Icelandic Northern Lights New Year Classic

Overall very good. Staff excellent and helpful. Accomodation basic but was what we expected. Tour guides very good (nature walks, snow mobiles, dog sleighs). Sky station disappointing as we never got to go up due to the weather and this seem to be a recurring feature.The alternative walk at night and meal was a let down as a result.Overall would recommend to others.

My daughter and I had an amazing time on our trip, we didn’t want it to end! Everything went according to plan, each excursion was well organized and everyone involved with each activity, as well as everyone at the lodge was kind, friendly, positive and happy, which makes such a difference to your whole experience. The food at The Abisko Mountain Lodge was also incredibly good. Our room was large, comfortable and well-furnished. The bathroom too was also spacious and well-equipped. The outdoor clothing provided was of very good quality which kept us warm, and the staff members are happy to change items if they are not quite the right size for you. This is my second trip with Weekend a la carte and I’m sure there will be more as I have complete trust in them. I highly recommend Aurora Nights, it was fabulous.

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!!

Superb holiday to Iceland, well organised, advice regarding trips informative and far exceeded our expectations (Glaciers and ice Cave) run by South Coast. Hotel Ranga is a lovely hotel, perfect to see Northern Lights (which we did see on our 3rd night), very comfortable, food excellent, staff helpful and informative. SouthCoast Adventure tour company were excellent, guides knowledgeable, and clearly very experienced.

We had a fantastic 4 nights that included glaciers, waterfalls, geysers, the aurora borealis and more! Lovely hotels, especially Hotel Ranga. We filled every moment and felt thoroughly invigorated on our return.

We did the aurora nights break and had a great time overall. Everything related to flights, hire car, and hotels ran smoothly. There were a few issues largely relating to the weather and driving conditions (we travelled in mid March), but what we did manage to do was amazing.

The blue lagoon was easy to access from the airport and was a brilliant experience. We booked the standard package and it came with a free drink and face mask. Facilities were clean and organised with free toiletries in the shower rooms, which helps if you’ve gone there straight from the airport.

The drive to Hotel Ranga afterwards was long but fine (check out the road on google streetview to know what to expect). The hotel and staff were great. We were limited to one option as vegetarians on the bar and a la carte menus, but the food was lovely and if you are a meat eater you will see options of unusual dishes like puffin and reindeer.

Our northern lights super jeep trip was cancelled on both nights due to a poor forecast, but we were lucky enough to get an aurora wake up call from Hotel Ranga the first night. We couldn’t use the hottubs as there are only a few and they were always taken in the limited time we spent at the hotel, so don’t go expecting to get lots of time in one and you won’t be disappointed. View them as an add on if you can time it right. We were travelling with an 11 year old, so we didn’t stay up really late. If you are a couple you probably have a better chance of getting one later on.

The glacier/volcano super jeep trip was outstanding. Our driver, Íbí was excellent. She went above and beyond and gave us such an awesome experience. We were also super lucky with the weather the first two days and had great views across Iceland.

The ice cave tour was also incredible and the guides running it were excellent. The group size was much bigger than expected (especially after the more exclusive volcano super jeep tour), but it was broken down into smaller groups that were managed well, with plenty of time factored in for photographs. There were several unexplained delays getting to the cave during the tour that meant we weren’t able to ‘mini tour’ the rest of the South Coast afterwards, so if you plan to do the ice cave don’t overplan for the afternoon as you may not have much time. Not a huge disappointment for us as we got to experience the cave, but I imagine someone who planned a full itinerary afterwards might be frustrated by the estamiated timings not always being right and subject to change with the weather (which was wicked that day).

Driving around Reykjavik was a horrible experience as we arrived around rush hour and weren’t prepared for all the traffic, having only experienced quiet roads along the south coast. It was difficult finding a parking space, so be prepared to drive around a little when you arrive. If you haven’t driven on the right before and are not a confident driver this could leave you feeling stressed. Again, check out the roads into Reykjavik on Google maps to get a sense of what awaits if you aren’t used to self-driving.

We didn’t get to tour the golden circle because of road conditions/ice/road closures, so we spent the day in Reykjavik instead. This turned out okay for us as we did some of the attractions (Lava Centre and Fly Over Iceland – both hughly recommended), but it ended up being an extra expense and we missed out on the golden attractions. Again, not a big issue if you are aware this could happen. The weather is so changeable that having a plan B is a good approach.

Weekend a la Carte sent us a text warning us about the bad weather conditions, which we’d already seen on the Safe Iceland app, but we were grateful for anyway. It was good to know they were looking out for us!

All in all, a remarkable trip, with some unique experiences. If you book this in the knowledge that nature will have her own way, and you may not see everything you want (especially in winter), you will have a great time. Ranga is definitely the best place to maximise your chances of seeing the lights.

A well organised trip which was tailored to our specific requests. The arrangements all ran perfectly and any queries prior to the holiday were handled very quickly and professionally. The standard of accommodation and organised tours was very high. I would use this company again and recommend them.