Iceland isn’t just all about the Aurora Borealis; it is also a prime location to travel to take in and witness the natural wonders as much as the Northern Lights themselves
Northern Lights Holidays to Iceland
While waiting for the Northern Lights to potentially paint the sky for you in the evening, during the day, you will find yourself surrounded by Iceland’s otherworldly landscapes—majestic waterfalls like the powerful Gullfoss, the contrasting black sand beaches of Vik, geothermal wonders like the Blue Lagoon, and rugged volcanic terrains.
We have a number of self-drive tours, private tours, and escorted tours to take advantage of when visiting Iceland—and you can always combine it with multiple countries to make your journey specifically epic
Holidays
Classic Short Breaks in Iceland
Escorted Iceland
Exclusive Aurora Breaks in Iceland
Self Drive Breaks in Iceland
Useful information
Why go to Iceland on a Northern Lights Trip? Where do we start? We have always firmly believed that on a Northern Lights Holiday you should pack your days full of activities whilst you wait for night to fall and the Northern Lights to appear. Iceland over delivers on this front with the most dramatic volcanic scenery to entertain you during the day.
Our starter range of Classic Iceland Breaks are for first timers and include some of the “Must do” activities such as the Golden Circle. On the Golden Circle whether you are self-driving explorers or go on a superjeep tour you will witness the Strokkur Geyser, which erupts every 5 mins, the spellbinding Thingvellir mini rift valley where the Vikings set up their first parliament in the heart of the Rift and where any witches were drowned and the impressive Gullfoss Waterfall which sometimes can even freeze in the winter. We specialise in including some incredible superjeep tours on all of our Northern Lights Trips which get you off the main tourist route to explore more of Iceland’s volcanic wonders and true wilderness so you see more than what is offered on the bulk of tours.
Our Iconic Northern Lights Break in Iceland is a popular break with first timers to Iceland.
For those looking to explore further afield on an inspiring longer aurora trip then we would recommend combining a visit to the South of Iceland with the North of Iceland or with Sweden or Norway so you can experience more variety of landscapes and activities.
In the North of Iceland there is the most extraordinary superjeep experience to the Askja Volcano across Volcanic lava fields, Ash deserts and pumice fields to a geothermal caldera that you can swim in!. Who doesn’t want the story to tell their grandchildren that they swam in a volcano?! Askja is truly in the middle of nowhere and you have an excellent chance of seeing the Northern Lights as you travel back across the mesmerising Highland plains. However due its isolated location you would only be able to access this in the autumn (and in the summer), as thick snow will still be lying on the ground even in May.
A recommended activity when visiting the North of Iceland is to visit the warm geothermal Myvatn Baths and you even have a chance of swimming with the Northern Lights dancing overhead if you time it right. The beauty of Myvatn Baths is that it is much quieter than the Blue Lagoon in the South of Iceland so it is possible to be more spontaneous and visit when it suits your itinerary and the forecast.
When travelling with us in the North of Iceland we also include other superjeep tours so you can also explore the bizarre lava shapes of Dimmuborgir, Europe’s most powerful waterfall Dettifoss as well as the bubbling pools of Hverir. If travelling in early autumn you can self-drive many of these areas, but we would not recommend self-driving a visit to Askja, in the heart of the Highlands at any time of the year, including the autumn. In autumn we would recommend the Iceland Autumn Aurora Indulgence break which combines self-driving with a Superjeep tour to Askja and a Superjeep Northern Lights Hunt.
In winter the Ultimate North and South Iceland Encounter is an incredible break sharing with you the very best that Iceland has to offer with adventure tours and transfers throughout. It is a more expensive option as a result but very popular with those that don’t want to self-drive, who have a bit longer and want to see as much as possible of Iceland’s amazing and dramatic scenery.
