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Magical Auroras

Northern lights in a minibus

An exciting hunt for the northern lights. We follow the aurora and cloud forecasts to optimal locations giving you the best chance of seeing the radiant colors of the northern lights.

Northern-Lights
Iceland-map-destinations

The aurora borealis are one of the greatest phenomena in nature. Watching the northern lights swirling as they paint the star-studded black velvet sky with their kaleidoscope of shimmering colors is something you never will forget. We take you out into the true darkness of the countryside, well away from city lights, giving you the very best chance of seeing the lights at their glittering best. Your guide will also take free photographs so you can keep the memory!
See photos from previous tours here.

  • Availability

    September - April

  • Duration

    ~ 4 hours

  • Level

    Easy

  • Pickup

    Yes

  • Meet on location

    No

  • Min. Age

    6 years

  • Ratio

    1:28

  • Departs from

    Reykjavik

  • Price from

    9.990 ISK

Tour highlights
Northern Lights tour
Guided tour in minibus
Small group experience
Included
Reykjavik pick up
Minibus transport
Expert Guide
Northern Lights Photos
  • Northern-Lights-Iceland
  • Northern-lights-Iceland
  • Norhtern lights Iceland
  • Northern-lights-Iceland
  • Northern-lights-Thorsmork-trek-Iceland

Pick up is at 21:30 from your hotel or the nearby Reykjavik pickup location you have chosen. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes so your patience is greatly appreciated. 

On this minibus tour, we cannot tell you in advance exactly where our quest for the northern lights will take us. We follow the best aurora and cloud forecast available to optimize your chance of seeing the northern lights dancing their glorious magic across the night sky. One thing is guaranteed, we will take you far away from the city lights! We could go to Hvalfjörður, Þingvellir, Reykjanes, or to some other South Iceland countryside location. Traveling by minibus, we can go to some places which the big buses cannot reach!

Witnessing the northern lights is an unforgettable experience bringing some extraordinary photo opportunities. There is the excitement of hunting for them, then the awe-inspiring moment when they appear. Sometimes they show, at first, in quite a subtle way before their colors build, strengthen and expand into swirling and dancing patterns across the sky. Whether they are at their most dramatic or not they are always surreal and special. Green and yellow auroras are very common, both in Iceland and elsewhere. Blues, violet and rose northern lights are less common because they contain elements of the red spectrum in varying degrees. Really red auroras, from rose to brighter and darker red tones are more common in Iceland than anywhere else in the world, although they are still quite rare.

Your guide is very likely to snap a photo of you that you will then be able to access online after the tour. This is a moment you are going to want to have on film!

The northern lights are created by chemical reactions when streams of particles from the sun hit the earth´s atmosphere. These streams are carried by the solar wind towards the north and south poles. Which kind of gas particle the solar particles collide with will determine the color of the lights.

Available pick-up points: Arctic Adventures’s pick-up list.

Please remember to bring:
Hiking boots or very sturdy footwear, warm outdoor layers, weatherproof top layer, headwear, gloves, and scarves. There is no such thing as too many layers on a northern lights tour! A tripod for your camera is very useful too.

What if I don’t own all of these clothing items?
Don’t worry, you can always rent sturdy hiking shoes, waterproof jacket and pants in the booking process. We do not rent gear from locations, it must be ordered in advance.

Please note

As the success of the northern lights tour is heavily dependent on weather conditions, we reserve the right to cancel the northern lights part of the tour until 18:15 on the day of the tour if the aurora forecast is not looking good. When this happens your payment is fully refunded. If the tour goes ahead and no northern lights are seen we offer clients the chance to join another evening’s departure free of charge upon availability. Note that you need to contact us at info@adventures.is to re-book.

How is it best to be ready for a pick-up for a tour with Arctic Adventures?

This is a great question. We would like to ask all participants to be ready from the start of the pick-up time as you could be our first pick-up.
Please be at your assigned pick-up location from the start time of your pick-up and wait for your guide to arrive.

Have your email and phone number listed with us so we can contact you if we run into any trouble finding you.

View our pick-up locations in Reykjavík.

Can I drink alcohol before or during Arctic Adventures tours?

No, absolutely not. Due to safety reasons, it is strictly prohibited. If we suspect that participants are intoxicated we will prohibit them from joining the tour.

Do you offer any family friendly tours, for younger children?

Yes, we do. Langjökull Ice Cave is a magical experience, the tour has no minimum age and is a wonderful option for the whole family. Whale Watching with our partner company Elding, has been a favorite with families traveling with young children, these guys have a great success rate in seeing whales (upwards of 98% in the summer time). Another option would be the Landmannalaugar Safari on this tour you get to explore parts of the Icelandic highlands and bathe in natural hot springs (the hot spring part is particularly popular with the kids:)). Most of our jeep tours are also suitable for children over the age of 6 years old. If you would like a nice and relaxing experience we would also recommend the Golden Circle & Secret Lagoon tour.

