Reykjavik Northern Lights small group tours put you in a minibus or a 4x4 with a guide who knows your name, and on most of them the guide takes your photos. Caps run from 14 to 28, and what the fare does if the sky stays shut runs from nothing stated to unlimited free retries.
Pro aurora and group photos taken by your guide, snacks and cocoa, and Viking outfits to play with while you wait. See nothing and you retry free as often as you need; the retry is for the original traveller only.
From $159 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Never more than 19 in the minibus, with hot chocolate, Icelandic pastries, woollen blankets and live commentary. Photos come if conditions allow, and you join again free, subject to availability, if the night fails. From age 5.
From $166 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Sold as a midnight adventure: an air-conditioned minibus of 18 at most, hot chocolate, Wi-Fi and free photos. See nothing and you retry free; if weather cancels, you reschedule free. Central hotels use numbered bus stops.
From $135 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Lifetime free re-booking if the lights stay away, in a 4x4 minibus of 16 at most with Wi-Fi, hand warmers, pastries and cocoa, and photos taken by the guide. From age 8.
From $174 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Warm winter jumpsuits, outdoor chairs, tripods and help with your camera settings, plus unlimited high-resolution photos and a long snack list. The free retry is unlimited, depending on availability. From age 5.
From $212 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Door-to-door pickup between 21:00 and 21:30 in a modified super jeep of 14 at most. A stargazing telescope, homemade hot chocolate and photos of you come with it, and unlimited retries within two years. From age 10.
From $221 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four hours in an air-conditioned vehicle with hot chocolate, Wi-Fi and every fee and tax paid, collected from approved central locations. One free retry if you see nothing, taken on a big bus. Up to 28 on board.
From $118 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Collected from set bus stops for four hours in a minibus of 18 at most. Hot chocolate, a chocolate bar and digital photos of you and the aurora are in the fare; logo hats and neck warmers are sold.
From $114 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Your guide helps you photograph the lights on your own camera or phone over four hours, with snacks and hot chocolate. It runs in all weather, and the free retry rides the coach hunt. Up to 21 on board.
From $134 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Snacks, coffee or tea and wool blankets, with an English-speaking guide, for a group of 19 at most. It takes travellers from age 13, and it states no free retry.
From $121 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Pro aurora photos taken by your guide, snacks and cocoa, and a free retry as often as you need, from $159. Pick your night and see the pickup time before you pay.
Check availabilityA small-group hunt is a three to six-hour night in a minibus, a 4x4 or a super jeep. The guide reads the forecast in the afternoon, collects you from your hotel or a set stop, and drives out of the city light to wherever the cloud is breaking. Most carry 18 or 19, one carries 14, and the largest states 28.
What sets these fares apart is what they add to the ride. Most take photos for you. Many bring hot chocolate and pastries. And the retry terms vary more here than anywhere: from nothing stated to unlimited. The visitor guide explains how each kind of retry works.
Most small groups include photos. The top-rated one takes pro aurora and group shots, the snowsuit night gives you unlimited high-resolution photos, and the midnight minibus includes free photos. One traveller found that you see more on a camera than you do in person, so the photos are often the best record of your night.
The top-rated small group, the snowsuit night and the stargazing jeep retry without limit, the 4x4 minibus re-books for life, and most others give you at least one more try. If you have spare nights, this is where your money goes furthest.
With 14 to 19 on board, you step off with a group that fits round one guide. You can ask questions, get help with your camera, and move to a better spot without a crowd.
One small group lends warm winter jumpsuits, outdoor chairs and tripods. Another brings a stargazing telescope. Others hand out hand warmers or woollen blankets.
You are paying more for a smaller group, photos and a better retry. Here is the trade in figures.
| Small group | Coach hunt | |
|---|---|---|
| Fares | $114 to $221 | $84 to $85 |
| Group, where stated | 14 to 28 | 57 to 65 |
| Hours | 3 to 6 | About 4 |
| If you see nothing | None stated up to unlimited | One more night free |
| Photos | Taken for you on most | Phone tips on one |
| Start | Hotel or a set stop | Bus Stop 12 or 5, or pickup |
If the fare matters most, the northern lights bus tours start at $84 and still give you one free night more.
You get a guide, the drive, and on most fares photos and hot chocolate. Several add pastries, snacks, blankets or hand warmers. Pickup is from your hotel on most; one collects from set bus stops, one from designated meeting points, and central hotels in postcode 101 are often served from numbered bus stops instead of the door.
You do not always get a small vehicle. One fare runs its free retry on a big bus, and one states a maximum of 28. Tips are excluded on the top-rated fare and the snowsuit night. Restrooms outside town are few, so use the one at your last stop in the city. And one fare takes nobody under 13.
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Fares | $114 to $221 per person; minibuses $114 to $212 |
| Length | 3 to 6 hours; most about 4 |
| Group | 14 to 28 where stated; most 18 or 19 |
| Youngest | From 5 on some, up to 13 on one |
| Retry | Unlimited, lifetime, one, count not stated, or none stated |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
Read the retry line before the price. Book your first evening, keep your phone on for the go or no-go, and be ready at your pickup point from the start of the window. Pickup can take up to 30 minutes. The forecast guide shows you how to read the night yourself, and the season guide covers the first and last weeks.
An air-conditioned minibus of 18 at most, hot chocolate and free photos, a free retry if you see nothing and a free reschedule if weather cancels. Pick your night before you pay.
Check availabilityNext: Weigh every format in the best tour for your trip, or read what happens on a northern lights tour. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours.