Hi mate, planning on going in December around Christmas eve/day , wish i seen your video before as secured a all included package with golden tour and the northern lights, slightly worried about it being a coach and overcrowded
@@mobasg2171 Hi Mate, ah i'm sure most of them come with a free cancellation? If not The Golden Circle tour is fine on a coach I just personally wasn't a fan after doing a smaller one. Have you planned a south coast tour as well?
@@jacklawsontravel I will hve to double check that then, also yes your video was very informative and a really simple guide, we will most definitely be looking to do the south coast tour too
Apart from the wind, be aware of the midges. It is prudent to take a head mesh for the occasions the little blighters decide to annoy you. I walked solo across Iceland and inadvertently swallowed hundreds!
I went back in November for 10 nights, staying at the FOSS Hotel(booked via Jet2holidays from the UK) in north harbour side of Reykjavik(the view from my 13th floor room was awesome!). I went on every tour(using BUS TRAVEL dot is), that picked me up from right outside. The Golden Circle Tour was via a coach, but for all the rest I chose a smaller group mini bus tour which was a lot better. I saw the Northern Lights twice. But like you said I went on a coach tour to see them(that was included with my holiday package) and they took us to some place with a wooden viewing platform but it was very underwhelming, with the "lights" just looking like a yellow mist(though it does look green with a 15sec exposure with a picture) because the activity was at a rating of 2!. The next time I was on the way back from a 14hr tour(that was to see the Glacier Lagoon and the diamond beach) and that night the activity was going to be a 4, but I could not book any tours at the time grrrr. So what I did was when I got back(at 9:30pm) I went and stood at the waters edge(just down from the Sun Voyager monument) and waited. I got to about 11:30pm and I could just see a green haze in the distant and thought, well that's it so I went back to the hotel(just round the corner). Just about to get into bed I thought I would look out the window and BOOOOM, the whole sky was covered with the lights. So I got dressed went back out and went back to the same spot on the waters edge and the lights were AMAZING. Very green and dancing all across the clear sky. I think I stayed out till about 3:00am until the lights calmed right down!. Overall it was an AMAZING solo holiday for me, with BREATHTAKING scenery(especially seeing the west side of the island!!). Iceland is frikken awesome!
Wow that sounds like an incredible experience, it's very rare to see them like that in Reykjavik! Glad you enjoyed your trip Iceland is amazing and I can't wait to go back in the summer to drive around the Ring Road.
Really great information! I really like how you are so realistic about planning and simply hope for the best. It feels very genuine and that's how I tend to plan my trips too! I am really excited to begin planning my Iceland trip soon and I'm sure your information will be incredibly useful! Thank you for making this video!
Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm glad you found this video helpful. Iceland is an incredible place, you'll have a great time. Please feel free to ask any questions if you have them!
@Leslie Barnaby Hey! sorry I just saw your comment. All of the tours I mentioned are linked in video description so you can get all information there. Bonus is the supermarket and they're dotted all over Iceland and the city.
If you really want to see the northern lights, the ones like at 08:20, as I did several times, do NOT book a hotel in Reykjavík, and do not join a northern lights tour. Make sure to book a hotel in the country side where it is really dark. Make sure you stay on watch the whole evening, not just half an hour, but, say, from 9pm to 1am. Do choose the right season: February, beginning of March, October or beginning of November, close to the equinoxes, but on the winter side of it, so that nights are longer. Do check with the solar cycle, make sure you go around solar maximum or a bit after solar maximum (so, wait a few years, because it is an 11-year cycle). Apart from the weather, there is absolutely no reason to move from one place to another. Northern lights are generated 100 km high or higher in the sky. This means that travelling for 20 km or so does not change anything to what you can see. If they pretended to drive you to the place where the northern lights are, they just fooled you. The only reason for moving to another place would be to avoid clouds, because these are low in the sky (less than 10 km). With all that in mind, I have been 4 times in Iceland (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016---a trip organised especially for the northern lights), each time 4-6 nights, with a "guarantee" to have on each trip at least 2 nights with northern lights, with on each trip 1 or 2 nights with a show like on 08:20, and yes, they are green, and you see the green lights. If they still appear grey, you got only a faint show. You did not wait long enough. Key to see them is: take your time, be prepared to watch for several hours, and see how the show gradually increases. And the apotheosis is when the whole sky starts to dance. You cannot take pictures any more because they move too fast (bright northern lights still require something like 1 second exposure time). It lasts only for a few minutes, and you may have to wait for hours for the show, but it is well worth it. If you are with a group, it would be a good idea to have permanently (maybe even the whole night) one group member on watch to alarm the others when the show starts. And a final hint: book a hotel with a hot tub. Relax in the hot tub while it is freezing outside and while you are watching the northern lights. Only drawback of the hot tub: you cannot take pictures (I took a few thousand pictures of them).