Do I need an insurance before going on an Arctic Adventures trip?

We recommend that you have personal health insurance coverage when participating in any adventure activities in Iceland, we actually recommend that whenever and whereever you travel you take out a good travel insurance, as world travelers ourselves it has saved us money and aggravation many times.

What is a safety briefing?

Before starting any of our more technical trips, participants will receive a safety briefing highlighting the safe and proper use of equipment, the role of guides during the trip, and the significant risks and hazards involved in their particular trip. The safety briefing will also cover potentially foreseeable scenarios that may arise and explain how participants should react in such circumstances. Our guides will also outline their expectations of participants during the trip where needed and address any specific questions or concerns that may arise during this time.

Any medical conditions or personal health concerns that may jeopardize your well-being or affect your ability to meet the physical demands of the trip must be clearly communicated to the trip leader before the tour start. Any medications you may require for minor medical conditions (asthma inhalers, etc.), should be kept close and you should bring it with you on the trip if possible. It is important that you notify your guide about such medications and their whereabouts before setting off.

Last we would like to underline how important it is to dress according to instructions of the tour and the weather of the day. Always read the “what to bring” very well.

Can the itinerary for the tour change?

Your safety is our number one priority! Keeping this in mind, Arctic Adventures reserves the right to adjust the itinerary and/or take different routesdepending on conditions. Please read more information in our cancellation policy.

What if the northern lights tour goes ahead and no northern lights are seen?

A refund is not available if the northern lights tour goes ahead and no northern lights are seen but we do offer you the chance to join a Northern Lights Minibus tour free of charge.
Please go to My Adventures to re-book your tour.

What are my options if my Northern Lights tour gets cancelled?

When Northern Lights tours are canceled it’s usually due to unfavorable weather conditions.

In that case, your options will be to:

1. Reschedule for another day.

2. Find another tour to do and use the deposit for it.

3. Get fully refunded.

Please go to My Adventures to re-book your tour or contact us by phone +354-562-7000.

How do I know if the Northern Lights tour is on for the evening?

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 the latest. If the tour is canceled, 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.

Will I definitely see Northern Lights on the tour?

The Northern Lights are natural phenomena and we unfortunately cannot promise you will see them. Their appearance depends upon atmospheric and weather conditions.

Disclaimer
All our tours are undertaken on the responsibility of its participants. Arctic Adventures does not assume any responsibility for accidents that are caused by its customers or can be traced to their own actions. Participants have to sign a waiver before undertaking all trips stating that they realize that all outdoor activities carry an inherent risk.

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Price from 9.990 ISK per person.

If you are staying downtown Reykjavik please read this information about pickup.

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Magical Auroras | Average rating: 5/5 based on 12 customer reviews


