Northern Lights in Iceland set to be strongest in a decade
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The saying goes: 'all you need to see the Northern Lights in Iceland is a dark sky'.
This sounds more obvious than it actually is, since Iceland is treated to 24 hours of daylight in the summer months (April to August). That means there's virtually no chance of spotting the Northern Lights during those months. Thankfully, every other month of the year (mid-August to mid-April) have ample nighttime viewing opportunities.
How best to see the Northern Lights? Myth vs Fact
- You need to go to the north of Iceland to see the Northern Lights - MYTH
- The entire country of Iceland is placed right inside the Auroral Oval, the ring that allows even relatively weak activity to create Northern Lights.
- This means you can see the Northern Lights from anywhere in the country.
- Find a clear sky, unobstructed by mountains and trees and gaze northwards.
- Clouds cover is the biggest reason people don't see them - TRUE
- Iceland can get rather cloudy at times, so trying to see the Northern Lights on one night over a short period of time is not idea.
- Spending at least 4 or 5 nights in secluded locations, with accommodation wake up calls (rather than driving around aimlessly) is the best way to see them.
- You can't see the Northern Lights in Reykjavík - MYTH
- Guests report seeing the Northern Lights just as often in Reykjavík as anywhere else in the country. This is because most itineraries start and end here, so statistically you may find yourself in the city on good viewing nights.
- The main aim is to simply avoid having unnatural light directly in your viewing line. Get down to the harbour or high up and look out over the sea for some great sightings.
What tours are best for Northern Lights?
At Hidden Iceland, we prefer to call them 'Northern Lights friendly tours' as we refuse to run tours that are only for the Northern Lights. Afterall, why focus on one great phenomenon when Iceland has so many more to experience during the day such as; blue ice caves, active volcanoes, erupting geysers, natural hot pools, thunderous waterfalls, crashing waves, black sand beaches and shimmering icebergs.
- The Iceland Must See 6 + Day Winter itinerary is our most requested and includes everything above (and more). This trip can be amended to any number of days to suit the guests needs.
- Fully customisable luxury itineraries can be created too. See here.
Iceland's Northern Lights season starts in earnest from early September to late March but get in touch if you have guests looking to travel as early as the 10th of August or as late as the 20th of April. You can email us directly on: info@hiddeniceland.is.