Reykjavik: Whale Watching & Northern Lights Combo Cruise

GYG

Reykjavik: Whale Watching & Northern Lights Combo Cruise

★ 4.3(131 reviews)

• Guide works in English
• Duration per the operator: 6 hours

from $200

See dates, price and what is included at the operator

Six hours at sea, chasing two different shows

This tour from Reykjavik combines a whale watching cruise with a northern lights hunt in a single six hour outing. You leave the city by boat, spend daylight hours scanning the bay for whales, and then, as the light fades, turn your attention skyward for the aurora. The operator is Reykjavik Sailors, and the trip runs in English with a professional guide on board. At 200 USD per person, it sits mid-field among the 68 northern lights tours offered from the capital, and it suits travellers who want both experiences in one go rather than booking two separate excursions. The itinerary lists Reykjavik and Vík í Mýrdal as the places you pass through, though the sailing itself is the core of what you are doing. You will need to make your own way to the departure point, since hotel pickup is not part of the deal.

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

What the 200 USD covers and what it does not

The entry price of 200 USD buys you the combined cruise: the boat time, the guide, and the chance at both whales and the northern lights. Food is not included, so you should eat before you board or bring your own provisions. Hotel pickup is also excluded, which is worth knowing because most tours in this category do include it. In fact, only seven other listings among the 68 northern lights tours from Reykjavik say the same. That puts you in a minority and means you need to factor in transport to the harbour. The operator offers free cancellation, though no deadline is attached to that offer. No fees apply at any point on this trip, so there is nothing extra to pay at a dock or a viewing stop.

A solid score from a small sample

The tour holds a 4.3 rating, but that figure comes from just 131 reviews. Among the 68 northern lights tours in this category, that places it 21st by the number of ratings, which is a modest base of opinion. The score itself is respectable, yet the thin sample means you are reading the views of a relatively small group of travellers. By comparison, the Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Cocoa has the same 4.3 rating but draws on nearly 15,000 reviews, giving that score far more weight. The premium small-group tour and the yacht tour both sit at 4.4, with 3,124 and 1,340 ratings respectively. This cruise is not badly regarded, but the evidence behind its rating is thinner than most of its neighbours.

A winter season built for dark skies

The northern lights only show themselves when the sky is dark enough, which in Reykjavik means the months from September through March. The climate chart above tells the story: January and February highs hover around 3 degrees, with lows at minus 2. December is similar. By late September the highs have dropped to 11 degrees, and October sits at 8. By the time you are sailing in the depths of winter, you are looking at temperatures barely above freezing. The six hour length of this tour matters here. You are out on the water well past sunset, and in January the sun barely climbs above the horizon anyway, so the darkness you need for the aurora arrives early. The cold on deck will be the real factor, not the daylight. Dress for the low single digits and the wind off the sea, and you will last the full six hours.

Boarding in Reykjavik and heading for open water

The trip starts at the harbour in Reykjavik. You make your own way there, since hotel pickup is not offered. Once on board, the guide takes over in English and the boat heads out into the bay. The itinerary names Vík í Mýrdal as a destination, though the practical reality of a six hour cruise is that you will be following the whales and then the aurora wherever they lead within range of the city. The boat is the vantage point for both halves of the tour, so there is no walking, no path, and no gate to worry about. What the weather does matters more. A rough sea can cut visibility and make the hunt harder, and the guide makes the call on where to go and when to turn back. That is the job, not a failure of the trip.

Who should book this cruise and who should look elsewhere

This tour suits travellers who want to combine two Icelandic icons in one outing and do not mind spending six hours on the water to do it. It is not wheelchair accessible, so anyone with mobility limits should look at the alternatives. It also asks more of you than the shorter options. If you want a quicker, cheaper look at the lights, the Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Cocoa runs four hours, costs from 83 USD, and has a far larger base of reviews behind its 4.3 score. The Small-Group Premium Northern Lights Tour is also four hours at 116 USD with a 4.4 rating. The two hour Northern Lights Yacht Tour at 107 USD is the shortest way to get on the water. If you are set on the whales as well as the aurora, though, this six hour combo is the one that gives you both, and the price reflects that scope.

GYG

Reykjavik: Whale Watching & Northern Lights Combo 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 $200

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