We know of course that for many it’s all about seeing the Northern Lights and we would recommend you include one of the Northern Lights Superjeep tours that we offer in both North and South Iceland. Never fixed to one area, the guides will use their local knowledge as well as current forecast to try and track the Northern Lights down. Sometimes it feels like they are wizards as they get you to the perfect spot cloud-free to watch them whilst the clouds hide them only a mile away. There are mini microclimates with holes in the clouds so trust the Northern Lights guides-they know what they are doing! They will also try to choose locations with stunning foreground to complement the Northern Lights Display. Myvatn lake or a river crossing in the North of Iceland are popular spots, whilst waterfalls and the black volcanic beaches in the South are often chosen. It of course all depends on the Aurora Forecast that particular night.
Snowmobiling and Husky Sledding is available in the heart of the winter in the North of Iceland, whilst snowmobiling is available year round on the glaciers in the south. A surreal experience is snowmobiling with the Ocean beneath you, whilst in North Iceland it is possible to snowmobile and Husky Sled across the vast frozen lake of Myvatn! The Iceland Husky Sledding Aurora Adventure will give you a really good feel for how a Northern Lights break in the North of Iceland would look, but we are always able to tailor a break specific to you.
The local Iceland guides we work with are second to none with their passion, enthusiasm and ability to take you in their superjeeps to remote and beautiful places. For example we will take you up Eyjafjallajokull volcano (the one that erupted in 2010 and shut down the airlines) for incredible views across the Atlantic one way and the surrounding Glaciers the other. We will even take you up Eyjafjallajokull volcano at night so you can experience the Northern Lights “up close” feeling as if you can touch the Auroras! (Obviously the Auroras are not really that close but it will feel like it!)
If you want to feel like you are visiting Mordur, from Lord of the Rings, then a Porsmork Superjeep tour is a must. By the way when we say Superjeeps imagine a child’s toy with huge outsized tyres and you will have a pretty good picture in your mind of what it will be like. How much fun is that?!
For many combining these amazing superjeep tours with a stay in a private wilderness cabin exclusively to yourselves is the perfect break and our Northern Lights Wilderness Iceland Escape is the perfect solution.
If self-driving at any time of our year all of our breaks include a 4 Wheel Drive car. We also recommend when and where to go, and when it is better to have a fully guided break instead as the weather can get too severe in certain parts. Generally speaking North Iceland has more severe arctic conditions than in the South.
We also have created a select choice of Exclusive Iceland breaks that we can craft for you offering the opportunity to combine private accommodation in your own private cabin as well as the opportunity to upgrade to your own private guide with transfers and superjeep tours throughout. Everything we do is tailored to you but to give you a feel for how the itinerary could flow see our Iceland Aurora Mecca Break. These exclusive breaks are popular with those celebrating a special occasion such as an anniversary, birthday or even planning a proposal or honeymoon.
We are not trying to confuse you but we do have a range of Midnight Sun Holidays in Iceland where you are guaranteed NOT to see the Northern Lights but instead you will see the other Arctic Wonder the Midnight sun!
We offer a select range of incredible breaks to Iceland and Greenland under the 24hr sun in the summer. We just couldn’t resist offering this contrasting choice and a trip to Greenland to see calving glaciers and icebergs up close, which for many is the trip of a lifetime and bucket list experience. Take a boat out to Disko bay and watch fluking whales in front of icebergs under the pink glow of the midnight sunset at 11 o clock at night.
Greenland’s Icebergs under the midnight sun is a surreal, breathtaking beautiful break where you get to really experience wilderness whilst staying in the most northerly 4 star hotel on the planet. If you are in for a penny go in for a pound and combine with Iceland on the Greenland and Iceland Midnight Sun Wilderness Break
For those who don’t want to go all the way to Greenland but are still looking for a longer journey under the midnight sun then our Midnight Sun breaks In the Footsteps of the Astronauts and Iceland Whale and Volcano Extravaganza share the most spectacular scenery in Iceland as well as take you to where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin trained for their Moon landing as it was thought it was the most similar place on the planet. When you go you will understand why!
