✦ REYKJAVIK LIGHTS
Sleep in the city. Drive out for the dark.
Reykjavik Lights is a 105-room hotel on Suðurlandsbraut, by Laugardalur and 2.9 km from the city centre. The city's glow hides all but a strong display, so this is not a place to watch from — it is where you sleep between drives, with breakfast included and the car parked outside for the nights the forecast says go.
Check dates on KeahotelsSelf-drive · No sighting guarantee · Booked through Keahotels
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The hotel
Reykjavik Lights is one of the Keahotels: a Scandinavian-style design hotel built around Iceland's changing light, with decorative details from the old Icelandic calendar giving each room its own character. The rooms run from an 11 m² single to a 20 m² superior — sized for sleeping between drives rather than for spending the day in — and breakfast is included in the stay.
- 105 rooms · singles 11 m², doubles and twins 15 m², triples and superiors 20 m², plus a ten-bed dormitory
- Mountain-view doubles · on the 7th floor, looking out over Laugardalur to Mt. Esja and Viðey island
- Breakfast included · a buffet with freshly baked bread and pastries
- Bar and lounge · happy hour on selected wine and beer, 16:00–19:00 every day
- Free parking and free Wi-Fi · with the Laugardalslaug pool within walking distance
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A superior room, its wall lettered with a month of the old Icelandic calendar. -
A triple room, 20 m² — two beds plus a sofa bed. -
A single room, 11 m². -
The ten-bed dormitory, with two en-suite bathrooms. -
Coffee and tea in the private rooms. -
Breakfast is included in the stay.
Photographs: Keahotels, used with permission.
Can you see the lights from here?
On a strong night, yes — a bright display can show straight over Reykjavík, this street included. On an ordinary one the city's glow washes out all but the brightest curtains, and a faint display not at all.
Reykjavik Lights does not advertise a wake-up call or a sky camera, and we are not going to pretend otherwise: the name is about the design, not a viewing service. The mountain-view rooms on the 7th floor do face north over Laugardalur, which is the right direction to look — but with a lit room behind you and the city below, the window will only show you a strong night.
What a city base does well is the decision. The part we add is the hours before it: live scores for the spots around Reykjavík, refreshed every five minutes, so you can tell over dinner whether tonight is worth the drive out of town — and when it is, the car is already in the car park. You drive, you decide, you watch the sky.
Photograph: Keahotels, used with permission.
Where to point the car
From Suðurlandsbraut you are a few minutes from the city's edge. These are the places we would try, nearest first — every one is scored in the app, and the further out you go, the darker it gets.
Don't have a car yet? Compare rentals and campervans across 30+ Icelandic suppliers — once you leave the city in February, winter tyres matter a great deal more than the price does. We earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.
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Elliðaárdalur valley ~4 km as the crow flies
A river valley running through the east of the city, and the nearest place where the streetlights thin out. Free car parks at the Árbær, Fossaleynir and Vatnsendi entrances. Enough for a strong display at short notice; the bridges over the river ice over in winter.
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Grótta lighthouse ~7 km as the crow flies
The western tip of Seltjarnarnes, with a wide northern horizon over the sea and noticeably less light than the middle of town. The causeway out to the lighthouse floods at high tide — check the tide times first.
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Heiðmörk and Elliðavatn ~9 km as the crow flies
A nature reserve of lava and woodland on the city's south-eastern edge, and properly dark once you are among the trees. The gravel roads inside are gated in winter, so check their status before you drive in; the car parks at Elliðavatn and Rauðhólar are free.
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Kleifarvatn ~24 km as the crow flies
A volcanic lake on the Reykjanes peninsula, off Route 42, with no town on its horizon and no services of any kind. Use the roadside pull-offs, and expect the road to be icy in winter.
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Þingvellir National Park ~39 km as the crow flies
The big step up — a genuinely dark sky, about 45 minutes' drive away, where even a faint display is obvious. The park roads are well maintained, but treat them with care in winter.
Check road.is before you leave town — the weather between Reykjavík and Þingvellir can change within the hour. If it looks wrong, turn around; the city's edges are always there.
What you get
What you are paying for
- A room, breakfast included — booked direct with the hotel, on the hotel's terms
Free for everyone, guest or not
- The Aurora Iceland app — free, no account needed
- Live scores for the spots around Reykjavík — refreshed every 5 minutes
- A recommended self-drive route — the list above, and where to start
Anyone can download the app, guest or not. It is not an extra you are paying for here, and it is not a guided service. You drive, you decide, you watch the sky.
Check dates
Reykjavik Lights takes bookings on the Keahotels site, where you will find live availability, current prices and their cancellation terms.
Check dates on KeahotelsQuestions
When is aurora season?
A usable window opens around 16 August and runs to late April — whenever the nights are properly dark. The genuinely dark stretch, with the sun a full 18° below the horizon, is 2 September to 8 April; either side of that you get nautical twilight, which shows a bright display but hides a faint one. Midsummer is too bright to see anything, however active the sun is.
Can I see the northern lights from the hotel?
On a strong night, possibly — a bright display can show straight over the city. On most nights the glow hides it, and the hotel does not advertise a wake-up call or a sky camera. Treat it as a base: check the app in the evening, and drive out when it says the night is worth it.
How far is it from Keflavík airport?
About 40 km in a straight line — the airport is out on the Reykjanes peninsula, south-west of the city. The hotel is on Suðurlandsbraut, 2.9 km from the centre of Reykjavík.
Do I need a car?
For anything on the route above, yes — every stop is a drive. Without one you are limited to what the city itself shows, which on a strong night can still be a lot. Free parking at the hotel means the car is not a problem to keep. In winter, check road.is before you leave town.
Will someone take me out to see the lights?
No — this is a self-drive stay, not a tour. You get the room, and the app tells you when and where conditions look good. Where you go is your call.
Why stay in the city at all?
Because most trips start and end there: flights come in through Keflavík, and the first and last nights are usually spent in the capital. If you have more nights than that, the rural stays we list are where the sky is properly dark from the door.
Get the forecast first
Free. 137 spots across Iceland, scored every 5 minutes. No account needed.