"Magical Auroras Mini Bus Tour" | 5 stars By Felicity Stone 01/02/2018
We set off on our tour with the wonderful Clements as our guide. As we drove he explained the science behind the Northern Lights and why they are such an unpredictable phenomena. Clements then took the time to tell us all how to set up our cameras to take photos of the Lights should we be fortunate enough to experience them. We drove out into the darkness and waited in hope for the Lights to present themselves. While we only saw a tint in the sky with our own eyes, thanks to Clements we dd obtain pictures of the Lights on our cameras. As per Arctic Adventures’ policy, wehad the opportunity to re-book the tour free of charge to try again another day. We couldn’t fault the tour. We were picked up where we said we would be on time and Clements did everything in his power to give us the opportunity to see the Northern Lights. Through no fault of Arctic Adventures it just wasn’t happening that night. Clements was friendly and had lots of interesting facts to share with us. He was happy to answer our questions and help us with our cameras. He was patient and obviously very enthusiastic about sharing the Northern Lights with his tour group. I hope to return to Iceland and will certainly use Artic Adventures again to continue my hunt for a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
"Dedicated light hunters" | 5 stars By Andrew Webb 23/02/2018
This was an excellent tour. Clemy was a brilliant guide with a real passion for the magic of the Northern Lights. Would really recommend.
"Absolutely amazing experience!" | 5 stars By Lauren McClelland 09/03/2018
My boyfriend and I took the Sensational Iceland - Waterfalls, Glacier Hike and Northern Lights tour in the last week of February and it exceeded all of our expectations. Our tour guide, I think his name was Thomas (he mentioned he was greek) was absolutely fantastic- probably one of the best guides i've ever had anywhere in the world. He was kind, thoughtful, and very knowledgable. He took time to explain things to us about the country and the stops we were making. He was very patient with the group and allowed us some extra time at rest stops along the way even though it meant he was back in the city a little later than expected. The northern lights tour was cancelled a couple times due to the weather so we didn't have him as our guide for that unfortunately. However, we were happy that they did cancel it until it was a clear enough night. I appreciated that they didn't waste our time as other companies have in the past. I would definitely recommend this tour to others!
"Wonderful experience" | 5 stars By Luis Uribe 10/03/2018
The tour guide was simply extraordinary, he educated us about the phenomenon of the boreal aureoras, besides the history of Iceland, tricks of how to take the photos, his patience to take pictures to each one and have a memory for life. It is evident that he loves his work and his country, he gives the best of himself so that everyone has the best experience.
"A personal touch, a great guide and the Northern Lights spectacle in full flow!" | 5 stars By Dan Bullock 13/03/2018
We chose one of the mini-bus tours due to the positive things we'd read and, even more so, the hope that something a little more focused would bring us a more unique evening and... we were very lucky to be perfectly right! Clemmy was our host for the evening, picking us both up on time and joining others already on the mini-bus, I'd say there was about 15 of us in total so a good small group. After some great history on the way out of history on how the Northern Lights form, he kept us up-to-date on all aspects from the science to the hope of luck in seeing some. Conditions were perfect with a clear sky but, of course, it was also very cold on the wind-chill so ALWAYS BRING LAYERS for these tours. It's the very nature of what you're doing, as you could end up anywhere! Once we reached our destination, and weaved our way past the large coaches, we were alone in the darkness and stepped out to see the beginning of nearly 2 hours of 'action', and it was spectacular. Other than layers, I'd highly recommend taking a camera (DSLR) to take some photos should the phenomenon occur. If you also get Clemmy, then he may even help with your settings, even though I was reasonably close to getting it right, he changed one thing to give the best results. Awesome evening, we felt so lucky! When the expectation meets what you hope, and exceeds it, well, that's the perfect match-up.
"Fantastic tour, fantastic guide" | 5 stars By Judith Gilbert 17/03/2018
This tour was fabulous! Of course there is never a guarantee that you will see lights, but our guide Klemmi was a real full-blooded aurora hunter, so enthusiastic. He knew how to beat the clouds and found a spot. He explained so much about the lights, what they are, how they come to the earth's poles, what conditions are necessary for them to be visible, or, if not visible to the naked eye, then visible to the camera (yes, there's a difference). He was great! A great guide and a great teacher - and a safe driver. I am a photographer but never photographed the aurora - he had great tips and I got wonderful shots. Definitely want to go out with Arctic Adventures again the next time I am in Iceland. Thanks so much for a great tour, Klemmi!
"Excellent Tour" | 5 stars By Daniel G 17/03/2018
We had a very informative and charismatic tour guide who was very knowledgeable. He made some adjustments in location we needed to get a great show.
"Beyond expectations" | 5 stars By Renke 26/03/2018
Tour guide was very knowledgeable during our glacier hike. He was proactive in sharing with us information about Iceland. Open for questions. Ready to take pictures of us at any stage. Clean and comfortable mini vans. Pick up timings were accurate and driver easy to locate. We DID see the Northern lights, the sane day of our tour I got an SMS about the weather forecast and the fact that the tour was confirmed as the northern lights remain a natural phenomenon and not guaranteed to see. It was an amazing experience. Professional pictures taken of us and shared on website. Just a wonderful tour company to book a tour with. Recommended 100%
"Northern Lights" | 5 stars By Janet 16/03/2018
Our family took a Northern Light tour with Arctic Adventures on 03.08.14. It was well worth traveling on the tour they new actually where the lights would be best seen and can't say enough on the beautiful pictures that were taken from that event. This was a top event on our bucket list and it didn't disappoint. Thanks again.
"Very happy with our guide" | 5 stars By Edalene 16/03/2018
Very happy with our guide for the tour (my apology, cannot spell his name) He tried his best to make the Long drive interesting and fun. V knowledgeable in controlling the special vehicle by deflating the tires when on soft ground and filled it up on our return to hard tarmac road.
"Our guide was very informative friendly" | 5 stars By Peter Kardys 10/03/2018
Our guide was very informative friendly. The small group was the way to go. We were very lucky to see a Great show of lights including red visable to the eye, no camera to see the colors. This was our fourth adventure with Artic Adventures and every one was Great!!!
"Nothing short of spectacular" | 5 stars By Christian Mera 14/03/2018
My girlfriend, Aubree West, and I went on our tour with Clemney who was nothing short of spectacular. He went above and beyond in explaining what exactly we were looking for and described the formation of the lights with every relevant detail possible. He made the tour very enjoyable to where we requested to be placed with Clemney on our second attempt to see the lights when we did not get to see them on our first try. Overall, a great experience!
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