So now we have tempted you take a look at our full range of Iceland breaks to see which the perfect one for you is!
See what our clients say
Brilliant short break. Hotel Ranga was lovely, excellent food. Managed to see the Northern Lights as well! Iceland on the whole was quite expensive but a lovely place to visit, the people were very friendly.
This was a bucket list trip. The company are specialists and I’ve valued their advice. Everything from the when to go for the best opportunity to see the lights and equipment needed and provided.Our activities included, the Ice Hotel, night photo shoot, snowmobiling, guided walk and the sky station meal. All excellent and well run by knowledgeable experts and guides. The Abisko Lodge is warm comfortable and relaxing the food is excellent and the staff welcoming, friendly and very helpful. I would highly recommend if you’re looking for a different and exciting experience.
My daughter and I had an amazing time on our trip, we didn’t want it to end! Everything went according to plan, each excursion was well organized and everyone involved with each activity, as well as everyone at the lodge was kind, friendly, positive and happy, which makes such a difference to your whole experience. The food at The Abisko Mountain Lodge was also incredibly good. Our room was large, comfortable and well-furnished. The bathroom too was also spacious and well-equipped. The outdoor clothing provided was of very good quality which kept us warm, and the staff members are happy to change items if they are not quite the right size for you. This is my second trip with Weekend a la carte and I’m sure there will be more as I have complete trust in them. I highly recommend Aurora Nights, it was fabulous.
What a fantastic trip! I booked this for myself and my husband to celebrate my 40th birthday and it didn’t disappoint! Booking was simple and we were kept up to date with all the details from the office team in the UK.
From the moment we arrived at Kiruna airport all the staff we encountered were so friendly and couldn’t do enough for us. We opted for the upgraded room at the Abisko Mountain Lodge which I would highly recommend. The cold weather clothing which was supplied was fantastic and kept us really warm in the sub-zero temperatures. The dog sledging, snowmobiling and the Northern Lights photography were all superb and the staff leading the trips were really friendly and so knowledgeable. Even though we weren’t able to do the sky station trip because of the weather, there was a lovely alternative evening organised for us which included a traditional dinner and a walk to the lake where we were able to see the lights. The food at the lodge was also exceptional and showcased some lovely traditional dishes using Moose and Reindeer which were wonderful to try.
I would like to send a massive thank you to all the staff at The Abisko Mountain Lodge as well as the guides we used for our guided walks, dog sledging and snowmobiling. I’d highly recommend the trip, it was our first visit to Sweden and we would definitely return. Thanks again to everyone (including the huskies) who made it so memorable!
A well organised trip which was tailored to our specific requests. The arrangements all ran perfectly and any queries prior to the holiday were handled very quickly and professionally. The standard of accommodation and organised tours was very high. I would use this company again and recommend them.
Cannot thank this company enough. Our break to Iceland was the second time we’ve let them organise everything for us and once again they didn’t disappoint. Everything ran seamlessly and the organised tours were wonderful. This company knows what they are doing. If you want to experience the geysers, the volcano, the northern lights and all the other exciting things that Iceland has to offer then this is the company to use.
A fantastic short break which fulfilled all expectations. Well organised with a polished delivery, we could not have asked for more. The accommodation was perfect for us and the guides knowledgeable and helpful. Every day was packed with adventure, each lasting longer than scheduled but we were never rushed; the guides took pride in showing and explaining their beautiful country. We would certainly use Weekend a la carte again and recommend them to others.
Superb holiday to Iceland, well organised, advice regarding trips informative and far exceeded our expectations (Glaciers and ice Cave) run by South Coast. Hotel Ranga is a lovely hotel, perfect to see Northern Lights (which we did see on our 3rd night), very comfortable, food excellent, staff helpful and informative. SouthCoast Adventure tour company were excellent, guides knowledgeable, and clearly very experienced.
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We are experts in providing once in a lifetime northern lights holidays to Swedish Lapland, Iceland, Norway and Finland.