Day Tours/Activities
South Coast and Northern Lights Bus Tour
The South Coast and Northern lights tour will help you experience the attractions of the South and the prenominal Northern lights in one day.
- Trees planted 2
- Available jan, feb, mar, apr, sep, oct, nov, dec
- Duration 13 hours
- Difficulty
- Number of participants Min. 1, max. 28
- Age limit No age limit
What you'll experience.
Join the South Coast and Northern lights bus tour and drive along the southwestern stretch of the ring road. Audio guided in 10 languages!
The South Coast and Northern lights tour will lead you from Reykjavik city along, volcanoes, waterfalls, and glaciers to the black sand beach by Icleand’s southern most town, Vík. In the evening you will go out to hunt for one of the most magical natural phenomena around, the Aurora Borealis.
The Tour
The South Coast and Northern lights bus tour starts with a drive through the Hellisheiði mountain pass past moss covered lava fields and geothermal hot springs down to the farmlands along the coastline.
On clear days, Hekla and the infamous Eyjafjalljökull volcanoes along with the Westman-Islands can be seen rising in the distance as you approach the Sólheimajökull Glacier, a photographers delight and the first stop on the tour. The next destination is the otherworldly Reynisfjara black beach known where the waves of the North Atlantic Ocean crash upon the black sands from which the seemingly man-made hexagonal basalt columns rise to cliffs filled with nesting sea birds. After taking in your fill of the amazing geological formations, the tour will continue on to the small village of Vík where you will stop by a church up on a hill overlooking three volcanic stone columns, said to be trolls turned to stone along the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
Afterwards, you will head back towards Reykjavík to the powerful Skógafoss waterfall where a short walk up a flight of stairs will reveal one of Iceland´s most scenic views. From here you will head to the final stop, the 60 meter high Seljalandsfoss Waterfall famous for the hidden pathway leading behind and around this stunning sight. With some luck and sunny weather conditions, rainbows may add to the spectacular experience at each waterfall.
The Aurora is both wonderfully mysterious and magical, and a sight that will never be forgotten. Simply put, nothing says “Icelandic Winter” like the idea of hunting for the Northern Lights. Powerful solar storms cause the Northern Lights and they need clear winter skies to be visible. Rest assured, experts that have decades of experience analyzing weather patterns will carefully review the cloud forecast and the Northern Lights forecast before the tour will departure. The tour operator never sets off unless they think you’ll have a good chance of spotting them, resulting in very a high success rate.
Please note
- We are working with Iceland´s most talented Northern lights hunters to find the best places every night.
- It is never a guaranteed that we will see northern lights, however, we do our best to maximize our chances by picking the best locations.
- Since it is never guaranteed to see aurora, we will make sure you get the chance to see them. In the event of a unsuccessful hunt, we offer you the chance to re-book as many times as needed until you partake in a successful northern lights hunt. You can continue to do this within a 2 year period of going on the first hunt.
- If the Northern Lights portion of this tour is canceled due to weather and you don’t have an opportunity to participate in a subsequent tour, the northern lights portion of the tour will be refunded.
If you want more information about this South Coast and Northern lights bus tour or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can either send us a message through the contact form or via email at info@nordicgreentravel.com.
View the weather forecast for the area.
Here you can see the Northern lights forecast for the next few days.
This tour is carbon offset through the forestry project Plant a Tree in Iceland
If you want to know more about Plant a Tree in Iceland, please visit the project at www.plantatreeiniceland.is
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Included in final tour price.
Included
- In bus audio guide with a choice of 10 languages (English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Finnish)
- Knowledgeable local guide
- Admission to the sights
- Free Wi-Fi and usb charger in every seat
- Free use of camera tripod (please note, we only have a few and many people come on the tours, if you own please bring it along)
- Free use of astronomical telescope, for moon and stargazing
- Photo memory of you and the northern lights (when aurora can be seen)
- Instructions about how to set up your camera to capture northern lights and the night sky
Not included
- Food & drinks
- Pick-up and Drop-off at hotel can be booked as an extra service with the SmartBus™ service. Otherwise you are advised to be at the Reykjavik Terminal 15 minutes before the tour departure time.
What to bring.
- Dress according to weather, warm waterproof clothes.
- Camera
- Bring your own headphones. Otherwise headphones are available for purchase in every bus from our hosts.
Highlights.
- Sólheimajökull outlet glacier
- Seljalandsfoss waterfall
- Reynisfjara black beach
- Reynisdrangar promontories
- Vík
- Skógafoss waterfall
Tour operator
This tour is operated by our friends at Reykjavík Sightseeing. All their tours are guided in 11 languages and all buses are brand new, equipped with modern technology and comfort.
Reykjavík Sightseeing’s certifications:
17.990 ISK