Iceland's capital, far enough north that the aurora can ripple over its own rooftops.
Leave the city glow by boat or 4x4, wrap your hands round a hot cocoa and watch green curtains fill the sky.
Retry rules, side by sideWhat each tour does if the sky stays cloudy
Real guest ratingsLive GetYourGuide figures, low ones included
Free cancellationUp to 24 hours before, on every tour here
Secure checkoutBooked and paid on GetYourGuide
Tours
Choose your Reykjavík aurora tour
In the centre, a small-group hunt by 4x4 with cocoa and photos. Either side, a two-hour yacht cruise
from the Old Harbour and the cheapest coach out of town. Every card opens a full tour page.
Two hours on a three-deck yacht that sails out past the islands of Faxaflói bay, away from the city lights. The shortest night out, and you can walk to the boat.
A small group in a lifted 4x4 minibus, so the guide can leave the paved road for darker ground. Hot cocoa, pastries and your photo under the lights are included.
What's included
Pickup and drop-off in Reykjavík (28 pickup points)
Specially modified 4x4 minibus, Wi-Fi on board
Hot chocolate, Icelandic pastries and 2 hand warmers
Photos of you under the lights, taken by the guide
The cheapest way out of town: a big coach, a live guide and an app audio guide in ten languages. Gray Line's own terms let you rebook free within two years if you see nothing.
What's included
Coach from BSÍ Bus Terminal, or hotel pickup if chosen
Live English guide plus app audio guide in 10 languages
Pickup in Reykjavík and free cancellation up to 24 hours before are on every tour here. A retry
means a free seat on another night, not money back.
Before you book
You are buying a drive, not a show.
Every northern lights tour from Reykjavík works the same way. In the afternoon the operator reads the cloud map and
the aurora forecast and decides whether the night is worth it. If it is, a coach, minibus, 4x4 or boat collects you
after dark and heads for a clear, dark patch of sky, away from the orange glow of the city. Then you wait, look
north, and hope.
What you pay for is the vehicle, the group and the second chance. A coach is cheap but slow to move when the
clouds shift. A small 4x4 can leave the paved road. A boat is in dark water within 20 minutes. And if the sky stays
empty, the rules differ: two years of free retries on most tours, three on the super jeep, no expiry on the boat.
2+
Years of free retries on most tours here if the lights do not show.
Book your hunt early in the trip, so you still have nights left to use it.
CoachMinibus4x4 & super jeepBoat
Grótta lighthouse, about 5 km from downtown, is the darkest easy spot in the city.
01
Will I see them?
Never guaranteed. You need a dark sky, a gap in the clouds and enough activity.
02
When is the season?
Late August to mid-April. Dark enough at night from late September.
03
What time?
Pickups around 20:30 to 21:30, back near midnight or later.
04
Who should skip it?
Young children on most tours (6+ is common), and anyone with one night and a solid cloud forecast.
Your night
How an aurora hunt runs
Two hours on a boat, three to five on land. This is the shape of the night.
01
The afternoon call
The operator checks the cloud map and the forecast. A cancellation comes by email, on several listings by 18:15 to 18:30.
Afternoon
02
Pickup in Reykjavík
At your hotel, a bus stop near it, BSÍ Bus Terminal or the Old Harbour. Collecting everyone can take half an hour.
20:30 to 21:30
03
The hunt
The guide drives or sails towards clear sky, stops, and moves again if clouds roll in. Cocoa and photos on many tours.
2 to 4 hours
04
Back, or back again
Drop-off around midnight or later. Saw nothing? Ask for your free retry on another night.
Season, prices, the rules on age and what to wear: one tab each.
Late August to mid-April: the aurora season around Reykjavík. Too light outside it.
Late September to early April: nights dark enough for a proper hunt.
November to March: the peak months, with the longest nights. Expect cold and wind.
September, October, February, March: long nights and often milder weather. A good bet for a first trip.
May to mid-August: the midnight-sun months. No aurora tours run.
Big coach: from $80 to $81.
Boat or yacht from the Old Harbour: $96 to $104.
Small-group minibus: $113 to $165; with snowsuits and a photographer, $226.
4x4 or super jeep: $155 to $205.
Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon and an aurora hunt in one day: $330. Perlan's indoor show: $54.
Gray Line's coach tour and the super jeep tour: from age 6.
The snowsuit small group: from age 5. The full Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon day: from 14.
The second-chance boat has warm overalls in children's sizes.
Late nights are hard on small kids. A two-hour boat trip from the Old Harbour is the gentlest option.
Thermal base layers, a fleece and a windproof, waterproof outer layer. You will stand still for a long time.
Warm boots with grip, wool socks, a hat, a buff and thick gloves, plus thin liner gloves for your phone.
Boats lend overalls or blankets; the snowsuit tour lends snowsuits. Everyone else brings their own warmth.
A power bank: phone batteries drain fast in the cold. Full tips in the phone photography guide.
Faxaflói bay15 to 20 minFrom the Old Harbour to dark water on the second-chance boat.
Pickup20:30 or 21:30Depending on the season, on the super jeep listing. Others are similar.
DecisionBy 18:15 to 18:30When several operators email if the night is called off.
Free retry2 years or moreOn most tours here, if the tour runs and you see nothing.
SeasonAug to AprLate August to mid-April, darkest from late September.
Cloudy nightGo indoorsPerlan's planetarium and Aurora Reykjavík show the lights inside.
Where it starts
Where the hunt begins
Pickup in town, then out of the glow
Boats: Old Harbour (Ægisgarður). Coaches: BSÍ Bus Terminal or hotel pickup. Minibus and 4x4: hotel pickup.
Nobody knows the viewing spot in advance, and that is the point. The guide reads the cloud map on the night and
drives to whichever side of Reykjavík is clear, sometimes towards Þingvellir, sometimes along the Reykjanes
peninsula. Boats head into Faxaflói bay, where the city lights fall away behind you.
Old Harbour: walking distance from downtown
BSÍ Bus Terminal: south of the city centre
Grótta lighthouse: about 5 km from downtown, for a free look on your own
Clouds are the usual reason a tour comes back with nothing. On a grey night, or before your hunt, Perlan's planetarium shows the aurora on a full dome, next to exhibitions on glaciers and volcanoes. It is the backup, not the real thing.
Reykjavík sells dozens of aurora tours, and the photos on them all look the same. The tours do not.
Here is how to read them.
What the lights need
Three things have to line up: darkness, a clear sky and enough activity. Darkness is the easy part from late
September to early April. Activity comes and goes; the Icelandic Met Office rates it from 0 to 9 and says even a 2 can
be beautiful. Cloud is what usually ruins the night. Iceland sits in the North Atlantic, and weather fronts roll
through fast, so one side of the city can be clear while the other is grey.
That is why a tour exists at all. A guide with a vehicle can chase the gap. On your own you get one spot, and in
the city you get street lights too. The aurora is often there over Reykjavík. Seeing it well usually means leaving.
A small group can stop wherever the sky opens, then move on.
Coach, minibus, 4x4 or boat
The big coaches are the cheapest seats, from about $80, and the most booked: one coach listing has over
15,000 reviews. You share the sky with 50 people and the bus cannot turn down a farm track. A minibus costs
a little more and moves faster. A 4x4 or super jeep can leave the paved road for darker, emptier ground, which
is what you pay $155 to $205 for. And a boat from the Old Harbour skips the drive altogether: 15 to 20 minutes
out into Faxaflói bay, the city lights are behind you. Boats are short and gentle, good with kids, but they cannot move
to a clearer patch of sky the way a vehicle can, and rough sea stops them.
The honest small print: the tour does not sell you the aurora. It sells a drive, a guide and a
second chance. Read the retry rule before the price: two years on most tours here, three on the super jeep, no expiry on
the second-chance boat. A "lifetime guarantee" in a title still means a free rebooking, not a refund.
The retry rule is the real product
If the operator cancels in the afternoon, you get a new date or your money back. If the tour runs and you see nothing,
you get a free seat on another night instead. That second seat is only worth something if you have another night, so
book the hunt for your first or second evening in Iceland, not your last. Keep the booking number. And check whether the
retry is on the same tour: on the super jeep listing, retries are on the operator's minibus tour.
