Best Time to See the Northern Lights in Iceland
When to see the northern lights in Iceland: the September to April season, the equinox months, the longest nights, the moon, and why the first nights of a trip matter.
The northern lights season in Iceland runs from September to April, when the country has enough darkness to see them, by Visit Iceland’s count. It calls the equinox months, September and March, the most active, and says mid-winter improves the chances simply by giving you more dark hours: December and January have the longest nights. Within the season the deciding factor on any night is the cloud, so the best time is as many dark evenings as your trip allows, with the tour booked early.
The calendar above is Northern Lights Bus’s tour with hot cocoa, from $85 a person (checked November 2026).
Through the season
| Months | Darkness | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| September, October | Nights lengthening | Inside the season; Visit Iceland names the September equinox among the most active times; EastWest's pickups start at 21:30 until the end of September |
| November to February | The longest nights; December and January longest of all | The widest window each evening; winter storms close roads and cancel tours on some nights |
| March | Nights shortening | The spring equinox, the other most active time on Visit Iceland’s account |
| April | Short nights by the end | The season’s last weeks; EastWest's tour runs to 18 April, picking up from 21:30 |
Season and darkness from Visit Iceland; pickup times from EastWest's tour on GetYourGuide, read November 2026.
On 1 November 2026 the Icelandic Met Office’s sun table for Reykjavik gave sunset at 17:10 and sunrise at 09:10; EastWest's minibus tour picks up from 20:30 in that part of the season. The Met Office’s aurora page gives the sunset, darkness, sunrise and moonrise times for Reykjavik for each forecast day.
The moon and the clouds
Visit Iceland’s night-sky advice is that visibility is best on clear, dark nights when moonlight is limited, so a trip around a new moon helps on faint nights. Clouds matter more than either. The Met Office warns that clouds often hide the aurora completely, and its forecast puts the cloud-cover map first (the forecast).
How many nights to allow
Visit Iceland advises giving yourself several nights. Book a tour for one of the first evenings: Northern Lights Bus turns a night without lights into a free retry, Aurora Viking into unlimited retries, and both are worth most when you still have evenings left (no lights on your tour). If you are still choosing between Iceland and the rest of the aurora zone, northernlightsdestinations.com ranks ten places to see the northern lights.
Pick your night
From Reykjavik: Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Cocoa
About four hours out of Reykjavik; one free retry or a 3-year open ticket.
Check dates →Reykjavík: Golden Circle & Northern Lights with Hot Cocoa
Thingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss and Kerid by day, the aurora tour from 20:30 or 21:30.
See the combination →From Reykjavik: Northern Lights Tour with Hot Cocoa & Photos
EastWest's minibus for 19, free photos, and a free rejoin for up to two years.
See the minibus tour →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
More Operators Out of Reykjavik
Northern Lights Tours with Open Dates
Aurora tours from Reykjavik with live availability. Times, retry terms and cancellation terms are on each listing.
In Season, Early in Your Trip
Book one of your first nights so the free retry still has nights to use.
Check dates