About Tour
Hop on To The “The Northern Lights” Minibus Tour
Iceland has much more to offer than you would ever expect. Iceland is not only known for the breathtaking landscape and panoramic views, but the geological contrasts, largest glaciers, floating icebergs, and naturally occurring phenomenon makes it a dream destination for sure. Iceland is also a leading and foremost destination for northern lights and is located at the edge of the arctic circle that gives a perfect view of the Aurora.
Gazing the Northern Lights on A Dark, and Clear Night
When planning to visit Iceland, you just cannot miss witnessing nature’s most beautiful creation. Yes, Aurora Borealis or The Northern Lights; it considered to be nature’s silent firework display that is surely going to entice you to the core. It is basically the solar particles that enter the earth’s magnetic field at a high atmosphere and ionizing. The intensity of the lights depends highly on the acceleration speed of these particles and the sun’s activity. The lights are usually green and appear as dancing lights with varying colors including pink, red, orange, purple, and blue.
To make the most of your trip, nothing is better than going on a minibus tour to watch The Northern Lights. The locations visited during the tour depends majorly on the lights, where it should be visible, with maximum chances of seeing the aurora; weather data plays a major role here. If this is going to be the first time, be assured, enthusiastic expert guides will be there to guide you about everything. This northern light experience is something not to miss, surely a once in a lifetime experience.
Aurora Reykjavík-Northern lights Centre
Visit the Aurora Reykjavík Museum and the Northern Lights Centre is generally included in the tour package. It is a perfect place for those curious visitors and travel enthusiasts, who love to know the science behind Aurora Borealis. It is an educational center with interactive displays of light within. You will also get a few important instructions on how to adjust the camera for exceptionally good northern light pictures. So, without any doubt, visit to see The Northern Lights, should be at the top of your “Must-Visit” list.
Included
English Speaking Experience Northern Lights Guide & Expert
Northern Lights hunt
Aurora Reykjavík entrance ticket (valid for use on the tour date booked)
Hot chocolate and refreshments
Free pick up and drop off
Attractions
Every night is different when it comes to the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights Experts will find the best locations each night to watch the northern lights.
What to bring
Good shoes
Warm clothes – it gets cold during the night.
Camera (optional)
Tripod (optional)
Good to know
- You will have plenty of time to take some photographs and you can count on assistance from your guide setting up your camera.
- In case that you don’t see the Northern Lights, you can reschedule for free to the non-premium Northern Lights Bus Tour as much as you want until the beautiful Aurora is seen.
- Food and drinks other than refreshments are not included in the tour.
- Our team offer a special recipe of hot chocolate along with light refreshments to keep you warm.
- Pick up is from designated locations in Reykjavík. Pick up from Keflavík airport or outside of the greater capital area is not available.
- You can bring some favorite snacks and beverages if you like.
Please note that the duration of the tour is normally 3-4 hours but can vary in length depending on weather conditions on the evening.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
For tours that state that they pick up from Reykjavík, we ask all our customers to send their pick up location at least 24 hours prior to the departure of their tour. We cannot be responsible if you do not provide your pick up location, we won’t be responsible if you miss your tour.
Due to regulations of Reykjavik City, tour companies are allowed to stop at certain designated bus stop locations in the city centre to pick up passengers. It is stated on your voucher whether we will pick you up directly from your accommodation or from the bus stop.
Check the booking engine to see if your accommodation is available for pick up. If not, find the closest designated pick up location using the map below:
You will receive a full refund if the tour gets cancelled due to weather.
Free cancellation up to 1 day before the tour. If you cancel within 1 day notice, a 100% fee will be charged.
However, we always ask you to cancel the tour as soon as possible so we can adjust the schedule for the day depending on how many people will be joining the tour.
Yes, you can bring your own food and drinks on the tour.
Yes, and you definitely should! The setting on the tour is full of amazing, scenic views.
This is, of course, a personal choice, we have often had pregnant women on our trips. This tour is listed as easy so if you do not feel uncomfortable with sitting in a minibus for the rive, this tour should be ideal for you.
If you are unfortunate enough to miss out on them on our tour, we offer you to rebook on to another evening. Details of how to rebook in case of no lights will be supplied by the guide. The offer for rebooking is valid for three years from the date of your tour departure.
The entrance ticket to the Aurora Reykjavik Museum is only valid for use on the tour date booked.
The northern lights guide can help you with setting up your camera so you can capture the northern lights.
You can also read the article about Northern Lights in Iceland or Capturing the Northern Lights be more specific on how to capture the northern lights on a photo.
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
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.
The Northern Lights season is 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.
If luck and weather are on your side, you will be able to see the Aurora Borealis from Reykjavik. However, the light pollution in Reykjavik will make the northern lights less visible so we always recommend that you travel out of the city to get the best views.
Whether you can see the lights or not depend on two different factors.
1 – Weather – if the sky is clear, no clouds, then you are halfway there to seeing the spectacular Northern Lights.
2 – Increased solar activity
If these two merge together you may well be able to see the Northern Lights from Reykjavik
No, it’s not necessary but it will increase your chances of getting the best view of the lights.
It can be hard to find where the northern lights are most likely to show up. The northern lights experts that will take you on the tours have years of experience when it comes to this. They will take you to the location where you are most likely to get the best possible view of the northern lights each night.
Do you have a question?
We would love to hear from you
You might find interesting...
Interesting Articles
- Northern Lights in Iceland
- Iceland Winter Packing List
- How to dress for a northern lights hunt in Iceland?
- Northern Lights FAQ
