Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours: Frequently Asked Questions
Retries, times, ages, weather and cancellation, answered from the official sources and the operators’ own listings. Weighing up Reykjavik Northern Lights guided tours? The answers below settle most of it.
Two answers matter more than the rest. First, nobody sells a ticket to the sky, and no listing can promise you will see the lights. Second, what separates one fare from another is what it does if you see nothing: unlimited retries, one more night, or none at all.
The rest covers the forecast and its midnight scale, darkness through the year, the pickups and the harbour quays, clothes, children, wheelchairs, private nights and the Golden Circle days that end with a hunt.
Do I need tickets for the Reykjavik Northern Lights?
No. The aurora has no gate and no ticket, so what you book is a seat on a hunt. The fare pays for the guide, the drive out of the city light, and on most fares a free retry if the sky stays shut.
Are the Reykjavik Northern Lights guaranteed on a tour?
No listing can promise the sky, so treat any “northern lights guaranteed” line as a promise about the retry, not the lights. What a fare can give you is another night: unlimited on some hunts, one extra night on others, and none stated on a few. Check the first line on each card before you book.
What happens if I don't see the northern lights?
Most hunts let you join again free on another night, subject to seats. A tour that ran under cloud counts as performed and is not refunded. A tour the operator cancels for weather is different: you are offered another date or your money back.
How much is a Reykjavik Northern Lights tour?
The big-coach hunts start from $84 a person. Small groups run $114 to $221, shared jeeps $174 to $244 and the boats $86 to $105. Private hunts run from $260 a person to $1,618 for a group of up to four.
What time do northern lights tours leave Reykjavík?
In the evening. Stated pickups run from 20:30 in mid-winter to 21:30 at the start and end of the season, and the late tours collect from 21:00. Pickup starts about 30 minutes before the tour, so be ready early.
How long is a northern lights tour?
Most hunts are about four hours, and some run three to six depending on the sky. The boats sail for two hours. On a late departure expect to be back after midnight.
What is the best month to see the Reykjavik Northern Lights?
The lights need a dark, clear sky, so the dark months. The operators' own calendars run from mid-August to mid-April. December has about 4 hours of daylight and June about 21 hours, so summer nights are too bright.
Bus, small group or jeep: which northern lights tour?
Coaches carry up to 57 to 65 people, cost least and usually give one free retry. Small groups cap at 14 to 28 and more often photograph you under the lights. Jeeps can leave the main road, but every vehicle reads the same forecast.
Is a northern lights boat tour worth it?
It is two hours from the Old Harbour with no drive, warm overalls on the larger boat, and a free re-sail if you see nothing. What it cannot do is move far to find a gap in the cloud, which a land hunt can.
Will I be picked up at my hotel?
Most land hunts collect from your hotel or a nearby numbered tour bus stop. Central downtown hotels use the bus stops, because tour buses may not drive or stop in some streets. The boats have no pickup, so you walk to the harbour.
What should I wear on a northern lights tour?
Warm, windproof and waterproof layers, a hat, gloves and a scarf, because you stand outside for long stretches at night. Some fares include snowsuits, overalls or wool blankets, and each card says so.
Can children go on northern lights tours?
Many hunts take children, from ages that vary by listing: some from 5, others from 6, 7, 10 or 13. The nights end late, so check the minimum age on the listing before you book.
How do I know if my tour is running tonight?
Operators decide in the late afternoon from the cloud and activity forecast, often between 17:00 and 18:30, and send you a message. Check your email, spam folder included, before you wait for the pickup.
Can I cancel my northern lights tour?
Yes: every listing here gives a full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours before the start. Inside 24 hours, or once the tour has run, the listing's own rules apply.
Can you see the Reykjavik Northern Lights from the city itself?
On a strong, clear night, yes, but the street light washes out a weaker display. The dark edges of the city and the shore help. A tour drives or sails much further from the light.
Which night of my trip should I book?
The first night that looks clear, as early in your stay as you can. That leaves nights behind it for a free retry or a weather rebooking.
What is the difference between a cloudy night and a cancelled tour?
A cancelled tour never ran, so you get another date or a refund. A tour that runs under cloud is a performed tour. The free retry, where the listing offers one, is your second chance.
What does the aurora forecast 0 to 9 scale mean?
It is the Icelandic Met Office's forecast of auroral activity at midnight, on a scale of 0 to 9. It says nothing about cloud, which is why operators read the cloud map first.
Why is the aurora forecast given for midnight?
The Met Office shows its activity forecast for midnight. The hunts run across the late evening, and the late departures come back after it.
Can I see the northern lights in summer?
Not in practice. Around 21 June Reykjavík has about 21 hours of daylight and no dark night. The operators' calendars start in mid-August.
Is hot chocolate included?
On many hunts, yes, often with pastries or snacks, and each card says whether yours has it. The coach and boat fares vary: on one boat drinks are sold on board.
Do the tours take photos of me with the lights?
Many small groups and the jeeps include guide-taken photos, and a photography tour helps you use your own camera instead. Photos come only if the lights appear.
Are there toilets on a northern lights tour?
Some coaches have a restroom on board, but out in the countryside there is very little. The boats have toilets on board. Go before the pickup.
Is a private northern lights tour worth it?
It can be if your party is four, because a per-group fare costs less a head than it looks, and you set the pace. Check the retry line: some private hunts state no free retry at all.
Why is one private tour priced per group?
The photographer's private night is sold for a group of up to four, so the figure shown buys the whole night. The other private hunts are priced per person.
Where do the northern lights boats leave from?
The Old Harbour, and you make your own way there. The larger boat sails from its ticket office at Ægisgarður 5c, where you arrive 15 minutes early. The smaller one leaves from Old Harbour House at Ægisgarður 2, where you arrive 30 minutes early.
Where is Bus Stop 12?
At Höfðatorg on Þórunnartún, the meeting point for the big coach hunts. Some coaches also use Bus Stop 5 at Harpa.
Are northern lights tours wheelchair accessible?
Most hunts are not. A private hunt and a Golden Circle day are listed as accessible, and the larger boat welcomes wheelchair users, though steep stairs limit the inside areas.
Can I do the Golden Circle and the northern lights in one day?
Yes: some coach days pair them, running 12.5 to 13.5 hours with a break in Reykjavík before the evening hunt. Neither states a free retry for the aurora half.
Is a jeep better than a bus for the northern lights?
A jeep carries fewer people and can take rougher tracks, but it does not change the sky. A shared super jeep still carries other parties unless you book private.
Is it cold on a northern lights tour?
Reykjavík's winter months average around 0 °C in the 1961-1990 normals, and you stand still at night in the wind. Dress for longer outside than you expect.
How far out of Reykjavík do northern lights tours go?
As far as the clear sky. The listings name the Southern Region, the Reykjanes Peninsula, the West Region and the countryside, and the guide picks one on the night.
Do I tip the guide?
Tips are left out of the fares that mention them. Whether you tip, and how much, is up to you.
Still deciding? The practical detail is in the visitor guide, and what travellers made of the night is in the reviews. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours.