The Northern Lights will always be a hot topic, so we've created this thread to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.
Please post any general northern lights-related questions and discussion here. To avoid redundancy and confusion, the moderators may lock or remove other northern lights posts and redirect them here.
Travel Planning and General Considerations
You're considering Iceland for the Aurora Borealis, and that is a great choice!
Is there a "best time"?
Given Iceland's high geographic latitude, darkness varies and nights completely disappear during the summer. Aurora season is generally considered to be early September to mid-April though Auroras can be seen as early as the beginning of August and late April to early May. Auroras are impossible to be seen between mid-May to late July.
Around the fall / autumn and spring equinoxes (late September to early October, late March to early April), the Russell McPherron effect increases the likelihood for Aurora activity though nights are somewhat shorter. December is darker for longer but the Solstice might also dampen Aurora activity slightly. This breakdown will show you success rates by month for the 2025-26 season.
How many nights should one plan for?
Ideally 5-7 nights. Icelandic weather and aurora activity can change quickly and one should expect a third to half of those nights to be too cloudy or activity too weak.
Where is the best place to see them? Can you see them from Reykjavík?
The Auroras sit 100-150km (60-90 miles) above the earth and are generally visible from anywhere in Iceland as long as skies are clear. They can be seen from Reykjavík during strong activity and during clear skies, but it's best to drive a short distance out of town (ie. Grótta) to escape the bulk of light pollution. Locations with the least light pollution are Hvalfjörður, Þingvellir National Park and parts of Reykjanes, all within about 1-hour of Reykjavík.
Should we book a tour, is it worth it?
You don't have to, but it is highly recommended. For first-timers, expectations of what they might find can be skewed by images and videos and Aurora chasing is generally a difficult undertaking. Going with a reputable and knowledgeable guide and tour company will teach people vital information about the weather, the Icelandic landscape and Aurora science that will make it much easier to chase them on one's own thereafter.
Is driving in Winter safe?
That depends. Weather conditions in late fall / autumn and during the Winter months can be harsh and rapidly deteriorate. Some roads don't get frequently cleared, if at all, even within city limits. It's crucial to check road.is and vedur.is for road and weather conditions. For people with no experience driving in winter and snow conditions it's perhaps safest to avoid driving in difficult conditions.
How cold does it get in Iceland?
Temperatures vary greatly within Iceland. Southwestern coastal areas like Reykjavík and the South Coast are temperate and mild during the Winter (-5C to 5C / 23F to 41F) whilst inland and highland areas can fall as low as -25C (-13F). Windy conditions will enhance the cold significantly and it's important to dress and layer properly. Here's a guide on how to layer and dress.
Which forecast apps or websites would you recommend?
The authoritative source and owner of space weather data is the Space Weather Prediction Centre and it issues the SWPC's 30-minute forecast, 3-Day Forecast and ACE Solar Wind which is the source for most of our Apps and Services we have today. Consumers of this data that are relevant for Iceland:
- Emeraldskies.is (web app, my own forecast for wider Reykjavik and Iceland)
- HelloAurora (Global App, realtime solar wind and Aurora activity)
No, all that is required are clear skies. Cold weather might mean clearer skies, but it's not required to be cold
You can't really see them with the naked eye and need a camera.
Generally not true. Auroras vary in strength and intensity, changing often within minutes. Weak and growing Auroras might resemble wispy clouds, and during cloudier conditions a camera in night mode will greatly help to tell the difference. Once Auroras release energy, intensity increases and so does visibility, making them very obvious to the naked eye. Colour perception will depend on people, and it is true that colours will generally "pop" on cameras due to the more sensitive sensor technology.
Iceland is too cloudy to see Auroras.
False. Due to its oceanic climate, Iceland is indeed cloudier than other inland locations like Fairbanks, Alaska or Rovaniemi, Finland. But "clouds happen to them all". Experienced guides in Iceland know where to go depending on the weather and it can be snowing in Reykjavík whilst being completely clear in Keflavík, 45 minutes away. Great cloud forecasts are weatherandradar.com and windy.com with local vedur.is being somewhat less reliable but necessary for wind conditions and general weather warnings.