Thanks for your sharing your experience. Sounds like you had a great time, and I wish I i could have visited Iceland as much as you! I think I already knew that the chances of genuinely seeing the northern lights was small. Though I did really enjoy the tour we had, because it wasn't just about the northern lights. We were driven all over and I still think this is the best way to see it if you're only going from Reykjavik. If you're main priority is to see the Northern lights staying outside the city is 100% the best way to do it but for me as It was my first time in Iceland and this one was one of many things I wanted to do I had to compromise somewhere and I think this is a choice many people have to make. Which what my video is aimed at. However when I got back to Iceland in the Winter this is something I will definitely do!
@@jacklawsontravel Even though the primary goal of our trip was the northern lights, we did visit a lot more of Iceland, including the Golden Circle, Reykjanes, the Blue Lagoon, Þórsmörk, the black sands of Reynisfjara, Jökulsárlón, Mývatn, Akureyri, Mývatn Nature Baths, Krafla, Húsavík, Langjökull, ..., even driving through a real blizzard . We were lucky to have a super jeep with a skilled Icelandic driver. So, you can get almost everywhere (but still in winter you cannot go inland). In fact, for the northern lights it is good not to get the full show the first time, so that you can gradually build up the experience, and so that you want to see more.
@@thierrypauwels Yea that's the thing, most people aren't confident in driving in Iceland during the Winter, which is why they base themselves from Reykjavik. I do plan on driving around Iceland but in the summer!
Have visited Iceland 🇮🇸 4 times in both Winter & Summer. For me Car Hire was essential as I wanted to see as much as possible. With regards to driving I had good and very bad weather and drove no problem. However it’s common sense to check weather on your route and also road conditions. The ring road is normally fine to drive all year round as tyres are made for the winter ❄️ also. Love the country and some good tips.
That's great! I plan to drive the whole ring road in my second visit, so please share any advice. Thanks for the kind words, I made the video with a first trip in mind. I personally wasn't comfortable driving in Winter but I bet it's great to do so.
@@jacklawsontravel im currently trying to arrange for my van to be shipped over to iceland from the uk and stay for over a month. hiring a camper for this period is over 5 grand so its cheaper to take my own
Yup, thats more or less the best way to do Iceland. Just come back from a week tour around the golden circle. I saw the northern lights as described but from Reykjavik .
It's interesting how the perspective changes based on your expectations and previous experience. E.g. from my perspective, having day tours from Reykjavik is the most expensive way to see Iceland. These tours are not cheap, you spend a lot of time traveling there and back and you have very limited time to experience places as you are bounded by a schedule of someone else. And at the end, if the weather is bad in a given period in Reykjavik area then you are stuck because you cannot just move to other part of the island for couple days. That being said it makes a lot of sense for people who do not have much experience traveling, can't or don't want to do their own research and planning as they are taken places, are told what to see and what not.
I think it's primary based for seeing Iceland during winter. If it was Summer I would drive suggest driving but as I say in the video if you're not confident driving in winter as I wasn't then this was a better option for me. I'm glad I did as the weather was very unpredictable when I was there.
@@jacklawsontravel sure, it is very personal. I would be miserable needing to stick to a group every day. I traveled around Iceland for two weeks in May and 1 week in March. I’m going there next week again. All in a campervan.
@@ewkaj1 Yea and normally I feel the same, I usually and travel my own way, which is why i didn't enjoy the big tour I was apart of and much preferred the small groups. For what they were though these tours were really enjoyable and only had about 9 other people on them. Your trip sounds great, I'm planning my return trip to Iceland in the summer where I will be driving a camper van too!
