Reykjavík is full of charm during the New Year celebrations.
With an expert local guide, staying in locations ideally placed for observing the night sky, we travel through southern Iceland To the glacial lagoon of Jökulsárlón. A perfect combination of daytime excursions and activities with northern lights viewing at night. The trip includes a glacier walk and a visit to the Blue Lagoon.
Highlights of the trip
- The landscape of the South >> Waterfalls, cliffs, black sand beaches and spectacular basaltic formations.
- The ice >> Glacier tongues and glacial lagoons, with icebergs calving from nearby glacier fronts.
- The northern lights >> The ideal time and place to see these spectacular night lights
✔️ Travel to Iceland
✔️ 8-day trip
✔️ Departure 26 DEC
✔️ From 2655€
Accompanied by an expert and staying in strategically located 3 and 4-star hotels, we travel through southern Iceland. A perfect combination of excursions and Northern Lights watching.
The route presents no particular difficulties beyond those posed by winter weather.
The Northern Lights
Northern Lights activity in Iceland begins to peak in early October; the best time to see them is between December and March.
Each day, the guide will explain our chances of seeing auroras, based on solar activity and local cloud cover. We will organise our “aurora hunt” according to the conditions.
What are auroras?
An aurora is a natural display of light in the night sky, seen mainly at high latitudes in the Arctic and Antarctic. In the northern hemisphere, it is called the aurora borealis, commonly known as the northern lights.
Where can you see the northern lights?
In circles around the magnetic poles called auroral ovals. In the northern hemisphere this area extends through Canada, Greenland, Iceland, northern Scandinavia and Siberia.
When do you see the auroras?
The chances of seeing the northern lights depend on solar activity, the time of year and the time of night. Auroras are more frequent and intense during periods of high solar activity. The best times are around the equinoxes (March and September), with the probability increasing after midnight.
What do the auroras look like?
The Northern Lights can begin as an isolated arc stretching across the horizon. Around midnight, it may brighten, forming waves and vertical structures like curtains of light. At some point, the whole sky may fill with bands and spirals that shimmer and move rapidly from horizon to horizon.
Why do they have colours?
The colours of the northern lights are produced when the solar wind interacts with oxygen and nitrogen in our atmosphere. Oxygen produces the characteristic green glow, while nitrogen creates pink and purple shades at lower altitudes.
Northern Lights in Finland
Like Iceland, Finland is ideally located for observing the Northern Lights.
✔️ Trip to Finland
✔️ 5-day trip
✔️ Departure 16, 19 FEB 2, 9, 16 MAR
✔️ From 1485€
We will explore the area around the vast Lake Inari (Inarijärvi in Finnish) on foot, on snowshoes and by snowmobile.
Located in the northern Lapland, north of the Arctic Circle, it remains frozen from November to June and is a privileged place to observe the ghostly lights of the north.
Silence, the vivid colours of the boreal forest and the northern lights will accompany us on our journey.