On the boats you are in dark water within about 20 minutes of the harbour.
Timing it
The season runs from late August to mid-April. Visit Reykjavík puts the peak at November to March, when nights are
longest, and the lights show most often between 22:00 and 02:00. The shoulder months, September, October, February and
March, mix long nights with milder weather, which matters when you are standing in a field for an hour. 2026 sits on
the far side of the solar maximum, which was most likely in October 2024, and big storms still happen in that phase.
Stay four or five nights if you can, check the forecast every afternoon, and leave one evening free for the retry.
On a strong night the lights can fill the whole sky and seem to pour down from one point overhead.
Straight answers to what people ask most about the northern lights in Reykjavík.
What is the best aurora tour from Reykjavík?
There is no single best one, because every tour chases the same thing: a dark, clear patch of sky. Pick by format. A small-group 4x4 or minibus can move quickly when clouds roll in, a big coach is the cheapest, and a boat gets you to dark water in 15 to 20 minutes. Our pick is the 4x4 tour with hot cocoa. The full comparison is in the best tour guide.
Can you see the northern lights in Reykjavík city?
Yes, on a strong night, and you will see them better away from street lights. Grótta lighthouse on the Seltjarnarnes peninsula, about 5 km from downtown, Öskjuhlíð hill by Perlan and Klambratún park are darker spots within the city. A tour takes you further from the glow. See the northern lights in the city.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Iceland?
The season runs from late August to mid-April. The nights are long enough from late September to early April, and Visit Reykjavík names November to March as the peak. September, October, February and March pair dark nights with milder weather. Clear sky matters more than the month. More in the month guide.
Am I guaranteed to see the northern lights in Iceland?
No. Nobody can promise the aurora, and the honest tours say so. What they promise is a retry: if the tour runs and you see nothing, most operators let you come again free, usually within two or three years. A "lifetime guarantee" in a tour title is a free rebooking, not a refund. See how the retry rules work.
Does Iceland have the aurora every night?
The aurora is often active above Iceland in the dark season, but you only see it when the sky is clear, dark and the activity is strong enough. Cloud is the usual problem. The Icelandic Met Office forecast shows cloud cover and an activity level from 0 to 9, and it says even level 2 "can be beautiful".
Will the aurora be visible in Iceland in 2026?
Yes. The peak of the current solar cycle was most likely in October 2024, so 2026 is in the declining phase, which still brings strong storms: past cycles had some of their biggest displays two or three years after the peak. Details in the 2026-27 outlook.
What is the best aurora forecast for Iceland?
Start with the Icelandic Met Office aurora page at vedur.is: the map shows cloud cover (white means clear, green means cloud) and a 0 to 9 activity scale. Check it in the afternoon, the same time the operators decide whether to run. See how to read the forecast.
How much does a northern lights tour from Reykjavík cost?
From about $80 for a big coach and $96 for a two-hour yacht cruise, $113 to $165 for a small-group minibus, $155 to $205 by 4x4 or super jeep, and $226 for a small group with snowsuits and a photographer. A full day with the Golden Circle, the Blue Lagoon and an aurora hunt is about $330. Prices move with the season.
Can you see the northern lights from the Blue Lagoon?
It can happen. The lagoon sits in a lava field on the Reykjanes peninsula, far darker than the city, and in winter it is dark well before evening. It is a bonus, not a plan: the Golden Circle and Blue Lagoon tour adds a proper hunt after the swim. More in lagoons and the aurora.
What time do northern lights tours leave Reykjavík?
In the evening. The Arctic Adventures super jeep tour picks up at 20:30 or 21:30 depending on the season, and most hunts last two and a half to five hours, so expect to be back around midnight or later. Operators decide in the afternoon, by 18:15 to 18:30 on several listings, whether the night is worth it.
What happens if my northern lights tour is cancelled?
If the operator cancels because of weather or a poor forecast, you can rebook or take a full refund. If the tour runs and the sky stays dark and empty, you usually get a free retry instead of money back. Every tour on this site also cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Ready to book
Pick your night, chase the green.
Pickup in Reykjavík, free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and a free retry on most tours if the sky stays dark.
From the harbour
★ 4.42 hoursFree cancellation
