Northern Lights 101

For many, one of the main priorities when visiting Iceland is seeing the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights. While we cannot control the phenomena of Mother Earth, here are our key tips & tricks for how to best prepare and increase your odds of seeing a spectacular light show.

• Visit Iceland during peak season — October through March! Unfortunately, your odds are zero to none if you visit during other months.

• Check the KP Index! There are great apps that show how it changes throughout the night. I used ‘My Aurora Forecast & Alerts’ and it gave us an accurate forecast. Make sure to check the KP Index for your specific location (we saw differences between Reykjavík and our location outside of Vík).

  • KP 0 to 2: The aurora is dim, far north, and not very active. It will be difficult if not impossible to see them.

  • KP 3 to 5: The aurora becomes brighter and moves further from the poles, with more activity. It is possible to see faint lights.

  • KP 6+: The aurora becomes very bright and active, moving even further from the poles. Prepare for a light show, if you are in the right area!

• Use your smartphone camera to spot them while your eyes adjust! The camera in most phones are able to catch the lights better than the human eye.

  • When we were waiting for the lights, I would go outside every 30 minutes and snap a photo on ‘Night Mode’. I remember taking a photo around 11pm and noticing some faint color on my screen. While not visible in the sky yet, I ran inside to my friends yelling “It’s starting!!!”. 15 minutes later, the Lights were dancing across the night sky.

• Top spots to search for & watch the Northern Lights (accessible by car):

  • Lake Kleifervatn

  • Kirkjufell Mountain (90 min from Reykjavík, parking by the mountain)

  • Thingvellir National Park

    • 10 min drive from the Information Center, there’s a place where there’s a clear view over the park

  • Reynisfjara Beach, Vík

  • Lighthouse in Reykjavík

  • Jokulsarlon Glacier, near Vatnajokull National Park

• Don’t have a car or only staying in Reykjavík? Tours from Reykjavík or Vík are still good options — most will take you out to remote areas and give you some hot chocolate while you wait it out, and most will see the Lights if the forecast is in your favor.

• Remember, you want to be in a location where there is little to no light pollution — even if there is a solar storm, any artificial light will obstruct your ability to see them in the sky.

Cross your fingers and hope for the best! Things can change very quickly. You can prepare as much as you want, but nothing will control the aurora borealis. The week before our trip, I was religiously checking the KP Index, which was scoring around 1-3 (low chances). I had hope, but scientifically speaking it was looking like we would not see them during our trip. A week later, we landed in Iceland and the KP Index had shot up to 5-6!

We had friends visit in November who did not see anything on their tour from Reykjavík nor on their road-trip. We met a group at the airport who had gone on a tour from Vík and didn’t see anything, get this, the SAME night we saw the Lights. Anything is possible in Iceland. Good luck!

Photo 1 is from our first night in our cabin outside Vík — this was the most light we saw all night (KP Index 4-5).

Photos 2-4 are from our second night — same location, KP Index 5-6.