The Northern Lights Tour

The Northern lights Tour costs £49 per person, from GreyLine Tours.
The Aurora Borealis, are “The result of electrically charged particles from the sun colliding with gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing displays of bright, colorful dancing lights. They are visible in the magnetic polar regions of the northern and southern hemispheres”
The Aurora Borealis, in all its glory is the most spectacular display of beauty. It’s colors ranging from Green, blue and red, seeing the northern lights is a must and is why it is a popular bucket list item for many of those wishing to seek out sight of this natural phenomenon. Commonly seen in the Arctic Regions, Iceland offers visitors a chance to see this beautiful display of lights for yourself.
“Offer visitors a Chance” must be emphasized.. Chance being the operative word. Seeking out The northern lights is almost like trying to find Nemo in the Ocean. Or more fitting for this article, trying to find an Icelandic petrol station that doesn’t sell a lambs head.
When to visit the Northern Lights

I must stress that the easiest, stress free way to see the northern lights for me is to go with a tour. They do the hard work for you. Along with a set of scientists and a bunch of phone calls back and forth, you sit in your warm coach as they drive to different locations that have hopeful clears skies and conditions, in order to view the shifting dance of this magnificent performance of the sky.
The correct weather, fog everything comes into the likelihood of viewing the Northern Lights. The good ol’ scientists of NASA have predicted the best possible conditions to view the Northern lights, with a cup of hot chocolate and very cold noses from below. But it is never a certain.
And often than not, people such as myself will find they can go for hours, different locations, hours waiting in the numbing cold in areas such as the ,somewhat, dangerous lava fields within Iceland, wishing you had laden your hot chocolate with some of the good syrup, in order to clasp a sight of the lights.
They say the season for most likely sightings from late August to end of March. Checking the weather forecast regularly and using things such as the Aurora forecast from the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the Aurora Prediction Page enhances your chance of seeing the Northern Lights.

Unfortunately, for poor souls such as myself, after perilous hours of driving through Iceland until 2am in the morning, the only lights I seen was those of the coach. I must admit after a while I was wondering if it was worth seeing at all. As the cold was almost unbearable at times.
I think its not needed to say, but WRAP UP WARM. I think people conquering Everest might even have had a little sniffle, waiting hours in the freezing cold, staring into the sky almost like a prayer for something, anything, to be there.
With this said our Tour Guide, bless him, trying to keep our spirits up was amazing. Giving us facts about Iceland as we drove along. Most people asleep and very grumpy he carried on with happiness in his voice, making jokes, and trying to keep up morale. The Icelandic people really are a joy. I don’t know if its because I am half Irish so used to this kind of “banter joking” but I loved the Icelandic way. Our coach driver with his happy-go-lucky way and his funny little tales really kept us going and without him our tour for the Great white whale of The Northern Lights, would have been more tedious (if possible) and I would have not enjoyed it as much as I did.

So all I can say is choose when you book this excursion wisely, if it says 13% chance… likelihood is your are not going to be ticking off this item… if its foggy, chances are the northern lights will be nothing but a dream. Choose the right day, the right season, the right weather, but ultimately its a prayer and a hope and always keep this in mind when setting out to seek these magical dance of lights.
Gladly our tickets are valid for 2 years with Greyline, a nice little touch, as it is said that the Northern Lights are not guaranteed, but hopefully next time we shall see these amazing lights that jewel the sky on a cold Iceland night.
Other excursions include The Blue Lagoon, South Coast And Waterfalls, Reykjavik city sight seeing tour, Whale Watching Tour and many more.
Although with time constrictions I did not book these excursions, but wish to visit this amazing country again very soon (already looking at flights!) and I will try all that Iceland has to offer on these tours. I did hear brilliant things from others that each one is a must. So one day I MUST!

---

What to wear

What I can say is- Pack for all occasions! There is a saying in Iceland.. don’t like the weather? wait a few minutes. Iceland weather is unpredictable, just like its drastic scenery, it has a sense of the pandemonium… for me, during my stay it was very consistent, freezing blooming cold! So much so, you wonder- is it worth taking my gloves off to take that picture? Can I get away with wearing my big woolly hat in a restaurant? I would say if you are going to Iceland- Bring gloves! I brought two pairs one was my mountain warehouse snow gloves.. the other was my cheap knitted fingerless gloves, great for taking pictures. Another tip is bring a padded/fur lined coat. My fur lined mountain warehouse men jacket was amazing. You may see a reoccurring theme here, Mountain Warehouse for me is a cheap alternative to other stores and gives you what you need to tackle such harsh weather without paying through the nose for ridiculously priced gear- You must save that money for the boiled eggs remember! Another must is snow boots, again I got mine from Mountain Warehouse, Ice Women’s Snow Boots for £24.99, but Iceland when snowing, the floors can get SLIPPY and the can be dangerous. Remember to bring another pair of boots for just walking around.. but no heels ladies! Unless you want to have a very sore, soggy bum. The art of survival in any cold terrain, surviving the cold 101 is layers. Yes such a simple concept, but in Iceland, with such changing temperatures, you find yourself stripping off when you are inside (not to the bare bums of course!) and then the next minute grabbing for your thermals and wiggling around until you can feel your legs again. I found bringing some quick dry socks (I got mine for £5.99 from Sports Direct Karrimor 2 pack Running Socks Ladies) then adding a thick pair of fur socks kept my little piggies all warm. I find that if my feet or socks are wet no matter what I put on I am eternally cold, this stops that problem. Another thing I found important to bring was Iso cool top, not very important but it was a nice bottom layer. Thermal leggings under my black leggings was a must! Mountain Warehouse, and I’m sure other stores sell thick fur lined trousers (but I did not wear mine so I can not say if these help) but you may find that an easier alternative. And other than that- just layer. Big woolly hats, will stop your ears turning red and burning like you have never felt before. A nice woolly scarf will help when the cold wind is in your face and you can’t feel your nose anymore. My partner sworn by a thermal Windproof full face Balaclava which you can get from Amazon for only a few pounds but for me he looked a bit scary, but its important to remember its not a fashion parade. You may feel like an Icelandic whale in all your layers , you may have people asking how many boiled eggs you have eaten looking at the holiday pictures, but safety permits you wrap up warm- you layer like you have never layered before, and you wear them snow boots & woolly hats with pride!