This 3-night break offers the chance to see many of Iceland’s natural wonders whilst staying in the vibrant capital, as well as Northern Lights hunting, whale watching, and a superjeep tour.
Iceland Northern Lights & Whale Explorer
Whale watching has traditionally been a summer activity in Iceland, however, the last two winters have proven that the incidence of sightings in the winter is also very good, at about 70%, so now you can see whales and the Northern Lights on the same holiday!
Overview
Highlights
- Whale watching boat trip
- Superjeep Northern Lights hunt
- Northern lights hunt by boat
- Visit to the Blue Lagoon
- Golden Circle SuperJeep Tour; Pingvellir Rift Valley, Gullfoss Waterfall and Strokkur Geyser.
- 3 nights at Alda Hotel
What’s included
- 3 nights accommodation with breakfast at Alda Hotel
- Airport transfers
- Superjeep Northern Lights hunt
- Northern Lights hunt by Boat
- Whale watching boat trip
- Golden Circle Superjeep Tour
A note on flights
While flights are not included in the holiday price, our team will happily provide a quote and arrange them for you. Simply ask one of our Travel Experts for details of the available options.
Day by Day Itinerary
Fly to Reykjavik, Northern Lights Hunt by Boat
Fly to Reykjavik and take a flybus transfer into the centre.
After dinner you have your first exciting excursion lined up, which is a Boat Cruise in search of the Northern Lights. Hunting the Northern Lights from the ocean is an amazing experience.
Sail away from the coastline of Reykjavik and hopefully see the aurora borealis out on the North Atlantic ocean with beautiful mountains and the city lights in the background.
This 2-3 hour northern lights cruise includes warm overalls to wear, heated seating areas inside and an expert guide on board to explain the Northern Lights. If you are not lucky enough to see them you have the chance to go out again the next evening at no extra cost (availability allowing).
Meet the guides and the captain from the boat tour you will be on.
Overnight in Reykjavik.
Golden Circle SuperJeep Tour, Pingvellir Rift Valley, Gullfoss Waterfall and Strokur Geyser
This guided SuperJeep Tour is a must for anyone that has not been to Iceland before.
You will walk in a dramatic mini rift valley created by Tectonic plate movement, gaze at the thundering Gullfoss waterfall, which can totally freeze in winter, and marvel at the Strokkur Geyser which erupts every 5 mins.
If you are lucky and the weather conditions are right, the guide sometimes takes you up in the Superjeep for a short drive actually on the glacier. Finally, time allowing, the guide will also add a visit to the stunning blue-green volcanic basalt lake Kerid, before your return to Reykjavik.
Evening at leisure and overnight in Reykjavik.
Whale Watching Tour, SuperJeep Northern Lights Hunt
Morning at leisure to enjoy Reykjavik. For ideas of things to do in Reykjavik.
Early afternoon you have your 3-hour Whale Watching trip.
The boats offer comfort, a warm interior and a large outside viewing deck. The captain and crew point out where to spot the whales and give interesting information about the different kinds of whales and seabirds you can expect to see.
The guides also take specimens from the ocean on each tour and show them to the passengers on an on-board screen using special microscopes. Here the ocean comes to life as you get to see and feel objects such as baleen plates, whale teeth and whale bones. Warm overalls are provided to keep you warm and dry and there is a bar where drinks and snacks can be purchased. Meet the guides & captains from the boat tours you will be on.
This evening you will be taken out from Reykjavik in a superjeep into the wilderness for a final search of the Northern Lights. Cloudless skies sightings can occur from autumn to early spring. The elders say that the colder the nights the more vibrant and intense the colours will be. Swirling and swaying overhead, displays are usually greenish yellow but white, red and pink lights also frequently appear.
Please note the maximum number of passengers in the Superjeep is six in order to give you a very personal and individual tour.
This is in sharp contrast to the coach tours that are available through other companies, or the very large Superjeep Tours with 12 people in.
Overnight at Reykjavik.
Visit Blue Lagoon, Transfer Airport for flight home
After breakfast check out before a flybus transfer to the Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most famous sites, whose geothermal waters are particularly good for your skin.
Here you can bathe in the warm bright blue waters, put Silica mud on your face or try out the sauna and steam rooms which are carved into the lava.
You can easily while away a couple of hours and there is a choice of restaurants with lovely views of the Lagoon. We would also recommend the in-water massage treatments which are just heaven!
Afterwards your flybus transfer will take you to the airport for your flight home.
If this is not what you are looking for, you might want to take a look at our Iceland Northern Lights Short Breaks
We have an extensive Northern Lights Information Hub if you need further information
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See what our clients say
This vacation has without without doubt, has been the best experience we have ever had. The organisation from the minute we landed in Kiruna until we departed at the close of our trip was second to none. The transition between hotels was always seamless and punctual. Everywhere we stayed was beautifully clean and the meals were top quality. Every driver was polite, entertaining and very knowledgeable, furnishing us with invaluable information about Sweden and the activities in which we were to participate. The snowmobiling was wonderful giving access via our guide, to stunning panoramic views of the mountain whilst viewing reindeer in their natural habitat.
