The Northern Lights have always been on my bucket list so Iceland in December, why not? Well if you think you can just show up, not pay an admission fee, look up to the sky and see the naturally occurring phenomenon of the collisions caused by electrically charged particles from the sun entering the earth's atmosphere then you’re in for a surprise. We spent 10 days traveling through the southern portion of the island chasing the picturesque scenery we’ve grown up seeing on the google image search of “northern lights.” On our very last night we decided to pay the admission fee, or in this case a tour fee. We loaded one of 10 buses at 9:00 PM that followed each other in a straight line for 45 minutes where we stopped at an empty large field with a short fence. We were herded out of the buses onto the field where we were told to just wait for what turned out to be 3 hours. Finally, a faint green shadow appeared into the sky and people’s excitement grew as it became brighter and brighter. Ten minutes later we were asked to get back on the bus because the tour was over and the faint light had faded away… Coldest time to travel to Iceland with a total sun light amounting to about 4 hours a day for 10 minutes of a shadow of a green light in the sky! Well that part sucked but the rest of the trip made every minute worth it. We were able to go inside ice caves after hiking one of the largest glaciers in the world, snow mobile in a storm on top of a mountain, scuba dive in the clearest water on earth (Silfra, a gap between North American and Eurasian plates), see some of the most beautiful waterfalls (like 50 of them), soak in the famous Blue Lagoon and of course, my favorite, visit the Lebowski Bar, home of over 20 different White Russian drinks. I love White Russians! Overall, Iceland has so much more to offer than just a green light in the sky and I would’ve done it over again even if I knew I couldn't see the Northern Lights.
Travel Tips:
If you’re not looking to see the Northern Lights, go in the summer when you get 20 hours of sunlight and beautiful weather.
If you’re going in the winter, pack thermals; they’re lifesavers. Icelandic people care less about keeping warm than they do about their fashion statements. You’re going to want to dress up so thermals make that possible.
If you’re going to Scuba Silfra then you need to book ahead of time and read all of the guidelines to make sure you fit the criteria.
Iceland does not have the best food options and it is super expensive so pack some bars or stop by the Costco there if you’re planning for a longer trip.
Rent a car and drive as much of the island as you can. Don’t just stay in Reykjavík.
Go to Secret Lagoon! Its much cheaper than Blue Lagoon and is actually a natural hot spring (Blue Lagoon is manmade).
