Reykjavík: Northern Lights Cruise

GYG

Reykjavík: Northern Lights Cruise

★ 4.1(106 reviews)

• Guide works in English
• Duration per the operator: 2.5 hours

from $109

See dates, price and what is included at the operator

A two-and-a-half-hour hunt from the harbour

This tour leaves from Reykjavik and spends 2.5 hours at sea with Elding Adventure at Sea, a company that runs regular departures from the old harbour. The boat heads out of Faxafloi bay, away from the city lights, to look for the aurora borealis over the water. You are on board the whole time, with the crew scanning the sky and the sea. When the lights do appear, they often show up as a green curtain low over the mountains or directly above the boat, and being on the water gives you an unobstructed view in every direction. The tour is guided in English, and the guide points out what to look for and explains what causes the display. At 109 USD it sits among the cheaper quarter of the 68 northern lights tours listed from this city, which makes it a straightforward choice if you want the experience without a long drive into the countryside. You meet at the harbour in central Reykjavik, so there is no transfer to factor into your evening.

Photographs from the operator Elding Adventure at Sea. They show the listing, not your day.

What the fare covers and what it does not

The 109 USD fare puts you on the boat for the full 2.5 hours with an English-speaking guide on board. The guide's job is to find the lights and to tell you what you are seeing, so the price includes that expertise. Hotel pickup is not part of the deal, and this is worth knowing before you book. Only seven other tours in this category of 68 state the same, so it puts you in a minority. You make your own way to the harbour, which in Reykjavik means a short walk or a quick bus ride from most hotels. The operator offers free cancellation, so you can change your plans without losing the fare if the weather looks poor. No other fees apply to this listing. The places on the itinerary, Reykjavik and Vik i Myrdal, do not charge admission or parking, though the boat itself is the venue for the evening and the sailing is what you are paying for. What you see depends entirely on the sky, and the operator does not guarantee a sighting on any single night.

A score of 4.1 from a modest sample

The tour carries a rating of 4.1 out of 5, but that figure comes from only 106 reviews. That is a small number compared with the 14,847 ratings behind the 4.3 score of the Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Cocoa, or the 3,124 behind the 4.4 of the Small-Group Premium Northern Lights Tour. With 106 votes, the score is honest but not deeply tested. A single bad night with cloud cover can skew the average more than it would on a tour with thousands of reviews. In the category of 68 northern lights tours, this one ranks 23rd by the number of reviews it has gathered, which puts it in the middle of the pack for popularity. The rank is based on the strength of the evidence, not on the height of the score. What the reviews likely reflect is the reality of aurora hunting: the boat trip itself runs smoothly, the crew is knowledgeable, but the lights are a natural phenomenon and no operator can deliver them on cue.

When the dark hours work in your favour

The northern lights season in Reykjavik runs through the months when the sky is dark enough to see them. From September through March the nights are long, and the average high temperatures sit between 3 and 11 degrees Celsius. January and February are the coldest months, with highs around 3 degrees and lows at minus 2. By April the highs reach 7 degrees and the nights are shorter, which cuts into the viewing window. May brings 10-degree highs and nearly continuous daylight, so the lights are effectively invisible. The tour runs for 2.5 hours, which is long enough to get well clear of the harbour lights but short enough that you are not standing on deck all night. The best evenings are the clear ones, and in Reykjavik the weather can change quickly. The boat departs after dark, so in the deep winter months you are heading out in the early evening, while in September and March you wait for full darkness to fall. The sea air is cold at night regardless of the month, so dress for the temperature on deck rather than the one on shore.

Meeting at the harbour and heading out

You gather at Elding's ticket office and boarding point in the old harbour in central Reykjavik. The crew gets you on board and the boat heads out of the bay, leaving the city lights behind. Once at sea, the guide keeps watch and the boat may reposition if clouds block one part of the sky. The crew does not control the weather, and if the cloud cover is thick the guide will tell you what the chances are for the night. The boat has indoor seating where you can warm up between spells on deck, and you will want those spells because the lights are often faint and need a dark-adapted eye to see clearly. The sailing is 2.5 hours door to door, so you are back at the harbour well before midnight. The operator does not run this tour on a fixed schedule that ignores the sky; the departure goes ahead as planned and the crew makes the best of the conditions they find.

Who this tour suits and who should look elsewhere

This is for travellers who want the northern lights without a long coach journey into the countryside and who are comfortable making their own way to the harbour. It suits those who prefer a smaller vessel and the movement of the sea to a stationary viewing point. The tour is not wheelchair accessible, so travellers with mobility restrictions should look at the Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Cocoa instead, which runs for 4 hours from 83 USD and has a much larger base of 14,847 reviews behind its 4.3 score. That bus tour also suits anyone who wants a longer window for the lights to appear and who would rather sit in a heated coach than stand on a moving deck. If you are prone to seasickness, the open water of Faxafloi can be choppy, and the 2.5-hour sailing may feel longer than the bus alternative. For everyone else, this is a direct, no-frills way to chase the aurora from the capital.

GYG

Reykjavík: Northern Lights Cruise

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 $109

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