Reykjavík: Aurora hunt, campfire, thermals & marshmallows

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★ 5.0(1 review)

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Reykjavík: Aurora hunt, campfire, thermals & marshmallows

• Pickup from your hotel
• Guide works in English
• Duration per the operator: 5 hours

from $170

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Five hours out of Reykjavik after dark

This tour leaves Reykjavik in the evening and heads south along the coast toward Vík í Mýrdal, a village roughly 180 km (112 miles) away, though the exact route depends on where the sky looks clearest. The whole outing runs five hours, including the drive, the search for aurora activity, and the stop where the group gathers around a campfire. You will be picked up from your hotel in Reykjavik, which is part of what you pay for. The guide speaks English and stays with the group throughout. It is a small-scale operation, not a coach full of passengers, and it is aimed at travelers who want more than a quick look from the outskirts of town. The tour operates only after dark, which in Iceland in winter means the afternoon and evening are one long stretch of night. You will need warm layers and reasonable footwear, because part of the experience is standing outside in the cold while the guide watches for the lights. The campfire, the hot drink, and the marshmallows are there to make the waiting bearable.

Photographs from Arctic Adventures's listing. They show the tour, not necessarily your day.

What the price covers and what it does not

The listed price starts at 175 USD per person. That covers hotel pickup in Reykjavik, the guided drive, the campfire stop, and the thermals and marshmallows mentioned in the tour name. The guide is included and speaks English. There are no admission fees or parking charges at any of the places this tour stops, because the stops are open countryside and roadside viewpoints rather than ticketed attractions. Free cancellation is offered, though the operator does not give a deadline for it. The price sits in the middle of the range for northern lights tours from Reykjavik, which start at 32 USD and go up to nearly 2,000 USD for private or multi-day options. At 175 USD, you are paying for the longer drive south, the smaller group feel, and the campfire setup that the cheaper bus tours do not have. The operator does not list any optional extras for sale, so what you see in the price is what the tour involves. No meals are mentioned beyond the campfire snacks, so you should eat before you are picked up.

What one review can and cannot tell you

The tour carries a perfect score of 5.0, but that score comes from a single review. One person's experience is not a reliable measure of what you will get, and the rating should be treated as a starting point rather than a guarantee. In the category of northern lights tours from Reykjavik, which holds 68 listings, this tour ranks 53rd by the number of reviews it has collected. That puts it near the bottom of the group for proven track record, even though its score is the highest possible. The more popular competitors in the same category have thousands of reviews each. A 4.3 from nearly 15,000 people tells you more about consistency than a 5.0 from one person ever could. If you are the kind of traveler who books on the strength of other people's recent experiences, this tour does not yet have the evidence to support that kind of confidence. The operator, Arctic Adventures, is an established name in Icelandic tourism, but this particular product is new or lightly booked. You are taking a chance on something that has not been widely tested.

When the tour makes sense

The northern lights are visible in Iceland from September through April, and this tour runs only in that window. The chart above shows Reykjavik's monthly averages: January and February are the coldest months with highs around 3 degrees and lows around minus 2 degrees, while September and October are milder with highs of 11 and 8 degrees respectively. The tour lasts five hours, which means you will be outside for a significant portion of that time, not just stepping out of a bus for a quick look. In the deep winter months, the cold is the main challenge, and the campfire becomes essential rather than decorative. In September and April, the nights are shorter, so the tour has a narrower window of full darkness to work with. The best months for this particular tour are probably October through February, when the nights are long enough that a five-hour outing does not feel rushed. March is a compromise: the weather is improving, but the nights are still long enough for a proper hunt. The time of day is fixed by the darkness itself. You will be picked up after sunset and returned before midnight, give or take.

What happens once you are out of the car

The drive from Reykjavik to the Vík area takes about two and a half hours each way, which leaves limited time at the stop itself. The guide watches the aurora forecast and the cloud cover and makes the call on where to pull over. The stops are roadside and open, with no buildings or facilities. There is no ticket booth and no staff waiting for you. What you get is the sky, the campfire, and the group. The fire is lit at the stop, and the thermals and marshmallows are handed out there. The weather is the variable that decides everything. If the sky is clear, you see the lights. If it is overcast, the guide may drive to a different spot or call the hunt early. No refund is mentioned for a night with no aurora, so you are paying for the experience of the hunt as much as for the sighting itself. The guide makes the safety calls about where to stop and how long to stay, and you follow that lead.

Who should book this and who should not

This tour suits travelers who want a longer, more immersive northern lights experience with a campfire element and a small group. It suits people who do not mind a long drive and who see the journey as part of the outing. It does not suit anyone on a tight schedule. At five hours, it is the longest of the comparable tours. The Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Cocoa runs four hours from 83 USD, the Small-Group Premium Northern Lights Tour runs four hours from 116 USD, and the Northern Lights Yacht Tour runs just two hours from 107 USD. If you want a quick look and a lower price, the bus tour is the better fit. If you want a small group but a shorter evening, the premium tour covers that. This tour is also not for anyone who has difficulty with cold or with standing outside for extended periods. The operator states it is not wheelchair accessible. The campfire and the marshmallows are the draw for families or groups who want the social element, but the long drive and the cold are real trade-offs.

Or have the whole trip arranged

Several nights of aurora attempts, not one, with the hotels and the driving already arranged. This one runs 5 days from Reykjavik, and the operator handles the route, the nights and the driving.

★★★★★

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GetYourGuide

Reykjavík: Aurora hunt, campfire, thermals & marshmallows

★ 5.0 · 1 reviews

Dates, remaining places and the current version of what is included are at the operator. This page reflects the partner catalogue as exported in August 2026.

from $170

Check availabilityFree cancellation