Depart from Reykjavik between October and April when the Northern Lights are at their best on a 5 day quest to find them. Visit Reykjavik, learn all about volcanic lava, explore glacial lagoons, black sandy beaches and stunning waterfalls and explosive geysers!
Trip Highlights
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Itinerary
This itinerary is for departures from September 2019. If travelling before this date please contact us for an up to date copy of the Trip Notes.
Reykjavik
Reykjavik. Welcome to Iceland and the start of your Northern Lights adventure! Your transfer to your accommodation is by Flybus shuttle. The remainder of the day is at leisure.
Overnight: Reykjavik
Golden Circle
Reykjavik - Golden Circle - Selfoss. This morning we take a short tour of some of the highlights of Reykjavik. Later on we depart Reykjavik for Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and where the Althingi, the oldest legislative assembly in the world was founded.
Continuing on we explore the hot springs at Geysir, these natural springs bubbling away in the ground before exploding in spectacular style. Geysir and Strokkur are the two biggest of the geysers in the area and while Geysir no longer is active, Strokkur still spouts every 5 to 15 minutes to the delight of visitors. Next we travel to Gullfoss, “the golden falls“, which is a double waterfall that tumbles 34 meters into the Hvítá river and one of Iceland's most beautiful. We continue to Kerio, a caldera with a crater lake on the bottom and which resembles an ancient amphitheatre
This evening, we hear all about the Northern Lights from our tour guide. Naturally, once darkness falls, we are out in the garden waiting for the Northern Lights.
Overnight: Selfoss | Breakfast
Lagoons & Parks
Selfoss - Jokulsarlon - Vatnajokull NP - Hofn. After breakfast we begin a long drive to a world of glaciers and icebergs at Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon. We explore this extraordinary site on the lookout for seals swimming in the cold waters. We can walk on the black sandy beach where large icebergs get stranded.
The Vatnajökull National Park is about 12,000 square kilometers and is the largest National Park in Europe. In this area we find Iceland’s highest mountains, an alpine environment and Europe's largest glacier.
If you are travelling with us between 15th November and 15th March then today there will be the option to take an Ice Cave Tour (see Trip Notes for more information).
Tonight we enjoy a movie presentation about the Northern Lights as a part of the Northern Lights educational program. Be careful not to go to bed too soon in this remote and quiet location, or you may just miss out one more chance of seeing the Northern Lights shimmering and dancing across the night sky.
Overnight: Hofn | Breakfast
Lava Field & Lava Show
Vatnajokull region - Vik - Eyjafjallajokull - Seljalandsfoss - Reykjavik. Today, we head across the Laki lava field to the village of Vik where we visit the amazing Icelandic Lava Show - the only place in the world where you can experience flowing lava in a safe environment. We then take a stroll on the black lava beach and along the bird cliffs at Reynisfjara beach in South Iceland, passing the glacier Mýrdalsjökull and the infamous volcano Eyjafjallajökull continuing to Skógafoss waterfall.
Further west we reach the high but narrow Seljalandsfoss waterfall which plunges over the mountain. Those wishing to get a bit closer can take a trail that goes behind the falling water but be prepared to get wet! In the evening you return to Reykjavik for one last night. An optional Northern Lights bus tour or fjord cruise can be booked on the spot, if the weather conditions are ideal. We stay for one night in Iceland's capital.
Overnight: Reykjavik | Breakfast
Reykjavik
Today our Northern Lights Icelandic experience comes to an end with included FlyBus transfer to Keflavik Airport.
Breakfast
New Year's & Northern Lights
If you fancy being in Iceland for New Year's this year and want to go in search of the Northern Lights then our New Year's and Northern Lights tour may be just the ticket. It includes everything that the Northern LIghts & Glacier Lagoons tour does but in addition to this you will spend New Year's eve having a four course dinner at the impressive Harpa Concert Hall restaurant located on the harbour. As well as dinner you'll visit one of the city's massive bonfires and be back at the restaurant in time for midnight when Reykjavik turns on its amazing displays of fireworks.
Prices & Dates
Prices shown are per person when there are 2 persons sharing a room. The 'Single supplement' applies for single travellers who require their own room and needs to be added to the per person price.
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Hotels
The hotels listed below are ones which we frequently use on this tour. We reserve the right to substitute these hotels to ones of a similar standard.
