Northern Lights Exploration - 8 days

Reykjavik. Welcome to Iceland and the start of your Northern Lights adventure! Your transfer to our accommodation is by Flybus shuttle. The remainder of the day is at leisure.

Reykjavik - Borgarfjorour Valley - Borgarnes. This morning we meet our tour guide and depart on a Reykjavik city tour exploring some of the highlights of Iceland’s capital before heading west to Borgarfjorour.Borgarfjorour valley is known as the Saga valley of West Iceland because many important historical events took place there. You get a chance to climb the Grabrok volcano crater and warm up at Deildartunguhver, Europe's most powerful hot spring, producing 180 litres of nearly boiling water (97°c) per second. We continue to Hraunfossar, a series of waterfalls pouring from beneath a wide lava field. Barnafoss - the Children’s falls, is nearby with its own tragic tale. We spend the next two nights at Borgarnes in West Iceland. This afternoon includes a lecture about the Northern Lights and after dinner we head into the garden to search for the Northern Lights, followed by a hot cup of chocolate or tea.

Borgarnes - Snaefellsnes Peninsula - Breidafjordur fjord cruise - Borgarnes. Today we explore the Snaellsnes Peninsula or the Peninsula of the snowy mountain. A rugged mountain chain runs its length. We travel to the charming fishing town of Stykkishólmur for a lunchtime cruise on the Breidafjördur fjord. Afterwards we can stroll around the sheltered harbour exploring this charming town with its many old wooden houses. A uniquely Icelandic “treat “awaits you at our next stop, Bjarnarhöfn, where they make Hákarl - delicious fermented shark. Depending on the conditions, we may also visit the fishing village of Grundarfjorour to admire the beautiful coastline and Mt Kirkjufell which overlooks the bay.Today our guide gives us some practical tips of how to photograph the Auroras as part of the Northern Lights Academy program. Once darkness falls, we venture into the hotel garden and relax in the outdoor hot tubs to hopefully await an appearance from the breathtaking Northern Lights.

Borgarnes - Golden Circle - Selfoss. This morning we travel along the scenic shores of the Hvalfjörour fjord, stopping at an Icelandic wool outlet store before continuing inland to Thingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. After a stop at the park, we continue to the Geysir geothermal fields, where there's a variety of hot springs and bubbling pools. The original geyser is now dormant but Strokkur, "the Churn“ is very much still active and erupts every 5-10 minutes. When we get to Geysir, we visit the restaurant and taste freshly baked hot spring bread served with delicious Icelandic butter, geothermally boiled eggs and local herring. This is best served with a small glass of ice cold (nearly frozen) Geysir Schnapps. Leaving the geyser fields, we stop at the last site on Iceland's Golden Circle - Gullfoss “the golden falls“. This double waterfall tumbles 34 meters into the Hvítá River. This afternoon, we learn about the history of the hardy Icelandic horse and the special qualities they possess. We also visit a geothermal greenhouse, before reaching our accommodation in South Iceland.Tonight, we step into the darkness and search for the elusive Northern Lights, which are best enjoyed from the comfort of the hot tub in the garden of the hotel amidst the peace and stillness of rural Iceland.

Hella - Eyjafjallajökull - Kirkjubaejarklaustur. Today we travel along the South coast. At our first stop of the day we will learn about the geology and the active volcano's in Iceland at the Lava & Volcano Exhibition centre. Further east we visit one of Iceland's finest folk museums. This museum contains an outstanding collection of farm and domestic artefacts typical of Iceland’s past as well as several turf-built houses. Nearby is the waterfall of Skógafoss which stands 60 meters tall and is one of the most impressive waterfalls in Iceland. This afternoon we take a stroll along black lava beach and the bird cliffs at Reynisfjara beach in South Iceland. We spend the next 2 nights near Kirkjubæjarklaustur in the Vatnajökull National Park region, located in complete darkness and ideal for Northern Lights search.

Kirkjubaejarklaustur - Jökulsárlón - Kirkjubaejarklaustur. Today is all about glaciers, ice and icebergs. This morning we travel to Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon which is filled with floating icebergs. Exploring this extraordinary site we keep an eye out for seals swimming in the freezing Arctic waters. We then can walk along the black sandy beach where some large icebergs have gotten stranded. This afternoon we visit the tiny turf church in the town of Hof before heading to the National Park. The Vatnajökull National Park covers about 12,000 square kilometres and is the largest National Park in Europe. Here we find Iceland’s highest mountains, an alpine environment, and Europe's largest glacier which the park is named after. Alternatively we can take an optional Ice Cave tour (between Nov 15th and March 15th only) - see Trip Notes for more details. Tonight we enjoy a movie presentation about the Northern Lights as a part of the Northern Lights Academy program before hopefully seeing the Northern Lights shimmering and dancing across the night sky.

Kirkjubaejarklaustur - Vik - Reykjavík. This morning we depart Kirkjubæjarklaustur and head across the Eldhraun lava field to the village of Vik where we make a photo stop. We take a stroll on the black lava beach and along the bird cliffs at Reynisfjara beach in South Iceland. Further west we reach the high but narrow Seljalandsfoss waterfall which plunges over the mountain. Those wishing to get a bit closer can take a trail that goes behind the falling water but be prepared to get wet! In the afternoon we return to Reykjavik where we have a couple of hours to explore Iceland's capital on our own, visit museums, do some shopping or simply rest after all this touring. This evening we head to the famous Blue Lagoon for a relaxing soak, followed by a traditional Icelandic dinner at the Northern Light Inn Hotel and finishing off with one last nocturnal tour to seek the Northern Lights. Around midnight we reach Reykjavík for one last night.

Today our Northern Lights Icelandic experience comes to an end with included FlyBus transfer to Keflavik Airport.