One of the best. Very informative. Objective with a personal touch. It verifies our itinerary for our winter trip next month after my extensive research. Thank you.
I love this guided video everything explained exactly how it should be when people upload blogs about their travelling. It’s a subscribe from me 👍🏻 keep going
Great video man, just planned a trip to Iceland with two friends in January next year but I’ve you’re right we made the first two to three mistakes already. We booked a house on Airbnb and a rental car instead of staying in Reykjavik. I hope our car isn’t flying away. 🙈😅
Glad you enjoyed the video! I think as long as you're confident and are aware of the conditions you should be fine, the roads in Iceland are well maintained. Just be prepare and you'll have a great time! I'd highly recommend the hike to the hot water springs in the winter, such a unique experience.
I am from Iceland and l enjoyed watching your video. I have often wondered how they can sell those Northern lights bus tours when the weather is so unpredictable. I have seen beautiful Northern lights dancing across the sky, but the lights are never as bright as we see them in most photos today. It is like British winter hahaha l rode 15000 km all over lceland on my adventure motorcycle last summer, and l tell you, that is the best way to explore Iceland. I absolutely loved it 😊
Thanks for the kind words! Yea that's how I plan to see Iceland when I next go. I can't wait to go all over Iceland in Summer. I will definitely be back soon!
Thank you! It all depends where you're based. If you want to do a day tour from Reykjavik your options are limited the best Ice cave tours are normally start from Jokulsarlon. This link will give you the best info: guidetoiceland.is/nature-info/ice-caves-in-iceland
If you get a chance visit Videy, an island off Reykjavik, a very short boat ride near the cruise ships Dock. It feels remote and well worth spending 2 or 3 hours. You can get a coffee and a snack there too.
How cold is end of November really? Will the winds have picked up by then? I’m currently choosing kit and filling gaps but I’m not sure on footwear. I’m wondering whether my normal boots will be sufficient or should I get something new that’s a bit more robust
@@deaconsyxx322 Yes November the winds can be really strong, pretty much through most of winter although there can be exceptions this is normally the case. I would always try and wear something more robust, even in the summer if you plan on hiking some of the terrain can be very rocky.
Great and informative ! I cancelled January trip because of stories about wind and cold :/ I have asthma and the stories spooked me. Hoping to reschedule to either March or next November /December hoping won’t be as cold as January.
Glad you enjoyed it! I have Asthma too and I was fine, don't get too concerned about the weather it was only more of a warn for those planning to drive. Iceland is a very safe country and do a lot to make sure you're safe when on a trip.
Great video and lots of useful tips! I’m going in 3 weeks from the UK and got lots “openly” planned I.e. not sticking to a particular schedule but having a good idea of what you want to do which is apparently the way to go?
This is such a helpful review! Thank you very much for the info! We have planned our little trip (4 days) in February 2023. With our 4 children and their girlfriends to celebrate my wife's 50th birthday. So we are traveling with a group of 9 people and now I'm not sure what to hire for transportation. A minibus or 2 4x4 SUVs. The minibus has the advantage of being together as you drive through the countryside and share the views. But I am a bit worried about driving a minibus in a wind/blizzard. What would you do?
Awesome video! It gives really good information and so helpful for planning my own trip with my fiance! One question, we are thinking of going next year around beginning/middle of november, would it be ok to rent the car in that particular time? Or maybe due to the weather is it preferably to do the tours? Thank you again for the awesome video!
Thank you for the kind words! Once you start to get into the winter driving does become a little more difficult and remember there's only 5 hours of daylight around this time so you should be aware that it will be dark most of the time. For me personally I would always use tours to get around in winter and only drive in the summer.
Depends on your experience and how good driver you are (good in bad conditions). I drove camper vans in Iceland in May and in March, having much stronger winds and rain in May. And if weather goes very bad, there are official alerts and you are advised to travel at all anyway (that also applies to tours).
Nice video, very informative. I will be visiting & spending my New year in Iceland. I did wonder how am I & my friends suppose to visit the places, do we stay on the same hotel for the rest of our stay or book different hotel for each day. Is driving better than coach travel etc. Thanks!
