The Thing About the Northern Lights
- Vefstjóri Þórsgarður
- Jan 25, 2015
- 3 min read
There is no doubt that it´s difficult to promise our guests a sighting of the Northern Lights. In fact, we won´t even try to do it. However, there are ways to minimize your disappointment with the whole thing. After all, there are plenty of other things to do and see in Iceland and the lights should just be an added bonus.
The first mistake our guests make is booking a Northern Lights tour with a bus company ahead of time. They all have plenty of room in their buses and never sell out, so why would you pay them for something that you might not get to experience. If you don´t see the lights, they will offer you to go again and again but you never get your money back if you don´t seen the lights. We would suggest you ask at the reception at about 5 or 6pm each day of your visit. We get e-mails from all the main companies, informing us if they are going or not, based on the forecast. If they are all going, let us take care of booking for you.
Another option is to do a twist on the old Northern Lights tour. To tell you the truth, there is nothing special about taking the simple bus tours and they do not possess any divine knowledge you need to see the lights. It´s basically a driver taking you to the direction they are most likely to appear and the rest is luck. So why not try to make sure you have a memorable experience, whether the lights are out or not? There is no reason why not. Here is our recommendation for maximizing your evening tour in the hopes of seeing the Northern Lights:
Yes, someone actually thought of this before you! Basically, this tour starts with a Super Jeep pick up at the hotel which takes you out to Flúðir, about 80 minutes drive, where we have Iceland´s oldest swimming pool, called the Secret Lagoon. It is a magically serene place in middle of a small town where we grow our mushrooms in greenhouses. It even has a small geysir-type hot spring next to the lagoon. There you get floating helmets and bracelets that let you float in the lagoon and look up to the sky, hoping for the Northern Lights to show up. If you don´t see them, you can imagine you are seeing them by closing your eyes because underwater, the soothing tones of Sigur Rós, the world famous Icelandic indie band, is playing in underground speakers. Now that is something to write home about, don´t you think?
During winter, most car rentals have a great deal on offer for one day of rent. Around 9.000isk should do it. That´s slightly more than one ticket for the Northern Lights but always less than two tickets. Add gas and you might come out around even. But what do you get in return. You actually could do whole daytour and the northern lights on our own terms so that would save you big bucks and you don´t have to worry about pursuing a hopeless cause for those who are on their last night in Iceland and desperately need to keep looking even when there isn´t much hope to see them. In the same areas where you find the northern lights, you can find great dining. Við Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri is a good option. The restaurant at Grímsborgir also serves excellent food. Tryggvaskáli in Selfoss is also a great step back in time with very good food to boot.
So you see, you have options, besides being disappointed with the Northern Lights.
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