Our guide demonstrated how to use the snowmobile safely he was pleasant and informative. When visiting the reindeer on the Sami reservation; we found the brother and sister team who hosted lovely. Again they were so hospitable and helpful and feeding the reindeer up close was a wonderful experience.
They provided additional activities for us to try and we were treated to a traditional Sami lunch in their hut. They provided us with invaluable information appertaining to their culture and caring for their reindeer. The reindeer were in superb condition and happy in their environment. Similarly, when out with the dog sleds the experience was magical. Two hours of beautiful scenery, and frozen lakes, finishing with a one-on-one experience massaging the dogs. Magic! We were so impressed with the care that was placed upon ensuring the dogs were comfortable, well-nourished and so loved by their owners/handlers.
Now to the photographic experience. A large group of us were treated to a demonstration of how to operate some serious camera equipment with tripod. Each of us was loaned the camera and given assistance setting up the camera on a frozen lake in preparation for the appearance of the Northern Lights. We were taken to this lake on large wooden sleighs pulled by a snowmobile. We cannot speak too highly of the two young men who accompanied us on this experience. They could not do enough for us. They were there to offer assistance with our cameras throughout the two-plus hours we were on this beautiful lake.
They advised where to position the camera and when the Lights appeared, what a performance. We had a two-hour display of this most breathtaking phenomenon. We were so fortunate to be able to experience this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for which we are so grateful. We will never forget this memorable holiday and cannot thank you and everyone who assisted in making a lifetime dream come true. Karen & Andrew Adamson
Fantastic service, with every detail taken care of and communicated to your agencies and hotels. Would definitely recommend and will be using again.
Thank you for arranging a fabulous holiday, we had a really enjoyable time and would love to return in the future. Hotel Ranga is a lovely place to stay and the owner greeted guests in the restaurant, which was an unexpected welcoming touch. We didn’t see the Northern Lights due to the weather and the trip to the Eyjafjallajokull glacier and volcano was substituted by an excursion to Thorsmork, also due to the weather, which we thoroughly enjoyed; the brochure description doesn’t do it justice. We found Iceland and the people there really charismatic. Although the wind and snow cut short the amount of travelling we could do, we still covered a reasonable amount of what we wanted to see and our appetites are whetted for a return, perhaps in Spring or Summer. We found a couple of great places to eat near the Hotel in Reykjavik. Messin does tasty fish dishes and the Icelandic Street Food restaurant was excellent, offering simple but hearty soups with refills included in the price – great value.
Thoroughly enjoyed the trip. The Abisko Mountain Lodge was fantastic, every member of staff was friendly welcoming and charming. Accommodation, upgraded room was excellent. The food in the lodge definitely deserves the high reviews. Good breakfast, great hime made lunch soups and extremely tasty evening dinners.
The included trips were great. The only let down was the camera night, couldn’t see the lights no one fault, but we were walked through thigh high snow to be left on a frozen lake for the duration of the trip. There was no warning of the difficult walk and we had a 91 year old with us and I have hip problems! That said the guide was great, as were the ones on the skimobile and husky rides. We went up to the sky station in a snow storm with high winds, added to the experience!
Would go back in a heart beat.
We had little communication with Weekend a la carte, no need as all communications were clear and contained all the information we needed. Very informative emails
Would use again if going back
Fantastic trip with great hosts & made even more special by seeing the Northern Lights twice!!
We have never before experienced such friendly and simultaneously professional service! Alex’s communication was super prompt, questions encouraged and welcomed and attended to with great care and detail. Everything was well organised and available on beautifully designed and very useful platforms. Our destination (Mattarahkka Northern Lights Lodge) was fabulous on so many different levels – exquisite views, friendly interactions from everyone on the team, great food, exciting activities, perfectly situated to see the northern lights (seen twice in 4 nights’ stay), a great fire place, and not to mention our fantastic guide Fabio. Their provision of winter kit (hats, down jacket, snow trousers, leather gloves and boots) offered everything we needed to be comfortable outside. All we needed to have packed really were base layers, a few layers of clothing and woollen socks. Defintely somewhere we would highly recommend and return to when possible!
My wife and I had an awesome and memorable trip to Iceland thanks to Alex at Aurora Nights. Alex tailored the itinerary to exactly what we wanted to see and chose excellent hotels to stay at. We totally enjoyed the city of Reykjavik and the many beautiful waterfalls. He went above and beyond to not only recommend sights to see around the Golden Circle and Ring Road, but also mapped it out so we were prepared to drive through the country during unpredictable weather and road conditions. And we were especially pleased to see the Northern Lights on our visit. Alex was very flexible to make changes to our plans and choosing the wonderful Sky Lagoon to replace our tickets for the Blue Lagoon due to the closure from the volcanic activity. We highly recommend Alex and Aurora Nights.
This was a bucket list trip. The company are specialists and I’ve valued their advice. Everything from the when to go for the best opportunity to see the lights and equipment needed and provided.Our activities included, the Ice Hotel, night photo shoot, snowmobiling, guided walk and the sky station meal. All excellent and well run by knowledgeable experts and guides. The Abisko Lodge is warm comfortable and relaxing the food is excellent and the staff welcoming, friendly and very helpful. I would highly recommend if you’re looking for a different and exciting experience.