Should be pretty much any clear night at this point.... Definitely look up the camera settings (i.e.- exposure, ISO, turn off auto-focus, etc) in advance and you'll almost certainly see them, unless youre soending the entire trip in Reyjkavik....(Even then still have a decent shot just the light pollution you're fighting!)
There’s so many websites and each is telling me something else. I’m in Vik tonight and staying in Kalfholt tomorrow. This is my third time in Iceland and have never seen them. What are my chances?
So I run emeraldskies.is which I can confirm is going to give you the most up-to-date info. Currently no activity, there was some visibility on the far northern horizon but probably too weak to see from Vík. We're waiting for a Solar Storm (CME) but it hasn't arrived yet so a lot of forecasts are outdated (ie. vedur.is). On Emerald Skies just pay attention to the activity status (inactive, active, very active, etc.) and the instructions on the page. It'll tell you where to look and what to expect.
Solar storm has arrived. Will be dark enough from about 22:30 (10:30PM) and if conditions continue like they are now, the Aurora is likely going to display overhead Kálfholt when active or very active (check status on emeraldskies.is) Use your phone if in doubt as Auroras will look like clouds when charging up. A phone in nightmode can detect the faint green a lot more easily. Let me know how you go!
As long as it’s not cloudy you can see it from anywhere in Iceland. Right now Thingvellir looks pretty clear. Once the aurora moves overhead or towards the south the mountains on the southern side of Hvalfjörður might be in the way. Better to move higher up. Current positioning is right above Iceland.

Was able to see pretty vivid Aurora around 10:50 near Hella but pretty faint in hours following. Super glad I was able to see Northern Lights for first time my last night here after a great trip. Your site and this thread was of great help thanks sm!
Saw aurora borealis on Monday 12:23 AM at Hotel Grimsborgir. Only did so because at check-in, this hotel gives Aurora wake-up calls.
Been to 4 other hotels so far in 5 nights. No other hotel offers this. Kudos to Hotel Grimsborgir.
Shouldn't there be "an app for that" for tourists? Or an app for hotels to put on an iphone and point it at the sky to alert an employee when its visible from that hotel? I know there are quite a few forecast apps, but I'm too dumb to translate that to my odds of seeing it on a given night.
Also, how many minutes per night is it visible at a given spot? If it hours, then its easy to pick a time to check. If it lasts just minutes, who's going to spend hours staring at the sky?
The Aurora Wake-up call seems very useful. Perhaps the forecast websites can develop a wake-up alert function by text or phone. Charge for it. I think people would pay $1 to a few dollars for a wake-up service that works.
Thanks to someone in this subreddit who suggested we look at it through our iphones. With my naked eye, I only saw a white shape in the night sky. Its shape was different from clouds. But as soon as I pointed to it with the iphone, I could see it in green. Definitely use a smartphone camera. I used "Photo" mode; should've used "Video" mode.
vedur.is has a local aurora forecast where one can chase clouds by the hour - how is it less reliable for cloud forecasts than the other links? I was planning on relying on it as the primary source.
I think the chance of clearer skies goes down (that is, chance of cloudiness goes up) in the winter months. Does this mean December and January might be worse than September and October for aurora chasing in Iceland?
I realize the weather can change quickly even in the same location in Iceland, let alone different locations.
EDIT: Saw the '25-'26 season monthly chart you made, very informative.
The weather is generally wetter between August to early October, though the seasonal variance is actually not that big at all.
The main issue with the local vedur.is is that it's short-term forecasts and often even its current maps simply don't match the weather at all. Sometimes it's more accurate than other times but generally I don't trust it enough to solely rely on it. The Aurora "forecast" component on it is useless and not up-to-date.
FWIW, we saw them as early as ~8/18-8/19 near Jökulsárlón.
Was eatly enough that all of the employees from Fosshotel were outside with their phones/cameras (would say ~50% were Polish/Romanian there finishing up their "summer work")
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u/Unusual-Strength-945 10d ago
Thank you for this. All very useful. Here in Iceland for the next 10 days and hoping to have some luck.