Home/Tours

Northern Lights Tours in Iceland

40 tours from 2 departure regions, checked by hand and compared on what actually decides whether you see anything: group size, whether the guide chases clear sky, and what happens if the aurora does not show.

Browse by departure point or tour type

From Reykjavík 28 From Akureyri 12 Small group 10 Super jeep 4 Private tour 7 Boat tour 4 Bus tour 4 Day tour + aurora 6 Multi-day package 3 Free retry 29 Hotel pickup 31

Each is its own page, with what that kind of tour actually changes about your odds.

How we make money: some booking links on this page are affiliate links — if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the price you pay, and it does not decide which tours we list: every tour here is checked by hand and ranked on group size, retry policy and what is actually included. We do not sell tours or process payments; booking and cancellation are handled by the operator.

All northern lights tours

40 tours

All 40 tours, side by side

The same tours as above, compared on the four things that actually decide whether you see anything. It follows the filters and sort you set above, and the currency toggle. Every price, inclusion and retry policy has been checked by hand since 3 September 2026.

Tour Departs Type Group Duration Pickup Retry From
Northern Lights Small Group Hunt Arctic Adventures Reykjavík Small Group Max 19 4–5 hrs Yes Voucher 15,300 ISK
Premium Small Group Aurora Hunt Aurora Experts Reykjavík Small Group Max 18 4–5 hrs Yes One retry 26,990 ISK
Northern Lights Super Jeep Chase Arctic Adventures Reykjavík Super Jeep Max 6 4–6 hrs Yes Voucher 26,500 ISK
Northern Lights Chase EastWest Reykjavík Small Group Max 19 3–5 hrs Yes Limited 20,900 ISK
Private Northern Lights Tour Wake Up Reykjavík Reykjavík Private Tour Private 3–5 hrs Yes Unlimited 190,000 ISK
Northern Lights by Boat Special Tours Reykjavík Boat Tour Max 150 2–3 hrs No One retry 12,998 ISK
8-Day Iceland Northern Lights Ring Road Arctic Adventures Reykjavík Multi-Day Package Max 18 192 hrs Yes Voucher 368,400 ISK
5-Day South Coast & Northern Lights Tour Arctic Adventures Reykjavík Multi-Day Package Max 18 120 hrs Yes Voucher 200,600 ISK
Northern Lights Group Tour — Akureyri The Traveling Viking Akureyri Small Group Max 15 2.5 hrs Yes One retry 11,000 ISK
Northern Lights Bus Tour Reykjavík Excursions Reykjavík Bus Tour Max 50 3–3.5 hrs Yes Unlimited 9,999 ISK
Highland Aurora Super Jeep Super Jeep Iceland Reykjavík Super Jeep Max 6 3–4 hrs Yes Voucher 29,900 ISK
Northern Lights Small Group Tour Wake Up Reykjavík Reykjavík Small Group Max 18 3–5 hrs Yes Unlimited 20,990 ISK
Classic Northern Lights Tour — Akureyri Imagine Iceland Travel Akureyri Small Group Max 16 2–3 hrs Yes One retry 16,900 ISK
4x4 Northern Lights Photography Tour — Akureyri Imagine Iceland Travel Akureyri Super Jeep Max 12 2–3 hrs Yes One retry 34,800 ISK
Northern Lights Hunt & Hot Chocolate Minibus Tour Troll Expeditions Reykjavík Small Group Max 18 4 hrs Yes One retry 12,705 ISK
Private Northern Lights Tour Aurora Experts Reykjavík Private Tour Private 4–5 hrs Yes Unlimited 220,000 ISK
Northern Lights Mystery Tour Gray Line Iceland Reykjavík Bus Tour Max 50 3–5 hrs Yes Voucher 8,910 ISK
Northern Lights Tour from Lake Mývatn BusTravel Iceland Reykjavík Bus Tour Max 45 3–5 hrs Yes Voucher 10,260 ISK
6-Day Around Iceland Small-Group Tour Arctic Adventures Reykjavík Multi-Day Package — 144 hrs Yes Voucher 317,600 ISK
Small-Group 4x4 Sprinter Northern Lights Tour Midgard Adventure Reykjavík Small Group — 3–5 hrs No Voucher 17,990 ISK
Northern Lights Cruise Elding Reykjavík Boat Tour Max 200 2 hrs No Voucher 13,800 ISK
Whale Watching & Northern Lights Cruise Elding Reykjavík Boat Tour Max 70 5 hrs No Voucher 23,960 ISK
Golden Circle & Northern Lights Reykjavík Excursions Reykjavík Day + Aurora Combo Max 50 9 hrs Yes One retry 20,299 ISK
Private Northern Lights & GeoSea Baths Imagine Iceland Travel Akureyri Private Tour Private 4–5 hrs Yes One retry 220,000 ISK
Private Northern Lights Photography Tour Imagine Iceland Travel Akureyri Private Tour Private 4 hrs Yes One retry 135,000 ISK
Private Northern Lights — Akureyri or Mývatn Imagine Iceland Travel Akureyri Private Tour Private 2–3 hrs Yes One retry 129,000 ISK
Northern Lights & GeoSea Geothermal Baths Imagine Iceland Travel Akureyri Day + Aurora Combo Max 16 4–5 hrs Yes One retry 49,900 ISK
Lake Mývatn, Godafoss & Northern Lights Package Imagine Iceland Travel Akureyri Day + Aurora Combo Max 16 7–9 hrs Yes One retry 32,000 ISK
Northern Lights by Boat Reykjavík Excursions Reykjavík Boat Tour Max 100 2 hrs No One retry 14,490 ISK
Forest Lagoon & Northern Lights Saga Travel Akureyri Day + Aurora Combo Max 19 5 hrs Yes None 24,900 ISK
Private Northern Lights Hunt Troll Expeditions Reykjavík Private Tour Private 4 hrs Yes None 157,300 ISK
Northern Lights Super Jeep Hunt Mountaineers of Iceland Reykjavík Super Jeep Max 6 3–4 hrs Yes Not stated 29,900 ISK
Private Northern Lights Tour Reykjavík Excursions Reykjavík Private Tour Private 3 hrs Yes Not stated 160,000 ISK
South Coast & Northern Lights Combo Gray Line Iceland Reykjavík Day + Aurora Combo Max 50 12–14 hrs Yes One retry 21,849 ISK
Small Group Northern Lights Tour Gateway to Iceland Reykjavík Small Group Max 17 2–4 hrs Yes Not stated 18,500 ISK
Perlan Áróra Northern Lights Planetarium Show Perlan Reykjavík Aurora Experience — 0.5–2 hrs No None 7,090 ISK
Aurora Reykjavík — The Northern Lights Center Aurora Reykjavík Reykjavík Aurora Experience — 0.5–1.5 hrs No None 4,100 ISK
Lake Mývatn & Northern Lights Saga Travel Akureyri Small Group — 2–3 hrs Yes Limited 24,900 ISK
Lake Mývatn Snowmobile & Northern Lights Saga Travel Akureyri Day + Aurora Combo Max 16 2 hrs No None 25,900 ISK
Northern Lights Bus Tour from Akureyri Saga Travel Akureyri Bus Tour — 3 hrs No Not stated 13,900 ISK

