HOW TO SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHT

When is the best time to see the Northern Lights in Iceland?

Have you come to Iceland to gaze in wonder at the Northern Lights? Then read our fun guide to the Aurora Borealis for everything you need to know!

The Northern Lights are one of the most stunning sights in nature, and Iceland gives you the ideal environment to enjoy this wonderful bucket-list experience. Of course, seeing this cosmic spectacle needs clear dark nights and a little luck – we’ll be here to guide you in the right direction!

Everyone has the Northern Lights on their “must-see” list, to see the sky dance with multi-colored clouds of light magically moving across the heavens.
Remember that the aurora is just like the Icelandic weather – unpredictable and constantly changing – so you’ll have to cross your fingers and hope to see them!

OUR TOP TIPS TO SEE AURORA

You need clear and dark skies to see the Northern Lights, so the best time to see the aurora borealis in Iceland is between September and April. The darker the nights, the brighter the lights!
For the best aurora displays, you’ll need to get away from the light pollution in the city. That’s why it’s a great idea to take an extended tour of Iceland and look north!
NiceTravel’s expert guides will read the KP index (the strength of the solar activity) and the weather forecast to give you the best chance possible
You can still see the Northern Lights when there is a full moon! Taking a good aurora picture requires some skill, but we’ll help you with your camera settings!
There are “secret spots” where you can try to see the aurora closer to the city. The most popular place is Grótta, a lighthouse in Seltjarnarnes, a short drive from the city center - even easy to get on the public transportation called Strætó

Remember, you need three essential factors to see the aurora borealis: darkness, clear skies and strong solar activity.

To give yourself the best chance, take an organized packaged tour with NiceTravel and explore Iceland on an extended trip including nights spent outside the bright capital, where northern lights are usually blocked by high light pollution.

The more nights you spend in the remote Iceland countryside away from the bright lights of the capital, the more likely you’ll see this unforgettable sight! The aurora can appear anytime at night, and our guides will alert you when they can be seen.

For instance, when we stay overnight in Borgarnes in West Iceland, you can walk to Brakarey Island and watch the aurora dancing above Hafnarfjall, the stunning mountain that lines the fjord. Or when we’re in Egilsstaðir in East Iceland, you can look for the lights while you’re walking along the shores of Lagarfljót, searching for the legendary monster that’s supposed to live beneath the waves there!

When the lights come out, you’ll see them with NiceTravel!

Few pics from our tours:

Some fun facts about the Northern Lights

The Northern Lights are electrically charged particles from the Sun colliding with the Earth’s atmosphere, generating a wide array of colors in the night sky
The Earth’s geomagnetic field pushes these charged particles across the atmosphere, from 60 to 250 miles above our heads. As a result, green auroras appear lower down, while redder shades light the skies higher up
The strength of the ‘KP index’ indicates when the lights are most likely to appear, measured from 0 to 9. The greater the number, the higher the level of solar energy in the atmosphere
The Chinese recorded the aurora first in 2600 BC, and Aristotle wrote about “glowing clouds” more than 2300 years ago. Galileo combined the Roman Goddess of the Dawn (Aurora) with the Greek word for the North wind (Borealis) for the ancient name
The aurora has always fascinated us. Once considered an omen of war, Inuits thought they were the souls of the dead. In Iceland, if a pregnant woman looked at the lights for too long, her child would be cross-eyed. In Japan, children conceived under the aurora would be lucky!