Private Reykjavik Northern Lights tours put only your party in the vehicle, with a guide who works to your pace. You choose between a car with a local guide, a 4x4 with pastries and hand warmers, and a photographer-guide priced for a group of up to four.
Three hours for your own party with a local guide, from hotel pickup to drop-off. At least two adults and up to eight; marked wheelchair accessible if you bring your own assistance. No free retry stated.
From $260 per person (minimum 2)
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Your own 4x4 with a guide fluent in English and Spanish, collected at your door. Hot chocolate, Icelandic pastries, hand warmers and Wi-Fi come with it; the fare is per person, and no retry is stated.
From $649 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
At least five photos if the lights show, taken by a photographer-guide for a group of up to four, with help on your own camera and coffee or tea. One extra tour is free if the sky stays shut.
From $1,618 per group (up to 4)
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three hours with a local guide for your party, collected at your hotel, from $260 a person with two adults at least. Pick your night and see the times before you pay.
Check availabilityA private hunt is the same night as a shared one, with nobody else on board. Your guide collects you from your hotel, reads the forecast, and drives to where the sky is clearing. The difference is that the stops, the pace and the time you spend at each one are yours.
The fares are built differently, so read them carefully. The private car and the private 4x4 are priced per person. The photographer's night is priced for the group, up to four. Only the photographer's night states a free retry. The visitor guide explains how retries and refunds differ.
Nobody else decides when you move on. If you want an hour at one dark spot, or to leave after twenty minutes, you can. That is the one thing no shared fare offers.
At $1,618 for up to four, the photographer's night works out at about $404 each for a group of four. That is less than one seat in the private 4x4. It includes at least five photos with the lights if they show, help with your own camera, and one extra tour free if the sky stays shut.
The private car is the one hunt marked wheelchair accessible, for transport and surfaces. A passenger must bring their own assistance, and the booking takes two adults at least and up to eight.
The private 4x4 is guided in English or Spanish, and the photographer's night in English or Polish.
A small group gives you most of a private night's content for much less. Here is the trade.
| Private | Small group | |
|---|---|---|
| Fares | $260 a person to $1,618 a group | $114 to $221 |
| Who is on board | Your party only | 14 to 28, where stated |
| If you see nothing | One on the photographer's night; none stated on the others | None stated up to unlimited |
| Photos | On the photographer's night | Taken for you on most |
| Pace | Yours | The group's |
| Pickup | Your hotel | Hotel or a set stop |
If the pace matters less than the retry, compare the northern lights tour Reykjavik small group options, where the unlimited retries are.
You get a guide and a vehicle for your party, collected at your hotel. The private 4x4 adds hot chocolate, traditional Icelandic pastries, hand warmers and Wi-Fi. The photographer's night adds the photographer, coffee or tea, and the option to go off-road for darker sky.
You do not get food or drinks on the private car, and tips are excluded on all three. On the private car and the private 4x4 no free retry is stated, so a cloudy night is a night spent. Neither per-person fare falls when you add people: two travellers pay twice the fare.
| What to expect | |
|---|---|
| Fares | $260 or $649 a person; $1,618 a group of up to four |
| Length | 3 hours on the car, about 4 on the 4x4, 3 to 4 with the photographer |
| Group | 2 to 8 on the car; up to 4 on the photographer's night |
| If you see nothing | One extra tour on the photographer's night |
| Calendar | The car runs 5 September to 4 April |
| Cancellation | Free up to 24 hours ahead |
Book early in your trip, because only one private fare has a retry to fall back on. Tell the guide what matters to you when you are collected: photos, time at one spot, or getting back by a certain hour. The price guide sets the private fares against buying seats.
At least five photos with the lights if they show, help with your own camera, and one extra tour free if the sky stays shut. Pick your night before you pay.
Check availabilityNext: Price private against shared in what each fare buys, or plan your evenings in the nights planner. Every fare sits side by side on Reykjavik Northern Lights Tours.