Iceland
The most consistent sky in this catalogue, which is worth more than the best one
Iceland's reputation is that it is beautiful and cloudy, and half of that is wrong. Across eleven seasons of reanalysis, counting nights with at least two hours of cloud cover at or below 50% in the hours tours run, Reykjavík gets a usable sky on 35.6% of season nights. That puts it second in Europe on this site, ahead of Rovaniemi at 31.5%, Alta at 29.3%, Tromsø at 25.4% and Abisko at 18.7%. Only Kiruna, at 38.8%, does better.
The more useful number is the spread. Reykjavík's worst month is 31.1% and its best is 40.7%: a range of nine points across the entire season. Tromsø swings seventeen, Rovaniemi thirty, Yellowknife thirty-two. Everywhere else in this catalogue there is a right month and a wrong month; here there is barely a difference.
That flatness is the argument for Iceland and nobody makes it, because it is a boring virtue. If you are planning around a specific week, or you have a single night, or your dates are set by somebody else's calendar, a destination that is the same in November as in March removes the largest variable from the decision. The Arctic destinations offer higher peaks and demand that you turn up in the right month.
What Iceland charges for it is the second-best sky rather than the best, and a latitude that is not really the point: at 64°08′N Reykjavík is under the auroral oval every night the sun is down.
Choose a destination in Iceland
Northern Lights Experiences in Iceland
Northern Lights Cruise from Downtown Reykjavík
The advantage of this one is where it starts. The boat leaves from the Old Harbour, a short walk from downtown Reykjavík, so there is no long transfer before…
Northern Lights Hunt with Photography Help, Small Group Tour
A northern lights tour built around a professional photographer who helps you get the shot.
Northern Lights Midnight Adventure by Minibus from Reykjavík
Most people who come to Iceland for the aurora have no idea where to look for it. That is the gap this tour fills.
Northern Lights Minibus Hunt from Akureyri with a Local Guide
Akureyri is a small town, but its lights are enough to wash out a weak aurora, so the minibus leaves for the countryside before anyone starts looking up.
Northern Lights Photography Night in the Countryside near Akureyri
This is a hunt rather than a viewing platform. The drive goes out of Akureyri into the countryside, or up into the mountains, away from the electric glow and…
Northern Lights Small Group Tour from Reykjavík with Guide and Photos
What most people actually need on an aurora night is three things: someone who understands the phenomenon, someone who knows which sites work, and a…
Northern Lights Small Group Tour from Reykjavík with Hot Chocolate
The aurora forms high in the upper atmosphere, where solar wind collides with the magnetic field of the planet. That part is settled.
Northern Lights Superjeep Tour from Reykjavík, Max 6 per Jeep
The vehicle is the argument here. The superjeeps are Land Rover Defenders and 6-door Ford Excursions, modified onto 40 or 46 inch wheels, and that is what…
Northern Lights Yacht Cruise from Reykjavík aboard the Harpa, Max 35
A small boat changes the character of a cold night. The Harpa takes 35 passengers at most, so there is room at the rail and a warm interior to retreat into…
Private 4x4 Northern Lights Tour from Reykjavík with Hot Chocolate
A private 4x4 for your group alone, collected from wherever you are staying in Reykjavik.
Private Northern Lights Hunt with Professional Photographs
A private aurora hunt with one guide, your group only, plus outdoor chairs, warm drinks and professional photographs of the night.
Private Northern Lights Tour from Reykjavík towards Borgarnes
Winter in Iceland is sold on the aurora, and this is the private version of the hunt: a night drive out of Reykjavik into open country, with nobody else's…
Private Northern Lights Tour with a Guide and Professional Photos
A private aurora tour with flexible pickup times and flexible pickup and drop-off locations.
Private Reykjavik Northern Lights Tour with a Professional Photographer
A private aurora hunt on a winter night, run by guides who are also working photographers. The group leaves the city, picks a dark spot, and waits.
Private Superjeep Northern Lights Hunt from Reykjavík, Your Group Only
A private jeep changes who the night belongs to. Nobody else is in the vehicle, so the decisions are yours and the guide's: when to move on, how long to stay…
Private Super Jeep Northern Lights Tour from Reykjavík with Photos
A private tour gets you off the main roads and away from the crowd standing at the same lay-by.
Private Two Day South Coast Tour: Glacier Lagoon, Ice Cave and Aurora
Two days along the whole south coast of Iceland with Hidden Iceland, in a private group.
Raufarhólshellir Lava Tunnel by Night and Northern Lights from Reykjavík
An evening that starts underground and ends looking up. The pickup is in Reykjavík and the road goes to the Blue Mountains, where Raufarhólshellir sits: a…
Reykjavik 4x4 Northern Lights Small Group Tour with a Photographer
A small group aurora hunt from central Reykjavik in a heated 4x4, with a guide and a professional photographer who track aurora activity and cloud cover in…
Reykjavík Northern Lights Bus Tour with a Chinese Speaking Guide 冰岛雷市中文极光团
The guiding is in Chinese from start to finish, covering how the aurora forms and the myths that circulated about it long before the physics arrived.
Reykjavík Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Chocolate and Dynamic Routing
The distinguishing part of this tour is how the destination gets picked.
Reykjavík Northern Lights Chase with Professional Photos and Viking Props
The operator's reasoning is that waiting takes up most of the night, so the waiting has to be worth something.
Reykjavík Northern Lights Coach Tour with Wi-Fi, Restroom and Hot Chocolate
A comfort coach with Wi-Fi and a restroom on board, which matters on a night that can run long and cold, and a route that is decided as it happens.
Reykjavík Northern Lights Minibus Hunt with Blankets, Cocoa and Free Photos
A small group, a minibus, and a drive out of Reykjavík until the city stops interfering with the sky.
Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor