Best time to see Northern Lights in Iceland?

genevieve

I'm going to be in Iceland for a fishing trip but I want to try to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) too. Does anyone know when is the best time to see these? How long do they last?
Also where is the best place to view them?
Any help will be greaty appreciated!
Thanks :-)

Guest

The best time to go is over a solstice - so you've missed it for this year. And try to go when there is little or no moon so you get a really dark sky.

ClockworkOrange

Unfortunately the Aurora Borealis isn't that predictable, having spent 5 weeks in Iceland and about 4 years in total in Norway, Sweden and Finland, the best time to see this phenomenen is obviously ONLY at night. The Scandinavian winters produce long dark nights and if you are lucky and the sky is crystal clear (usually when it is -15deg C) the light show begins about 02:00 (see MURPHYs LAW). Seriously though in Iceland I was fortunate enough in AUGUST to see the Northern Lights for 5 minutes, Green being the common colour but Pink (rare) and momentarily (blue - very rare), it's a silent mystical experience and your question has reminded me how fortunate I was to have witnessed them at their most spectaculor when I least expected it.
It is worth seeing
Good Luck Mark

Guest

Around the winter months you'll be lucky to see them. You don't get to see them every night just because there are so many external factors to consider. I saw them twice by chance when I was there during Easter. If the moon is bright you have no chance or if you're too close to the city. You have to be patient because they come and go and move around.
If you're renting a car you just have to drive a bit out of Reykevik or away from lights amd you'll have a netter chance. Bring super warm clothes. It reached -20 so it was difficult to enjoy it because we were so cold and we couldn't leavethe car for longer than 15 min due to wind and chattering teeth.

The second time I saw them we were driving along and we noticed a cloud was pink amd then it started dancing around the sky. We quickly realized what we were looking at. Amazing

Guest

The link was missing so I post this again:

I grew up with the northern lights been part of the country side here in Iceland. I guess I got a bit too used to it, but surely this is primarily late in the evening and normally very cold. However it fits perfectly for a very romantic evening with the better half:) or for some great dating:) For some great northern lights videos it is good to visit:
http://www.northernlightsiceland.com
I love the video with the guy that came to Iceland because he got heartbroken and tried to fix it here.

Guest

btw you can see the northern lights with a full moon, i saw them in iceland for 2 nights with full moon shining. I guess they would be more clear without (and makes pictures more tricky). We actually had full sky northern lights, extending to almost where the moon was shining from. A stunning experience.

icelander

Go in sept/oct or end Feb/begin march and you have the best chances to see the lights. Check out this site if you want to learn more northern lights

poorperson1

You have to go late March or late September if you really prefer only 12 hours daylight.
For Reykjavik any time will be OK, but I guess that when long days days is a problem, then I guess that the cold, windy, rainy/snow weather is also?? Which means: not before early May (still no guarantee for nice weather - not at any time).
BTW - weather is often better in Akureyri! You may consider to go there (bus, fly) in order to see some more "Icelandic" culture than in the capital.
Autums is better than spring for thosevisiting interior - as snow melts late and closes down roads late, but I can understand that this is not your problem.
May is the driest month. May-September are the driest period, with only 10-12 days with precipitation/month. (Reykjavik).
In Akureyri the distribution of precipitation on the months is the same, but both nomber of days with precipitation and total # of mm coming down is close to half of that in Reykjavik!
__________________

icelander

I would not go in May if you want to see the northern lights Iceland

icelander

We had amazing northern lights in Iceland yesterday. Check out this facebook page for some new pictures! northern lights images on facebook

icelander

Do people know if everything is closed in Iceland over then new year - are travel operators working on 1 jan?

VeronicaK

Most travel operators are open on 1 jan. However i believe most of them have fully booked already. So you are probably too late already

icelander

Thanks for the advise VeronicaK - I was able to find this really nice super jeep operator that took me on a trip on the 1st of Jan. First I though it would be hopeless to find someone but it was only the 2nd company I tried - so perfect:)

VeronicaK

So where did you go on the trip?

