Iceland to see the northern lights

[gadgetman]

Just about to book Iceland for October to see the northern lights as a birthday treat to myself. 

 

Has anyone been before and can offer any tips advice for a solo holiday maker? 

 

Everything I'm looking at is in Reykjavik, with the lights excursion as an extra. There are 2 trips lasting 5 hours. One leaving at 8 and one at 10. Which would be the better option? 

[Auric Goldfinger]

The option when it's dark I would think...........

[camelspyyder]

It's is a very nice town, but unbelievably expensive. Northern Norway might be cheaper, somewhere like Bodo is further North than Reykjavik, quite a lot smaller though.  Haven't been to either in the last 15 years or more mind.

 

The timings don't matter, It'll be near 20 hour darkness I expect, 5 hours of effective daylight in midwinter.

 

 

 

 

Edited 2 August, 2017 by camelspyyder

[gadgetman]

Bodo is proving difficult for the dates. It's also a lot more expensive than Iceland for flights and hotel, with only LHR serving Oslo on those dates. 

[Ryeman]

There are no guarantees I assume?.

[Guest]

I stayed in Hotel Cabin or Cabin Hotel. Reykjavik in March 2014. It was basic but fulfilled my needs. Dinner was £18 for a buffet, other choices were available, but the buffet was sufficient. 

Across from the hotel was a Subway and a sort of 7-11 store if we needed cheap snacks. 

We were also quite near the bus terminal where all the excursions start from. We were conveyed there by bus but cannot recall if this was part of the holiday package or if we booked them via the hotel. 

We didn't do the Northern Lights tour as you don't get back until silly o'clock. Most of the NLT offer a free excursion if there is a NL no show. 

Two things to be aware of ;

 

1. Loud obnoxious Yanks.

2. People getting in your way of a once  in a Lifetime phot due to them taking a phot with a f*****g iPad. A bullet in the back of the head would be too good for them. 

 

We really enjoyed our time there and intend going back, but either in spring or summer. 

[gadgetman]

Well hotel, flight and transfer all booked.

 

Will book the excursions next payday (Northern lights, golden circle & spa).  All the NL trips offer a 2nd trip FOC if you don't get to see the lights, so may do this the first night which handily rolls over into my birthday.  Then do the golden circle on the following day, with a relaxing final day exploring Reykjavik.

 

 

So any more suggestions for places to see and do welcome.

[Titanium_Man]

We went to Iceland in January 2016 and really enjoyed it. 

 

We went on a group excursion the first night we were there to go see the Northern Lights as we had no clue about anything. Good insight into what was install for the rest of the week as we decided to go it alone in the i30 hire car.

 

The 30 or so of us took a coach from the centre of Reykiavic out to the middle on nowhere so to increase our chances of seeing the Aurora. We arrived with three other coach loads of people(!) were given a quick chat about it and were left to our own devices. 

 

The hire car is a great shout to see the island at your own pace. I say island, we basically kept to the Golden Circle and stopped off at the various different tourist spots. We managed to either get there as the several coaches pulled away or before they arrived. One time we pulled up somewhere and the coaches were just picking up their passengers and we said to each other how much we thought we would have hated doing it that way. Each to their own I guess. 

 

I can't remember the name of it, but the oldest geothermal pool in Iceland is worth a shout purely for how quiet it was. We had planned to go to the Blue Lagoon but it was closed for refurbishment so ended up here. Worth googling if you plan to visit one. Again, we managed to arrive between coach loads as we had a couple of hours in the sunshine and then an hour of Aura watching from the pool before 150 people rocked up and killed the mood. We very quickly left and we're treated to the most amazing display as I drove us home through a national park miles from anywhere. 

[Titanium_Man]

We really should have a travel section!

[Aspman]

Can't advice but I'm well jel.

 

I've not got a bucket list but I would deary love to see the northern lights, I've always missed them when they've come south.

 

Tromso was/is going to be my place to try. Not too expensive to get to from Aberdeen.

[swedishskoda]

Visited Iceland back in 2007. The Blue Lagoon is definitely worth a visit. The landscape is in itself so impressive that some kind of bus excursion outside Reykjavik (in daylight) will stay in your memory. The "Golden Circle" is one of many alternatives.

Don't forget to buy a bottle of Iceland Moss Schnapps at the airport on your way back.

And maybe you'll enjoy one or two of the ancient Icelandic sagas, see http://sagadb.org/index_az I recommend the Story of Burnt Njál (Brennu-Njáls Saga) or the Laxdaela Saga. What's truly amazing about Iceland is that one can still visit farmsteads where people in the sagas lived 1,000 years ago,

[swedishskoda]

On 2017-08-04 at 12:27, Aspman said:

Tromso was/is going to be my place to try. Not too expensive to get to from Aberdeen.

 

Tromsø is a cute little town, and while waiting for the northern light you may try a decent lager from the world's northernmost large-scale brewery, Mack.

Marvellous fish dishes (cod, haddock, turbot...) in terribly expensive restaurants.

[MillsyVRS]

I went to Iceland in September 2016 and had great, albeit expensive, time. We tried to do the northern lights but unfortunately the weather was wet and cloudy each night so didn't get a chance. There are 2 main tour operators, one is greyline I believe it's called (if I remember rightly) and the other one is Iceland tours or something. We tried to book the NL for each night we were there but we're usually notified by about 6pm if they were or weren't going to be on though. I did however have to put quite a lot of work in to get my money back though as we didn't go, so I'd imagine they probably keep a lot of people's money if the trip gets cancelled and people don't persue a refund. 

 

Now the £££ is worth nothing, it will be even more expensive. When we went, for a decent 2 course meal in a restaurant for the two of us, the bill was usually around £60. We found it to be on average, about double what you'd pay here. 

 

We we did the tour of the golden circle which was amazing, we did a tour of Reykjavik itself which wasn't bad and we went to the blue lagoon in the evening which was absolutely amazing. Very romantic if you're going with your lady! It was really worth going, but definitely get tickets in advance, or, as others have said, go to one of the other natural hot springs which will be much quieter. 

 

We found the Icelanders to be friendly and welcoming also. I'm sure you'll have a great time. We didn't hire a car as we were staying in a hotel and didn't really have anywhere to put it, but I can definitely see why people would hire one.

 

My dad went in July and because of the time of year, he had 24 hours a day of sunlight, it never went dark while he was there which I just find amazing!

[Macdemon]

Kitten and I are off to Norway for Christmas and New year, hoping to see the NL too.

I have £3000 for spending money, so am well prepared for our 12 day holiday.

[camelspyyder]

...as long as you don't buy whiskey.  Otherwise you'll need more cash.

[VWD]

On 8/2/2017 at 20:00, Auric Goldfinger said:

The option when it's dark I would think...........

I tried ours last month ,when dark, but they were closed