Glad you also touched upon the realities of seeing the NL. I, too, was expecting to see the vibrant green lights. But thanks for telling us how they really look with no camera filters. Also…did you have to rent jackets/sweaters/boots? We have several winter gear but now wondering if we can just rent them somewhere? We live in Arizona so we won’t be needing these winter gears on the regular.
Don't get me wrong you can get lucky and see that and even what I saw was amazing, I think it's just important to enjoy it for what it is, but what really made it was our guide and how he really cared about our experience. He gave us hot chocolates and told us ghost stories while we wanted for the northern lights to appear. When we were waiting for the NL it was -13c which was very cold! Hiring winter gear is not something you can really do if i'm honest. I bought my stuff because I thought I would use it for when I go on other winter trips, in places like Norway, Canada, Finland, New Zealand etc. You won't see everything you want to see in a week so always plan to go back to Iceland! With walking boots though these are ones you can use in all climates and if you ever plan to do any other holidays that involve walking , these are a good investment for me.
@@jacklawsontravel thank you! We used to live in Wisconsin and still have some of our winter gear. I’ll bring the thickest ones. Went to Finland in October 2019 in hopes of seeing the NL. We stayed for a week, it snowed. Every. Single. Night. No sightings at all and honestly I was very disappointed. But obv it wasn’t anybody’s fault. Finland is gorgeous! Very clean and fresh. You’ll enjoy it.
Great Video!! Researching on Iceland trip this Christmas holidays!! Would you recommend hotels with kitchen or AirBnB with kitchen? I'm primarily interested in seeing northern lights and hot springs, is there are place you'd recommend I could stay for 3-4 nights so that I don't have to gamble on whether I'll be able to see Northern lights or not?
Thank you! To be honest either is fine, it just comes to down which is cheapest, I stayed in Downtown Reykjavik Apartments which was in a good location. Normally most tours start from Reykjavik so it's a good place to base yourself. Remember there's never any guarantees with the Northern Lights but going in Winter there's always a good chance. If you go on a Northern Lights tour and you don't see anything they normally just let you book on to the following night at no extra charge, so be prepared to be flexible. As I said in the video as well try and book on the small tours to see the Northern Lights try and avoid the big coach tours!
@@hellokitty2848 I would also look into hikes on glaciers or going through the Ice Caves. I didn't get to do this when i was there but I wish i had done. The Ice caves look amazing!
Thanks so much for this video. Planning a trip Jan 2022 and hoping to see the northern lights. Thanks for the links. Will be checking them out. When did you go?
@@jacklawsontravel funny thing…I went on a solo cruise Feb 2020. Came back Feb 21 no issues. Feb 24 all cruises coming back were quarantined. Missed that, thankfully! Yeah, I might be asking you more questions. Really thought about doing large groups for the cheaper price but I think we will book small tours to maximize the experience.
@@hellokitty2848 Yea it was a strange time! Yes I would highly recommend doing this. Your Day Tours is a company I would highly recommend. Also if you want to see the northern lights you must avoid the coach tours, it's not even half of the experience.
Sorry I've only just seen this! Yes you can but it's far from Reykavik I think Diamond Beach is about 5 hours and here is also where a number of great Ice Cave tours start. You can do an ice cave tour from Reykavik but the best ones to see in Winter are in Jökulsárlón. To do these though you need to stay near here or take a two day tour from Reykavik which gives you come accommodation. I've listed some tours for you to check out: Diamond Beach from Reykavik : www.viator.com/en-GB/tours/Reykjavik/Jewels-of-the-South-Jokulsarlon-Diamond-Beach-and-South-Coast-Day-Tour/d905-50287P14 Ice cave tour from Jökulsárlón: adventures.is/iceland/day-tours/ice-caves/crystal-ice-cave/ Ice Cave tour from Reykavik: www.getyourguide.co.uk/reykjavik-l30/katla-ice-cave-tour-t135519/
One more question, An agency offers excursions moderate hotels around Iceland and a car rental ( if you do self drive) for about 6k total USD. If i did a group tour it would be Around the same. What I have trouble understanding is : Did you book a flight to iceland, buy a rental / excursion which was the northern lights tour from your air bib that you booked? The site has all these excursions are these included with pick up and drop off? Thank you
I would always avoid an agency because they're always expensive. Although I appreciate that flights will be more expensive from US to Iceland but my 5 day long stay including hotel, excursions and flights was about £500 per person. So to be charging 6K is very expensive! All tours and accommodation is listed in the description of this video and I would highly recommend you look at these links and use these sites to book your excursions. It's very common for all tours to pick up from your hotel and this is standard with most tours in Iceland. So please don't think that this is a bonus from the agency. I would recommend using Air BnB or Booking.com and again doing your research. Holiday autos is a great place to look for car rental. Most of all I would recommend booking this all yourself because you will save a lot more money. If you need help please ask i'm always happy to help.