Guest

Hi guys,
I hope it's alright to share this post with you guys on this thread.
I'm an avid Aurora Borealis chaser and have travelled extensively to see them.

I recently completed an article about the Aurora Borealis. Everything about them from what causes them, where to see them, when to travel, etc etc.

www.natalia-robba.com

Hope you find it helpful

Thanks!

Anya K

Thanks Natalia!

icelander

@natalia-robba - have you been to Iceland to see the northern lights?

VeronicaK

I have @icelander - I ended up in Akranes and waited for 4-5 hours. It was well worth the wait as in the end it was a amazing show. It just happened all in 5 min or so and then it was done. So fast. Quite unusual the locals told me. But believe me I will ever never forget these short 5 min in my whole life.

Guest

I'm going to Iceland on the beginning of May and will stay there until at least the end of September. Is there a possibility that I experience the magical northern lights? I will be living on the countryside (Vik).

icelander

yes it is, but it would be most likely end of Sept. Normally May is too late as there is simply too much daylight. Dont forget things are different when you get so north e.g. in june we have 24 hours daylight. Just follow the forecast here as early as beginning of Sept. Next autumn will be a good time to see the lights dance

ooliver186

The aurora borealis most often occurs from September to October throughout March to April.
It is most visible closer to the poles due to the longer periods of darkness and the magnetic field. In these far northern latitudes you can see the Auroral activity on a average 100 nights a year and the best time to see Iceland's Aurora Borealis is around midnight when Iceland's Aurora Oval is said to pass over the observer.

icelander

I have never heard this statistics on 100 nights a year - do you have some source for this ooliver186?

icelander

Great News - if you are planning to see the northern lights Iceland next winter then you need to read this article from NASA. They are saying the 11 year solar cycle has two peaks - meaning the winter 2013-2014 that was expected to be great, was just average. However next winter will be the real peak. Something to look forward to for next year / winter. Scientists are not agreeing on when exactly this might start, but the board is saying as early as May this year. However as the author of the article is saying it is highly unlikely as Feb month hasnt really been that great in Iceland or other northern lights countries.

Evelina

Icelander - when would it be best to come for the next northern lights season in Iceland? Im thinking about to mix together christmas / new year trip to Reykjavik and seeing the northern lights viewing - how does that sound? Are there any special places to go to for best viewing e.g. waterfalls or geysers. Are there any way to forecast when to see it?

Hurtler

I would recommend you to go in Oct / nov this year. It is high season for northern lights viewing due to the 11 years solar cycle as Icelander says and NASA is writing about. This is very important as you dont wan to wait for some 11 years to have the highest possibility again. It is expensive to go to Iceland so you dont want to go there if it is very low probability. Also dont go for anything less than a whole week. It makes it much more likely to see it as they do not come into the skies every day. It is a great idea to go in the christmas / new year period but I would not as it is maybe a bit too crowded. But still I dont know too much about it.

Evelina

Thanks for the reply Hurtler:) Im thinking about to do the Golden Circle in Iceland also - heard it is great to see the Geyser and the Gullfoss waterfall. Does anyone know if these areas are great for northern lights watching too or if there is too much man made lights there to view the auroras dance. I will probably just rent a car to drive - any need to rent a 4x4 jeep over the christmas / new year time? Not sure as I have never been in this country before:) Also I have heard it is great to stay at some guesthouse close to Geyser but I dont remember the name of it - anyone heard about this guesthouse. Some type of turf house I have heard.

Hurtler

I talked to a friend of mine that has been to the Golden Circel in Iceland and he said you most probably dont need any 4x4 jeep in Christmas time but you cant be sure as the weather changes quite fast over there I have heard:) He said you can see the northern lights more and less everywhere outside of Reykjavik, but difficult to see them in Reykjavik as there is some light pollution there. Otherwise it is more question about the northern lights forecast and cloud coverage etc.

Hurtler

Talking about the changing weather in Iceland. Check this photo out: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151894939667222&set=a.109574387221.118861.703562221&type=1&theater

Evelina

he he that is a great photo Hurtler:) Did not know it was even possible to have such a fast changing weather:)

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