Travel in Iceland remains normal. See details on the latest eruption
Escape the big tour buses and go off the beaten track to hunt Iceland's magical Northern Lights. We pick you up and drive you around in a stylish and comfortable Super Jeep!
Our Northern Lights chase on a Super Jeep is the ultimate experience in Iceland. Venturing off the beaten track in the powerful Super Jeep grants you exclusive access to the best spots in Iceland to admire the dancing lights in all their glory. We’ll drive away from the crowds and light pollution. Wrap yourself in a blanket and enjoy a cup of hot cocoa with chocolate while gazing up at the Aurora Borealis in the heavens!
Your guide will tell you all about this natural wonder and take free photographs so you can always keep the memory alive!
If you’re someone who likes to go the extra mile, book the Northern Lights and Aurora Museum tour combo, save up to 10 %, and enjoy a visit to the museum, where you’ll find out everything there is to know about these beautiful lights before seeing it live.
From
Save up to 10 % by selecting the Aurora Museum upgrade.
Select one of the options:
Each winter, we welcome an ever-growing number of cosmic fans to Iceland searching for the famous Aurora Borealis. Just a smidge below the Arctic Circle, Iceland is among the world's best places to see colors dance in the Northern Hemisphere.
This natural phenomenon occurs when particles from the sun, also known as the solar wind, enter the Earth's magnetic field. As electrically charged particles start to collide with gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere, something here about "creates auroras." Be prepared to be awestruck by swirling curtains of light in the dark sky!
The Northern Lights are much more than just pretty lights in the sky. Learn more about them by taking advantage of the Northern Lights and Aurora Museum combo deal – save up to 10 % and have an unforgettable experience hearing about Aurora Borealis and receiving useful tips on taking pictures of them. After your time at the museum, you’ll be picked up for a further adventure – a chase of the Northern Lights!
Your expert Northern Light guide will pick you up at your selected pickup location in Reykjavik in a custom-built 4×4 super jeep. And that's where the adventure begins. Once everyone is on board, we will leave the city lights behind and head into the darkness of the Icelandic countryside.
On the search for the Aurora Borealis, we might travel past some of Iceland's most spectacular natural sights. Though shrouded in darkness, your guide is sure to point out what the night is hiding. Heading out on country roads gives us a greater chance to enjoy the Northern Lights and the wonders of the night sky without the discomfort of big crowds.
Once we find the right spot (which will be decided the same day by our expert guide, depending on the weather predictions), we wait for the spectacle to begin. Usually, the Northern Lights appear about 100 km (60 miles) above the Earth’s surface. Witnessing a light show emerge above the north magnetic pole is an experience that defies description. It’s as if space is trying to conquer the Earth with color. Just don’t forget to dress warmly! There’s nothing like a fleece sweater on a cold night to keep you warm or you could cuddle in a cozy blanket provided by us. We’ll also serve you a cup of cocoa with tasty Kleinur ("Icelandic doughnuts").
Our guides take photos every time the Northern Lights are spotted, so you can be sure to get your picture taken with the aurora. See photos from previous tours here.
Kindly note that the Northern Lights are natural phenomena that are difficult to predict, but our guides do everything in their power to ensure the best chances of seeing them.
Pick-up information: For the Northern Lights adventure, pick-up is at either 20:30 (8:30 p.m.) or 21:30 (9:30 p.m.), depending on the season. You'll find the actual pick-up time in the booking process and on your final voucher. Picking everyone up can take up to 30 minutes, your patience is much appreciated.
Available pick-up points: Arctic Adventures's pickup list.
With the Northern Lights and Aurora Museum combo, you will be picked up from the museum for the Northern Lights hunt.
Please note: As the success of the Northern Lights Explorer tour is heavily dependent on weather conditions, we reserve the right to cancel departures until 18:15 on the day of the tour. A refund is not available if the tour goes ahead and no northern lights are seen, however, since the spectacle of the Northern Lights is very much weather-dependent, if no aurora is seen, you’ll have unlimited re-tries valid for up to 3 years. That’s right, you’ll be able to re-join the chase of Northern Lights until it’s a successful one!
What to do in this case? Our Customer Care is ready to help you and book your next re-try.
Please keep in mind that refunds are not issued when a tour takes place but no Northern Lights are seen. During a re-try, the tour is operated on a minibus instead of a super jeep.
The Northern Lights are natural phenomena and we unfortunately cannot promise you will see them on our tours. Their appearance depends upon atmospheric and weather conditions, which are factors entirely out of our control.
For more information on the Northern Lights, please have a look at our Northern Lights information.
Unfortunately, there isn’t just one simple answer to this question.
Your camera doesn't have a single setting that will guarantee excellent pictures. But if you have manual controls, playing with different mixtures of ISO, aperture, and exposure settings is usually preferable. As a general rule, ISO settings of 800 to 3200, f/2.8 to f/5.6, and shutter speeds of 15 to 30 seconds have been found to be successful.
Keep in mind that ISO settings between 800 and 3200, f/2.8 and f/5.6, and shutter speeds between 15 and 30 seconds have produced excellent results.
Results from various combinations can vary greatly. You can take faster exposures with a higher ISO setting, but the photographs can turn up grainier as a result.
If the shutter speed is above 15 seconds it will result in a slight star movement.
In low-light situations, wider-angle lenses are typically more adaptable, while longer lenses provide you with more compositional alternatives. Make sure to take off any lens filters because they could cause image distortion. Most likely, using a manual setting for infinite focal length will get the greatest results.
Since the spectacle of the Northern Lights is very much weather-dependent, if no aurora is seen, you’ll have unlimited re-tries valid for up to 3 years. That’s right, you’ll be able to re-join the chase of Northern Lights until it’s a successful one!
What to do in this case? Our Customer Care is ready to help you and book your next re-try.
Please keep in mind that refunds are not issued when a tour takes place but no Northern Lights are seen. During a re-try, the tour is operated on a minibus.
When Northern Lights tours are cancelled it’s usually due to unfavourable weather conditions.
In that case, your options will be to:
1. Reschedule for another day.
2. Find another tour to embark on and use the deposit for it.
3. Get fully refunded.
Please contact our Customer Care team to re-book your tour.
The Northern Lights are a pretty difficult thing to predict. You can check the Icelandic Meteorological Office website to see the forecast - if the level is high and the skies are clear then it’s very likely that the tour is going ahead. We do update our website’s tour departure sheet with the information at 17:00 at the latest. If the tour is canceled, you will receive an email from us notifying you.
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 you if there will definitely be no aurora activity.
Yes, the guide will take a photo of you with the Northern Lights behind you. These can be single or group photos and are free of charge.
A Super Jeep is a highly modified vehicle equipped with 38" to 50" tires and a robust suspension system, uniquely designed to handle Iceland's diverse terrains and conditions. Dive deeper into the world of Super Jeep Tours.
Yes, Super Jeeps are designed and modified to handle the challenging terrains of Iceland, ensuring safety during tours. For a secure adventure, check out our Super Jeep Tours.
A Super Jeep can accommodate up to 19 riders, making it ideal for large families and small tour groups. Discover group adventures with our Super Jeep Tours.
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 colder winter months, from mid-September until March.
If luck and weather are on your side, then you will be able to see the aurora borealis above the inviting streets of Reykjavik. Whether you see the lights or not depends on two unique factors. The first is the weather: If the sky is clear, with no clouds, then you are halfway to seeing the astonishing spectacle that is the Northern Lights (although light pollution can sometimes be a problem). Increased solar activity is the second factor, so if these two are both favorable at the same time you may well be able to see the Northern Lights from Reykjavik.