Yea I would recommend this! I've had a few friends who done this and they loved it. I'd look into the Ice Cave tours as well. It depends what country you're coming from. If you're coming from Europe then no. Best thing to do is to what your network charges for roaming fees.
Glad you enjoyed the video! I listed the tours I used in the description of the video. However I think the company I used to see the Northern Lights went out of business due to the pandemic, so I found a company that offers a similar tour. This is the tour I found: www.getyourguide.co.uk/reykjavik-l30/northern-light-tour-with-hot-chocolate-cinnamon-buns-t209991/
Depends what kind of new years you want to have. If you want easy access to bars and restaurants the only place to stay is Reykjavik. However if you want a nice secluded NYE then you can always hire a place outside of the city, but if you do this make sure you're prepared weather wise incase you get snowed in!
Yes if you wanted to do an Ice Cave tour I would highly recommend Crystal Ice Cave Tour from Jökulsárlón. The South Coast tour is good from Reykjavík is great, details on this are in the video description. If you want to see more of East Iceland you'll have to find accommodation around somewhere like Egilsstaðir. But to see more of this side of Iceland you're better off hiring a car and exploring this yourself looking for tours that start from that side of the country. If you can book tours that explore this side of the country but they're very expensive.
Great video but still unsure of where to stay there? Thinking of going in February for 5 nights with my partner. Do we get an Airbnb in the middle of nowhere? If so, where? Do we book tours apart or do we rent a car? Thanks in advance!
I went in February and the weather can be really unpredictable. I would personally avoid renting a car in the winter due to the weather. If i were you I would stay in Reykjavik that way you don't need to worry about the weather most tours start from here and will even pick you up.
Hi jack , I found a good price on a northern light luxury yacht tour , what do you think of that ? Or do you still recommend the tour you provided the link to ? I would like like to hear your thoughts
Hey, I don't know much about the yacht tour, is a small group? If you're going in the winter it's worth considering that the seas can be pretty rough so personally I can only recommend what i've done so that's my recommendation. Small group tours are definitely worth the extra cost. My advice is to always read the reviews of any tour, see what other people say, for me this is a great way of knowing what tours to avoid.
Hello. My fiancé and i are choosing Iceland as our honeymoon in January. it is winter.. so we are unsure if its better to rent a car, or do a tour group.
It all comes down to what you wanna see and do. Driving in the Winter in Iceland can be unpredictable which why is personally I chose not to drive, plus things I wanted to see were in reach from Reykjavik so that's why I made that choice. So what I would ask is what do you want to see? Can you get a tour to see it? and make the choice based on your answers. If you're confident driving in wintery conditions then hiring a car may be your best option. Just be aware It's impossible to see everything in Iceland in one short trip which is why I'm planning to go back in the summer where I will be hiring a camper van.
@@jacklawsontravel thank you! Def blue lagoon, Skosafoss idk if i spelled it right, black sand beaches i def want to see. I’m comfortable with 6 nights or 5 nights 6 days.
@@yosief3016 You can do all of these from tours in Reykjavik, so personally I would recommend looking at small group tours. Please look at the links in the description of this video, your day tours are a great company to use. This is the same amount of time I stayed for and it cost me around £500 for flights, hotel and day trips. It sounds like you want to book a Golden Circle Tour, South Coast Tour, Northern Lights tour , the Thermal river Hike (especially in winter) and I would recommend looking at other thermal baths around Iceland, Blue Lagoon is amazing but so is Sky Lagoon. Why not see both?!
@@jacklawsontravel I have seen it as bright as that and full of different color, but it is more of a rare thing. That mountain is Kirkjufell ( Church Mountain )
