurora borealis, you want to be ready to show up where they are and bigger buses can’t always get there.
Plus, the more people you have to rally to get from place to place, the slower you’ll all move. Not to say there’s no way you’ll see the lights if you opt for a larger group tour, but I believe you’ll have better luck with a small one. Still, if you’re minding your budget you may want to go with a bigger bus tour.
Personally, we shelled out a little extra for a mini bus tour. We booked this tour with Trips after I came across (and scoured) their tour reviews on TripAdvisor. I certainly recommend this tour, and if you’d like a full rundown of our experience keep reading through the end.
3. Can you keep your evening plans flexible?
If you don’t see the lights on your first tour, most companies will rebook you the next night for free. So, try to book your northern lights tour for your first night in town to maximize your opportunities for a viewing! Of course, this also means you’ll need to keep your evenings open or at least make sure your evening plans are flexible. If you miss the lights on your first night, you’ll likely want to take the free ‘second-chance’ tour the following evening so plan accordingly.
Our Aurora Borealis Tour Experience
Our guide came to our hotel to pick us up a little after 9pm on our first night in Reykjavik. Once we had everyone in our group on board (there were 10-15 of us total) we stopped by a gas station for snacks and the only restroom break of the night. Then, we were off.
Our tour guide drove us to a little town outside of the city, we needed to get away from the light pollution. It was the very town he’d grown up in and it took about a half hour to get there. Our mini bus made its lonely way into the center of what looked like a corn field to me, but was more likely (look up tall grasses in Iceland). It was pitch black and cold as we hopped off the bus and stood with nervous anticipation in the small clearing. We set up our tripod, turned our gaze skyward and waited
Soon, we saw a faint, green, glowing streak appear across the sky in a few different directions. As we enjoyed the hot cocoa, biscuits and licorice chocolate (it’s kind of a big deal) our guide passed out, more streaks appeared and became more pronounced. We took plenty of pictures to remember the moment — it was happening! We were actually seeing the northern lights in person.
It’s important to note, they weren’t vividly dancing all around us as you might expect. For more on what to really expect, check out (link to guide). But they were beautiful all the same. Some of our best views were actually through our photos, as our cameras could capture what we couldn’t see with the naked eye. Not a professional photographer? Here is my top tip for photographing the lights with your iPhone.
We spent about 30-40 minutes at the first clearing before hopping back on the bus. Our guide got a tip (all the guides are in constant communication, updating each other on where to see the best lights at any given moment) and we drove off to a second location. But, by this point we were all freezing, sleepy and content enough with our original viewing that we didn’t last long there.
Back on the bus, we listened to a variety of Icelandic music (including Icelandic hip hop!) and were back at our hotel by midnight. We were thankful to have seen the lights our first night because it freed up our next night for a different adventure.
For more of what to do in Iceland, check out our 3 day itinerary. Or, for what NOT to do, click here!
Want to learn more about the aurora borealis? Learn what they are, when to see them and more here.
Have you seen the northern lights? Were they what you expected? Tell us in the comments!