Hotel Cabin, Reykjavik
Just a short walk from the waterfront, Hotel Cabin offers comfortable accommodation, rooms are modern and cosy with en suite facilities. The hotel also boasts a buffet restaurant and lobby bar as well as complimentary Wi-Fi for all guests. The city centre is an interesting 15 - 20 minute walk away and the local geothermal Laugardalslaug swimming pool is a 5 minute walk away.
Hotel Eyjafjallajokull, Selfoss
Offering a quiet location in southern Iceland, Hotel Eyjafjallajokull is a great base for visiting the beautiful Seljalandsfoss Waterfall. Housed in a wood-paneled building, its guestrooms are bright and modern, with the added benefit of free WiFi so you can stay connected despite the rural setting. Enjoy a hearty meal in the hotel’s restaurant and unwind in the garden or on the outdoor terrace. There’s plenty of hiking trails nearby as well as a number of outdoor activities available such as golf, fishing and horse-riding.
Hotel Hofn, Hofn
Located in Hofn on the south eastern coast of Iceland, this charming hotel boasts beautiful views of the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest glacier in Europe. Its modern, ensuite guestrooms benefit from free WiFi and luxury organic toiletries made in Iceland. The a la carte restaurant serves local specialties such as langoustine, which the fishing village of Hofn is famous for, as well as plenty of vegetarian dishes. During the summer, guests can dine out on the terrace and enjoy a drink or two during happy hour.
Great tour, wonderful sites, nice accommodations and terrific guide. Thanks for getting us ready along the way, too.”
The guide was excellent, very knowledgeable on the country and the information was presented in a pleasant and entertaining way. Also despite the poor weather she worked hard to give us the best experience possible. The tour organisation was very good and delivered the promised experience with the exception of the Northern Lights - we did 't even see any stars - cloud and rain! Obviously not the tours fault and we'll have to return.”
He was excellent! Very knowledgeable and funny. ”
Wonderful tour and tour guide. Martina was great - very knowledgable, friendly and humorous.
Despite the awful weather, Iceland was absolutely wonderful.
Only things which could be improved on would be:
1. Remove the volcano and northern lights films. Not really needed.
2. The hotel in Reykjavik wasn't the best - they're renovating, so I'm sure it'll be better in future.
But overall a really great tour.”
Boga was a phenomenal tour guide. Very friendly, informative, and great about keeping everyone on schedule so we could maximize our experience on the trip. ”
An absolutely wonderful tour. We were very happy with everything. The places we visited and the things we saw. We only wish it was for longer.
Our only negative feedback was the bus. It was a little old.”
We really enjoyed the tour. Tour leader and driver where wonderful and worked well as a team.”
This tour was amazing! We saw so much of Iceland in such a short time and everything ran very smoothly. I was very happy with the accommodation we stayed in and the meals were great too. Petur was a great guide, very friendly and knowledgable about everything to do with Iceland.
We were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights I was so happy. Would highly recommend your tour to all of my friends / family :)”
The tour guide was friendly, helpful, knowledgeable and witty. We travelled in comfortable heated coaches which had the bonus of efficient wi fi. We saw a lot of Icelands beautiful countryside which was enhanced by the snow...and we were lucky enough to see the lights which were magical! Accommodation is basic but comfortable enough and more importantly warm! The only thing we missed on this tour was the blue lagoon which in retrospect we should have booked for our one extra day's stay in Reykjavik. By the time we decided that we wanted to go it was fully booked...so worth booking well in advance. All in all we had a great holiday! ”
Wonderful tour. Absolutely no complaints. Throughout the tour Heike was informative, and clear about what we were doing, seeing, etc. Even when the bus was blown off the road from the wind, the bus driver did a great job of handling the bus, no one was hurt? Heike handled the crisis calmly and efficiently. Within 20 minutes we were taken to another hotel to wait out the wind, and for the bus to be rescued, etc. Heike handles all arrangements for our comfort and to get us back to Reykjavik to meet our outgoing flight in good time. In fact, all through the trip we were impressed with Iceland's infrastructure.
This trip was beyond our expectations in all ways--sightseeing, food, engaging with fellow tourists, and all of the Icelanders were spoke with.”
In Brief
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Great tour, wonderful sites, nice accommodations and terrific guide. Thanks for getting us ready along the way, too.”
