Perfect 6-Day Northern Lights Vacation in Iceland

Welcome to Iceland! Enjoy your first day in the land of fire and ice by exploring Reykjavik and enjoying a northern lights hunting tour.

When your flight lands at Keflavik International Airport, you'll collect your luggage and board the pre-booked shuttle bus to Reykjavik, the world's northernmost capital. Depending on your flight's arrival time, you may have time to spend a few hours sightseeing once you've checked into your accommodation.

Reykjavik has a small population but is a vibrant, bustling city with plenty to entertain visitors. You'll find several excellent art galleries and fascinating museums to teach you about Icelandic culture and history. You can also visit the Hallgrimskirkja church, one of the country's highest buildings, for a sweeping view over the city's rooftops.

Head to the city's coastline to see the Sun Voyager sculpture, then go to the Old Harbor to look at the Harpa Concert Hall. 

When you're ready for dinner, try some traditional Icelandic food in one of the city's world-class restaurants, and head to a pub for a drink with some locals. Ensure you don't linger too long, as now it'll be time for your exciting evening tour to hunt for the northern lights.

The aurora borealis appear over Iceland's skies between September and March, but the best time to see them is in the depths of winter. The northern lights don't usually appear over Reykjavik, as the city has too much light pollution. Taking a northern lights hunting tour maximizes your chances of spotting the lights as you head away from the city's lights.

When booking your vacation package, you can choose to take a bus tour into the Icelandic countryside or a boat tour of Faxafloi Bay. On both tours, an experienced local guide will take you to an area with low cloud cover, consulting an advanced aurora forecast to predict where the lights will appear.

The northern lights are a natural phenomenon, so there's no guarantee you'll see them during your trip — but taking a tour with experts will increase your chances.

After a beautiful evening spent (hopefully) watching the aurora borealis dancing in the sky above, you'll return to your accommodation in downtown Reykjavik for a good night's sleep.

Enjoy free time sightseeing in Reykjavik, or add a day trip to the magnificent Snaefellsnes Peninsula on your last full day in Iceland.

Locals often call the Snaefellsnes Peninsula "Iceland in miniature" because it has a variety of different natural attractions. Anything you can visit in Iceland, you can also see in the Snaefellsnes Peninsula — glaciers, volcanoes, mountains, black-sand beaches, and more.

You'll visit the stunning Djupalonssandur beach (home to the historic lifting stones) and the "arrowhead" mountain from Game of Thrones (known more accurately as the Kirkjufell mountain). You'll also see a glacier-capped stratovolcano at the Snaefellsjokull National Park.

The Snaefellsjokull volcano is visible throughout the Snafellsnes Peninsula — it's even visible from Reykjavik on a clear day. You'll quickly understand why its dramatic presence has inspired many artists, including Jules Verne, who used it as a setting in his novel A Journey to the Center of the Earth.

The day trip to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula is included in the vacation package, but if you'd prefer to stay in Reykjavik, you can book a free day in the city instead (for a reduced price). You'll find plenty of sightseeing opportunities in the city. Visit one of the city's best art galleries, such as the Einar Jonsson Museum and Sculpture Garden or the National Gallery. 

You can also learn more about Icelandic history and culture at the Settlement Exhibition at Reykjavik City Museum. Or, why not discover the marine life in Icelandic waters at the Whales of Iceland Museum?

Whale lovers can also take advantage of a whale-watching boat tour from Reykjavik's Old Harbor. Alternatively, if you haven't had enough excitement, you can take an exhilarating ATV tour through the Icelandic countryside instead. Zoom across hills, valleys, and rivers on an all-terrain vehicle.

Whatever you decide to do, your final full day in Iceland will be one to remember. You'll spend the last night in your accommodation in Reykjavik before your flight home tomorrow.