Reykjavík
Northern lights hunt with thermos
Skip the tour bus. Hot chocolate, a dark field, and the sky. Sep through April.
More about this plan
There is no reason to pay for a northern lights bus tour in Reykjavík. The lights are free, the countryside is fifteen minutes away, and doing it yourself is half the date.
Swing by Brauð & Co on Frakkastígur, grab cardamom buns and a thermos of hot chocolate, and drive twenty minutes out to Heiðmörk — a nature reserve just south of the city with dark skies and no street lights. Alternatively, back to Grótta if the wind is tame. Lay a blanket on the hood of the car, lean back, and hope.
Even without the aurora you get a quiet Atlantic sky and two hours where nobody's checking their phone. Download the Vedur.is aurora forecast first; aim for a clear-sky night with a KP index of 3 or higher.
The plan, stop by stop
- 1
Pastries and thermos from Brauð & Co
Stop at the pink bakery on Frakkastígur for cardamom buns and fill a thermos with hot chocolate for the drive.
- 2
Aurora watch at Heiðmörk
Dark-sky nature reserve twenty minutes from town. Park, turn off the headlights, wait. Blanket on the hood beats sitting in the car.