How to See the Reykjavik Northern Lights: Times, Forecasts and Retries
The short answer. There is no ticket to the northern lights and no gate to queue at. A night needs three things: darkness, a gap in the cloud and enough auroral activity. What people search for as Reykjavik Northern Lights tickets are tour fares: a seat, a guide who chases all three, and a plan for the night the sky stays shut. On most fares that plan is a free retry, and on some it never runs out.
Quick facts before you go
| What applies | |
|---|---|
| Admission to the sky | None |
| Full darkness, mid-December | about 13 hours a night |
| Full darkness, mid-October | about 9 hours a night |
| Full darkness, mid-September | about 5 hours a night |
| No full darkness at all | Mid-April to late August |
| Best hours, by the space-weather forecasters | 22:00 to 02:00 |
| The aurora forecast | Activity at midnight, on a scale of 0 to 9 |
| Coach hunts | From $84 |
| Small groups | $114 to $221 |
| Boats | $86 to $105 |
| Private hunts | From $260 a person |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
The Icelandic Met Office puts it in one line: the aurora needs dark and partly clear skies. Visit Reykjavík names the three things that get in the way: cloud cover, moonlight and the city’s own light. Everything a tour does is a way round those three. It waits for darkness, it drives away from the street lights, and it reads the cloud map to find a gap. Nobody can switch the aurora on, so no fare can promise it.
Why the fare is your ticket
Since the sky is free, the useful question is not where to buy a ticket. It is what your fare does after a night with nothing overhead. The answers run along a ladder:
- Unlimited free retries. The small-group hunt with guide photos lets you come back as often as you need, though the retry belongs to the person who booked it. The super jeep with a telescope allows retries within two years.
- Free re-booking for life. The 4x4 minibus with pastries and cocoa has no expiry at all.
- One more night. The big-coach hunt and the Super Jeep hunt each give you one more try.
- A free re-sail. The boat from the Old Harbour offers tickets for another sailing if you see nothing.
- None stated. The Golden Circle double days and some private hunts state no retry at all, so read the card before you book.
The visitor guide sets the retry rules side by side, with the fine print on each.
Getting there: hotel door, bus stop or quay
Almost every hunt collects you in Reykjavík, and how it does so is the part people get wrong. Tour buses are not allowed to drive or stop in some central streets. So if your hotel is downtown, you are often collected from a numbered tour bus stop nearby. The stops run from #1 at City Hall to #15 at Vesturbugt, with one at Hallgrímskirkja too. Pickup starts about 30 minutes before the tour does, and you wait outside at your stop.
The big coaches keep things simpler: you walk to Bus Stop 12 at Höfðatorg or Bus Stop 5 at Harpa. The boats have no pickup at all. You walk to the Old Harbour and check in 15 or 30 minutes before sailing, depending on the boat. The pickup points lists every stop and quay by street, and where to stay shows which parts of the city are collected at the door.
What time the night starts, and how long it lasts
Hunts leave in the evening, and the stated pickup times move with the season. The minibus with pastries collects from 20:30 between October and March and from 21:30 at the start and end of the season. The super jeep with a telescope collects between 21:00 and 21:30 from September to mid-April. The Super Jeep offers a 20:00 or a 21:00 start. Most hunts run about four hours, some three to six; the boats sail for two.
That timing is deliberate. The space-weather forecasters at NOAA say the best aurora is usually within an hour or two of midnight, between 22:00 and 02:00. So a hunt that leaves at 21:00 is out in the dark for the hours that count, and you are back after midnight. When to go sets out how dark each month gets.
How the night is decided
Operators decide in the late afternoon whether the night runs. The super jeep with a telescope sends its message at 18:30; the minibus with pastries e-mails in the afternoon; for the Super Jeep you call around 17:00. They read the same public forecast you can. The Met Office map shows cloud cover, and on it green means cloud and white means clear sky, the opposite of what most people expect. A separate box gives auroral activity at midnight on a scale of 0 to 9.
How many nights to give it
One night is a gamble, because cloud comes and goes faster than any forecast can say. The way round it is time. Book the hunt for your first clear-looking evening and keep two or three nights free after it. If the sky stays shut, the retry has somewhere to go; if the operator cancels for weather, the new date does too. On the 1961-1990 averages October is the wettest month in Reykjavík, and wet weeks are cloudy weeks, so a week-long stay in autumn leaves far more room than a two-night break.
The moon matters less than people fear, but it does matter. Visit Reykjavík lists moonlight beside cloud and city light as the things that dim a display. A bright moon washes out a weak aurora and barely touches a strong one. If you can choose, a darker week helps, but cloud decides far more nights than the moon does.
What to wear, and what the fare may lend you
Reykjavík is milder than people expect. The 1961-1990 averages put December at -0.2 °C and January at -0.5 °C. The cold that matters is standing still in the wind at midnight for an hour or more, often in snow. Wear warm, windproof, waterproof layers, a hat, gloves and a scarf, and boots with grip.
Some fares lend you the rest. The boat from the Old Harbour hands out warm floatable overalls. The small group with jumpsuits brings winter jumpsuits and outdoor chairs, and the minibus with pastries brings woollen blankets. The weather by month gives the averages, and the FAQs answer the rest.
Which kind of night suits you
All of them read the same sky, so choose by what else you want from the night:
- The lowest fare. A coach hunt from $84, with one free retry. The coach nights compare the stops and the retries.
- A guide who can move fast. A small group of 14 to 28, from $114.
- Rough tracks. A jeep from $174, shared with other parties.
- Two hours, no drive. A boat from $86 to $105.
- Your own party only. A private hunt from $260 a person.
On a strong, clear night you may see the lights from the city itself, at the darker edges and the shore. The best places to watch lists them, and the night, hour by hour shows what the evening feels like once you are out.
Book your Reykjavik Northern Lights tour now
Northern Lights Bus Tour from Reykjavik with Hot Chocolate
Four hours on a coach of up to 65 from Bus Stop 12 or Bus Stop 5, with hot chocolate and Wi-Fi, and one free night more if you see nothing; from age 6.
From $84 per person
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Northern Lights Small-Group Tour with Hot Chocolate & Photos
Four hours in a minibus of 19 at most, with hot chocolate, Icelandic pastries and woollen blankets; photos if conditions allow, and a free second try subject to availability.
From $166 per person
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Northern Lights Small-Group Tour From Reykjavik with Hot Choco
Four hours in an air-conditioned vehicle with hot chocolate and Wi-Fi, all fees and taxes paid, and one free retry if you see nothing, taken on a big bus.
From $118 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Know what you are booking, and pick the first clear-looking night. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours.