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Awaken your inner explorer on an Aurora Borealis safari in North Iceland, one of the best places in the world to see the dancing lights. The tour departs from Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest city, and takes us on a Northern Lights hunt across the snow-carpeted countryside. Leave the distracting city lights behind, and observe the vibrant and colorful magic from just below the Arctic Circle!
Your guide will take free photos of you and the lights, so you’ll have a memory to take home!
From
The celestial light show that emerges about 100 km (60 miles) above Earth in the Northern Hemisphere has been an enigma for a long time. The Vikings believed that it was light reflecting off the armor of the Valkyries as they charged into battle. These days, we know the Northern Lights are caused by the interaction between the Sun and Earth's magnetic field. As solar wind - a stream of charged particles from the sun - enter the earth’s atmosphere and start to collide with gaseous particles, the aurora appears. Even though today we know the scientific reason for the Northern Lights, this natural wonder continues to fascinate skywatchers around the world. To see the colorful draperies of light evolve at the north magnetic pole is a breathtaking experience, to say the least.
Our adventure begins in Akureyri, also known as Iceland’s “Capital of the North.” Once we collect you at 21:30 (9:30 p.m.) in one of our specially designed vehicles, we’ll head out into the vast Icelandic countryside in search of the elusive celestia...)
Our adventure begins in Akureyri, also known as Iceland’s “Capital of the North.” Once we collect you at 21:30 (9:30 p.m.) in one of our specially designed vehicles, we’ll head out into the vast Icelandic countryside in search of the elusive celestial light show. We quickly leave the lights of the city behind, ensuring that we have the best view of the aurora possible.
As today it’s still impossible to accurately predict the solar activity and hence the Aurora, we, unfortunately, can’t guarantee that you’ll see the Northern Lights during the tour. However, our expert guides study up-to-date reports from the Icelandic Meteorological Office to give us the best opportunity to see them. If our tour proceeds and we don’t manage to see the lights, then we offer you the chance to come on the next available tour for free.
If we’re lucky to see the Northern Lights, you’re in for a treat! The swirling light show will gradually paint the dark sky with the vibrant color palette. To fully grasp the magic of standing below the auroral zone, you simply need to experience it. Our friendly guides will fill you in on everything you need to know about this special phenomenon and use their expertise to help you immortalize the fleeting moment with our camera, free of charge. We guarantee you that this will be a night without compare!
Pick-up Information: Pick up is at 21:30 pm from your hotel or a nearby meeting point in Akureyri. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes, your patience is much appreciated. Return time: You will return to your hotel around midnight.)
Pick-up Information: Pick up is at 21:30 pm from your hotel or a nearby meeting point in Akureyri. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes, your patience is much appreciated.
Return time: You will return to your hotel around midnight.
We will deliver all notifications about the tour via email, so please make sure that you check it close to your departure time. The lights are a natural phenomenon and we cannot guarantee that we will see them on any particular night. They regularly ...)
We will deliver all notifications about the tour via email, so please make sure that you check it close to your departure time.
The lights are a natural phenomenon and we cannot guarantee that we will see them on any particular night. They regularly appear in the Icelandic night sky between September and April and we will use all available information to give us the best chance of seeing them.
If we do not see the Northern Lights then we offer a complimentary second tour, ensuring that you have the best chance to see them.
The prevailing weather and road conditions may cause the tour to be longer than stated or cause the tour to be canceled. Our visitor’s safety is paramount, and we will never put you in danger.
The Icelandic winters are cold, and we strongly recommend bringing warm clothing, gloves and a hat.
The Northern Lights are natural phenomena and we unfortunately cannot promise you will see them. Their appearance depends upon atmospheric and weather conditions.
For more information on the Northen Lights, please have a look at our Northern Lights information.
Unfortunately, there isn’t just one simple answer to this question.
There isn’t just one single setting for your camera that ensures great photos. But if you have manual options, you are probably best served with experimenting with various combinations of ISO, aperture, and exposure settings. As a rule of thumb, ISO setting between 800 and 3200, aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6, and shutter speed at between 15 seconds and 30 seconds have proven effective.
A good thing to keep in mind, ISO setting between 800 and 3200, aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6, and shutter speed between 15 seconds and 30 seconds have given great results.
Different combinations may give very different results. Higher ISO setting will allow you to capture faster exposures, but the downside to this might be for example grainier images.
If the shutter speed is above 15 seconds it will result in a slight star movement.
Wider angle lenses are usually more versatile in low light settings, but longer lenses give you different options for compositions. Make sure that you remove all lens filters, as they may distort images. You will probably get the best results with manual setting for infinite focal length
Like you might have heard, the northern lights are a pretty difficult thing to predict. You can check en.vedur.is to see the forecast and if the level is high and the skies are clear then it’s very likely that the tour is going. We do update our website’s tour departure sheet with the information at 17:00 pm the latest. If the tour is cancelled, you will receive an email from us.
If we think there is no chance at all of seeing the lights we will cancel the tour. We don’t want to bring you out and disappoint if there is no chance to see the lights.
Yes, the guide will take a photo of you with the northern lights behind you. These can be single or group photo’s and free of charge.
The Northern Lights season is said to be from late August until mid-April. However, if you want to increase your chances of seeing them, it is best to wait until the clear winter months of mid-September until March.
