From Reykjavik: Northern Lights Tour with Hot Cocoa & Photos

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From Reykjavik: Northern Lights Tour with Hot Cocoa & Photos

★ 4.7(719 reviews)

• Pickup from your hotel
• Guide works in English
• Duration per the operator: 4 hours

from $165

See dates, price and what is included at the operator

Four hours of darkness, cocoa, and a camera

This is a coach-based hunt for the aurora that leaves Reykjavik and heads south along the coast, with the small village of Vik i Myrdal as the far point of the run. The whole outing lasts four hours from pickup to drop-off, and EastWest runs it in English. Hotel pickup is part of the deal, so you are collected rather than having to find a meeting point on your own. The tour is built around the winter night, which means you will be out after dark in the cold, looking up. It suits travellers who want the practical side handled, the transport arranged, and someone else to watch the sky and call out when the lights show. You will get hot cocoa along the way and a guide who takes photos, which matters if you do not trust your own camera skills in the dark. The price starts at 165 USD, which puts it above the cheapest bus options in the same category, but the group is smaller and the service more personal. This is not a tour for anyone in a hurry to get back to a warm bed, because the whole point is patience in the cold.

Photographs from the operator EastWest. They show the listing, not your day.

What the price covers

The 165 USD entry price buys you the full circuit: transport from Reykjavik, the guide who stays with you in English, hotel pickup, and the hot cocoa served during the evening. The operator also includes photo-taking as part of the service, so you do not need to bring anything beyond your own eyes and warm clothes. No admission or parking fees apply at any of the stops on the route, because the places you visit are open countryside and shoreline rather than ticketed attractions. The only extra you might pay for is nothing that EastWest sells as an add-on; the price you see is the price you plan around. If you are comparing options, note that this tour sits in the middle of the price range for northern lights excursions from Reykjavik, with cheaper bus tours available and more expensive private ones above it. What you are paying for here is the smaller group and the guide's attention, not a longer list of inclusions.

What 719 reviews actually tell you

The 4.7 score comes from 719 verified reviews, which is a solid base. It is not the highest-rated tour in the northern lights category, but it ranks seventh out of 68 listings by the number of reviews behind it, and that volume matters more than the score alone. A 4.7 from seven hundred people is more trustworthy than a perfect 5.0 from a dozen. The rank of seven in its category reflects both the quality and the fact that this tour has been running long enough to collect a meaningful sample of opinions. The comparable tours in the same space show a spread: one bus tour has a 4.3 from nearly fifteen thousand reviews, which is a much larger but slightly less enthusiastic crowd, while a small-group premium option sits at 4.4 from just over three thousand. This tour's score is the highest of the four, and its review count is the second largest. The gap between its 4.7 and the 4.4 of the premium competitor suggests that the experience here delivers well against its price point.

When the dark hours work in your favour

The northern lights need darkness, so this tour runs through the months when Reykjavik's nights are long enough to matter. From September through March, the sun sets early and rises late, giving the tour its working window. The temperature chart above shows January and February highs around 3 degrees and lows at minus 2, which is cold but not extreme by Icelandic standards. December is similar, while November and March hover just above freezing. The real issue is not the cold but the cloud cover, and the tour operates in whatever the sky offers. The four-hour duration is short enough that you are not out all night, but long enough to drive the distance south and back. The best time of day is obviously after full darkness falls, which in midwinter means the tour can start early evening and still have complete darkness for the whole run. By late March, you need a later start, and the operator adjusts accordingly. The summer months are not an option, because the sun barely sets and the aurora is invisible in the perpetual twilight.

What happens once you are out of the city

The tour leaves Reykjavik and heads south on the main road, which means you trade streetlights for open sky. The guide watches the aurora forecast and the weather, and the route toward Vik i Myrdal is chosen because it gets you away from the city's light pollution. You will stop at places along the coast where the sky is clear and the view is open. The coach pulls over, you step out into the cold, and the guide sets up for photos. The hot cocoa comes out at some point during the stop, and the guide works the camera while you watch the sky. There is no building to enter and no staffed facility at the stops; you are simply standing on Icelandic ground in the dark. The weather decides everything. If the clouds sit low over the south coast, the guide may adjust the route or wait for a break. The four-hour limit means the tour cannot chase clear skies across the whole country, so it works with what the south coast offers on that particular night.

Who should book this one

This tour suits travellers who want a middle ground between a cheap bus ride and a private expedition. The small-group premium tour from Reykjavik costs less per person at 116 USD but has a lower rating, while the basic bus tour at 83 USD carries a much larger crowd and a 4.3 score. If you want the guide's attention for photography and a warmer drink in your hand, this is the better fit. It is not for anyone on a tight budget, because the bus tour does the same route for nearly half the price. It is also not for travellers who want a longer hunt, since the four-hour window is fixed and the guide will not chase the lights across the countryside all night. The operator states that the tour is not wheelchair accessible, so anyone with mobility constraints should look at the yacht tour instead, which runs two hours from Reykjavik harbour at 107 USD and avoids the coach transfers entirely.

GYG

From Reykjavik: Northern Lights Tour with Hot Cocoa & Photos

Dates, remaining places and the current version of what is included are at the operator. This page reflects the state of the catalogue, not the state of this morning.

from $165

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