Deals & offers

Discounts and perks currently published by the operators. Codes and terms are shown on each tour page — we do not add markup, and we do not create the offers.

Tour operators

The companies behind the tours above. Select one to see only their departures.

Know before you book

The free Aurora Iceland app scores 137 viewing spots every 5 minutes and sends an alert when conditions turn good — so you can pick the right night for your tour.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

How to choose a northern lights tour in Iceland

Every operator sells the same sky. What differs is how hard they work to put you under a clear patch of it, and what you get if they fail. Four things separate a good aurora tour from a bad one.

Group size. A 60-seat coach cannot leave the main road, and it cannot change plan quickly. A minibus of 16 or a super-jeep with 6 can drive another 40 minutes to a gap in the cloud. Small groups also mean less light pollution from other people’s phone screens, which matters more than most visitors expect.

Retry policy. Aurora is a gamble on any single night. The best operators know that and will take you out again free of charge — some unlimited times during your stay, others on a voucher valid up to two years. Treat a tour with no retry as a one-shot bet.

Whether the guide actually chases. Some tours drive to a fixed viewpoint and wait. Others check the cloud forecast at departure and pick the destination from it. Our tour pages say which is which, in the description and the "why choose this tour" points.

What is included. Warm overalls, hot drinks and photographs of you under the lights are common inclusions; a photo package alone can be worth more than the price gap between two tours. Iceland in winter is genuinely cold while standing still for an hour — overalls are not a gimmick.

Where tours depart from

Reykjavík has the widest choice, from budget coaches to private super-jeeps, and almost all of them include pickup from central bus stops. From the capital, guides typically head to Þingvellir, the Reykjanes peninsula or up towards Borgarfjörður depending on the cloud.

Akureyri in the north sits under the auroral oval at a slightly higher latitude and often has clear skies when the south is overcast — worth planning around if your trip includes the north. Departures are smaller and sell out faster.

South Iceland departures pair the aurora with the south-coast sights, which is efficient if you have limited nights and want the daytime covered too.

Booking a tour with the forecast in hand

The practical sequence: book early in your trip so a weather cancellation still leaves nights in reserve, check the live aurora forecast on the afternoon of your tour, and if it is marginal, prefer a tour whose retry policy costs you nothing. Operators cancel on hopeless nights themselves and refund or rebook — that cancellation is a good sign, not a bad one.

If you would rather drive yourself, our 137 scored viewing spots include parking and safety notes for each location, and the app will alert you when the odds at a spot near you turn good.

Northern lights tour FAQ

When is the best time to take a northern lights tour in Iceland?

Tours run from September through April, when nights are dark enough. Peak season is October to March. Within a night, activity is usually strongest between 10 PM and 2 AM, which is why most tours depart between 8 and 9 PM.

Do I need a tour, or can I chase the aurora myself?

You can self-drive, and our 137 scored viewing spots are free to use. A tour buys you three things a rental car does not: a guide who re-routes in real time towards clear sky, local knowledge of dark-sky locations, and a free retry if the aurora does not show. If you are only in Iceland for two or three nights, that retry is worth a lot.

What happens if the northern lights do not appear on my tour?

Most operators offer a free retry. Some let you rejoin any night during your stay at no cost; others issue a rebooking voucher valid for up to two years. 29 of the 40 tours we list have one of those two policies — the retry policy is shown on every tour card and detail page.

How much does a northern lights tour in Iceland cost?

Prices in our list start at 4,100 ISK per person for a large-coach bus tour. Small-group minibus tours typically run 12,000–20,000 ISK, super-jeep and boat tours cost more, and private tours are priced per vehicle rather than per seat. All prices are "from" prices set by the operator and may change seasonally.

Is hotel pickup included on northern lights tours?

On most Reykjavík departures, yes — pickup usually starts 30 minutes before departure from designated bus stops rather than directly outside every hotel. Tours with pickup are marked on each card, and the pickup details are on the tour page.

Should I book a tour in advance or wait for a clear night?

Waiting gives you better odds on any single night, but the best small-group tours sell out in peak season, and operators cancel and refund automatically when conditions are hopeless. A practical compromise: book early in your trip so a cancellation still leaves you nights to retry, and check our live forecast before departure.