Reykjavík aurora tour prices, seat by seat
A seat on one of our three northern lights tours from Reykjavík costs from ~$165 to ~$200 per person. The two minibus hunts sit a couple of dollars apart, and the lava tunnel combo costs more because it adds a cave. Below, the three side by side, then the costs no listing prices in.
Three tours on one table
The table lists each tour's regular "from" price per person. The booking page can show a slightly different figure on a given date, and Nordur Travel's seat sometimes appears lower on GetYourGuide, so read these numbers as a guide to the spread.
| Tour | From | Length | Vehicle and group | Pickup | Included | Age limit | If no lights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Viking (our pick) | ~$165 | 4 h | Minibus, up to 18 | Hotel pickup and drop-off | Guide and photographer, night photos, Viking costumes, hot chocolate with biscuits | Not under 7 | Unlimited free retries |
| Nordur Travel | ~$167 | 4 h | Modified 4x4 minibus, up to 19 | Pickup and drop-off in Reykjavík | Photos by the guide, hot chocolate, Icelandic pastries, 2 hand warmers, Wi-Fi | None listed | Free rebooking for up to two years |
| Arctic Adventures | ~$200 | 4 h | Minibus, up to 28 | Pickup and drop-off in Reykjavík | Lava tube with helmet and head torch, photo with the aurora, blankets, hot cocoa, Wi-Fi | None listed | Free retry of the aurora part, up to 3 years |
All three cancel free up to 24 hours before departure on both GetYourGuide and Viator. GetYourGuide also lets you reserve now and pay later, which helps while the forecast for your dates is still a guess.
Why the two minibus hunts cost almost the same
Aurora Viking from ~$165 and Nordur Travel from ~$167 sell a similar evening. Both run about four hours in a minibus, both pick you up in Reykjavík, and both serve hot chocolate with something sweet.
The differences sit in the details. Aurora Viking brings a photographer as well as a guide and caps the group at 18, while Nordur Travel uses a modified 4x4 minibus for up to 19 and hands out two hand warmers per person.
Review scores separate them more than the fare does. Aurora Viking holds 4.9 from 590+ reviews on Viator and 4.8 from 470+ on GetYourGuide. Nordur Travel has 4.8 from 580+ on Viator but 4.4 from 520+ on GetYourGuide.
What the extra money buys on the lava tunnel tour
Arctic Adventures from ~$200 is the dearest seat of the three, and the reason is the first half of the evening. Before the aurora hunt, a certified caving guide takes you into the Raufarhólshellir lava tube with a helmet and head torch.
That makes it two tours in one night, and the cave part happens whatever the sky does. The price of that is less time under the open sky, a group of up to 28, and the fewest reviews on our list (4.7 from 90+ on GetYourGuide).
The retry covers only the northern lights part. If the aurora stays away, you can rebook the minibus hunt for free within three years, but the cave is not repeated. Our guide to where the tours drive describes the lava tube in more detail.
Cheaper seats exist, and why we skipped them
Reykjavík has much cheaper seats on big coaches and harbor boats, from roughly half our cheapest fare. They suit a tight budget, and plenty of visitors see the lights from one.
What you give up is space and the freedom to move. A coach carries several times as many people as a minibus, and a boat cannot sail away from a cloud bank. Our pages on group size and boat versus road look at both trade-offs.
The pick for a first aurora night
Aurora Viking's four-hour minibus hunt for up to 18 brings a photographer along and serves hot chocolate. Retries are free and unlimited until you see the lights. It holds the top scores of our three on both booking sites.
How the retry rule changes the real price
A free retry turns one fare into several chances, provided you have the nights to use them. With Aurora Viking the retries are unlimited until you see the lights, so ~$165 can cover as many evenings as your trip allows.
The flip side is that none of the three refunds a night that runs under a blank sky. If you fly home the next morning, the retry does nothing for you, so the cheapest plan is to book early in your stay.
Weather cancellations are a separate case. If the operator calls off the night before it starts, check how it handles that, since it usually means a refund or a new date rather than a retry.
Costs the listings leave out
Warm clothing comes first. You stand still outside for long stretches near or below freezing, and none of the three listings mentions lending thermal suits. Bring or rent proper layers, and our clothing guide has the list.
Food is the second. Nordur Travel says meals and extra drinks are not included, and the other two serve a hot drink and a snack rather than dinner. Eat before pickup, since you may not be back until after midnight.
Tips are a smaller question. None of the three listings asks for them, so a tip is a thank-you for a good night rather than part of the fare. Cards are taken nearly everywhere in Iceland, so you rarely need cash krónur.
The biggest hidden cost is a second evening. A cloudy first try leaves you with a free retry, but you still need a free night to spend it on. Our guide to cloudy nights compares the three retry rules.
Private tours, priced per group
Private northern lights tours run from Reykjavík too, priced per group rather than per seat. If your party is big enough to take up most of a vehicle on its own, the shared price can end up near what separate seats would cost.
For two people, a shared small-group tour gives you a very similar night for far less. The guides on the three tours above still read the cloud forecast and pick the direction, which is the main skill a private guide brings too.
Ways to keep the bill down
- Book on your first or second night, so a clouded-out first try leaves room for the retry
- Reserve now and pay later on GetYourGuide, then cancel free up to 24 hours before if the forecast turns
- Check your date on both sites, since the price can differ a little between them
- Bring your own warm layers instead of buying them in town
- Choose the lava tunnel combo only if you want the cave as well as the sky
The month you travel changes the value too, because longer nights give each tour more dark hours to work with. Our guide to the aurora months weighs the mild shoulder months against deep winter.