Cheapest seatFree repeat
4 hNorthern Lights Bus Tour
★ 4.3 · 14873 reviews
- The classic coach hunt out of Reykjavik
- Hot cocoa and cinnamon buns included
- Free repeat trip if you see nothing
- Free cancellation
$71$17.75 / hour
Check availability→ The classic coach hunt
Northern lights bus tour from Reykjavik: the cheapest way out of the glare
A northern lights bus tour from Reykjavik costs $71 and takes four hours. It is the most booked aurora tour in Iceland by a wide margin — 14,873 reviews — and it does one job very well: it drives eighty people out of the city glare and back, with hot cocoa, and rebooks them free if the sky stays shut.
What a coach tour does well
Cheap, warm, and out of the city
Cheapest seat in the city, and a genuinely good night out.
The single biggest thing standing between you and the aurora in Reykjavik is the city itself. Street lighting washes out anything but a strong display, and the coach solves that for seventy-one dollars.
It is also warm. Four hours outside in February is a long time, and a coach you can duck back into changes the evening completely — particularly with children, or with anyone who underestimated the wind chill.
The hot cocoa and cinnamon buns are not a gimmick either. At half past eleven, standing in the dark, they matter more than they sound.
And the free repeat is real. If nothing appears, you go again on another night of your stay at no cost. With 14,873 reviews behind it, this is a well-run product that does exactly what it says.
The one real limitation
A coach cannot change its mind
Eighty people, a driver on hours, and a car park big enough to turn in. That combination fixes the destination early in the evening.
Icelandic cloud does not cooperate with that. It is rarely overcast everywhere at once: on most nights part of the country is clear, and it may be an hour and a half away in a direction nobody planned for at six o’clock.
A minibus with a dozen people can be told at half past nine and be there by half ten. A coach usually waits where it is and hopes the gap comes to it.
That is the whole difference between $71 and $94, and on a patchy night it is the difference between seeing something and not.
Northern lights bus tour at a glance
- Price
- $71per person, four hours
- Reviews
- 14,873the most of any aurora tour here
- Group
- Coach, up to ~80the trade you make for the price
- Included
- Hot cocoa and bunsand a guide watching the sky
- Free repeat
- Yesif the aurora does not appear
- Pickup
- Bus stops downtownaround 21:00
- Back
- Midnight to 01:00depending on the night
- Cancellation
- Free to 24 h
Book direct
The tours
Everything on this page in one place.
Our top pickSmall group
4 hPremium Small-Group Tour
★ 4.4 · 3126 reviews
- Small group, not eighty people
- The guide can change plan when cloud moves
- Free repeat trip if you see nothing
- Free cancellation
$94$23.50 / hour
Check availability→ 
Small groupHot cocoa
4 hNorthern Lights Minibus Tour
★ 4.6 · 722 reviews
- Minibus, so the route is flexible
- Hot cocoa and Icelandic pastries
- Photos taken by the guide
- Free cancellation
$157$39.25 / hour
Check availability→ Before you book
Six checks that apply to every aurora tour
- Book the first night of your stay
Almost every operator rebooks you free if the aurora does not appear. On the last night that promise is worth nothing.
- Read the group size
“Small group” is not a regulated term. Look for an actual number.
- Find the pickup point
It is a numbered bus stop, not your hotel door, and they do not wait long.
- Dress for standing still
Thermal base layer, windproof outer, hat, gloves, proper boots. The wind chill does the damage.
- Give your eyes twenty minutes
Coming off a lit street the aurora looks like grey cloud.
- Expect cancellations
An operator who runs on a hopeless night is selling you a coach ride in the dark. You are refunded.
Every trip, current fare
All nine tours
For comparison: everything that hunts the aurora out of Reykjavik.
| Tour | Time out | Price | Group size | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Lights Bus TourThe classic coach hunt, cheapest seat | 4 h | $71 | Coach, up to ~80 | $17.75 | 4.3 · 14,873 |
| Premium Small-Group TourSmall group, flexible route | 4 h | $94 | Small group | $23.50 | 4.4 · 3,126 |
| Northern Lights Minibus TourMinibus with hot cocoa and photos | 4 h | $157 | Small group | $39.25 | 4.6 · 722 |
| Tour with a Pro PhotographerA photographer travels with you | 4 h | $155 | Small group | $38.75 | 4.8 · 446 |
| Northern Lights Yacht TourOut of the harbour by sea | 2 h | $91 | Boat | $45.50 | 4.4 · 1,342 |
| Super Jeep Northern Lights TourOff the road, into the dark | 4 h | $196 | Super jeep, small | $49.00 | 4.2 · 157 |
| Lava Tunnel & Northern LightsLava tunnel first, aurora after | 4 h | $196 | Small group | $49.00 | 4.7 · 80 |
| Whale Watching & Lights ComboWhales by day, aurora by night | 6 h | $190 | Boat | $31.67 | 4.3 · 131 |
| Golden Circle, Blue Lagoon & LightsGolden Circle, Blue Lagoon and the aurora | 15 h | $319 | Coach | $21.27 | 4.7 · 261 |
Whatever you book, book it for the first night you are here.
When to come→Common questions
Northern lights bus tour, answered
How much is a northern lights bus tour from Reykjavik?
$71 per person for four hours, including hot cocoa and a free repeat trip if the aurora does not appear.
How many people are on the coach?
Up to about eighty. That is what keeps the price down and what stops the vehicle changing plan late in the evening.
Is the bus tour worth it?
For the money, yes. It gets you out of the city glare, keeps you warm and gives you a free second attempt. If you have two nights and want the best odds, pay the extra for a small group.
What is included?
Transport, a guide, hot cocoa and cinnamon buns on most departures, and a free repeat trip.
Where does it pick up?
From designated bus stops around central Reykjavik, usually around nine in the evening. Check your listing for the stop number.
What if it is cancelled?
You are refunded. Operators decide in the late afternoon and message you.
Go deeper
More on the aurora in Reykjavik
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VerdictThe best northern lights tour
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What causes it, what the numbers mean, and what you will actually see.
Super jeepSuper jeep aurora tours
Off the road and away from the coach parks. Worth the money or not.
By boatNorthern lights boat tours
Two hours out of the old harbour, and why the sea has an advantage.