Home / Multi-Day Tours / North Iceland / North and South of Iceland Guided Winter Tour for 7 Days
Want to experience northern lights in Iceland? The winter is coming and with it comes the chance to play in the snow and witness the wonders of the northern lights. During this tour, you will visit the arctic north and also the south of Iceland. You will go on guided group tours and will experience the winter highlights of Iceland. We invite you to come and enjoy fantastic activities during the day, combined with relaxation and northern lights in the evenings.
If you are interested in receiving more information about this tour, please click on the “Request a quote” widget on the left side of the page. A quick form will open up where you will provide us with more information about your travel expectations. You will then be connected with your specialized travel agent who will assist you throughout the planning a provide a fully detailed quote.
Please note that this itinerary can be adjusted and customized to meet your travel needs and preferences. The package can also be offered as a privately guided tour if a self-drive option is not what you had in mind for your Iceland experience.
NL-04
Oct - Apr
Guided Group Tour
7 Days / 6 Nights
North & South Iceland
Welcome to Iceland, home of the Northern Lights! Once you arrive at Keflavik International Airport, you will be transferred to your accommodation in the heart of Reykjavik. Use your free time to explore the pearls of the city before staying the first night in the capital. If you arrive early, you might be interested in optional day tours such as whale watching or relaxing at the Blue Lagoon. Stay the night in a hotel in heart of Reykjavík.
In the morning you will fly to the North of Iceland. Enjoy an afternoon sightseeing in the town of Akureyri. Visit the Christmas park and/or the towns folk museum, go swimming in the local thermal pool or skating in the towns skating rink. We can also organize an optional dog sledding tour for you where you would slide through snowy landscape with Greenland huskies. Dine in the evening at one of Akureyri’s gourmet restaurants. Later you will join a Northern Lights tour that will take you into the beautiful countryside of Eyjafjörður fjord where you will chase these natural wonders around the crisp arctic sky. Akureyri is located close to the Arctic circle and the chances are very good to see the magic lights in the sky during winter time. Stay the night at a cozy hotel in Akureyri.
Reykjavík
Akureyri
~ 40 minutes
Today you will have the chance to explore the magnificent landscape around lake Mývatn, considered by many one of the most beautiful places in Iceland. You will be picked up from your guide in the morning and taken on a journey of extreme contrasts, geothermal activity, geology and saga. You will visit the Námafjall mud pots, Dimmuborgir lava field, Krafla volcano among other things, ending with a relaxing soak in the Mývatn Nature Baths before returning back to Akureyri. During winter time the landscape in the North looks very special often covered with a lot of snow. Stay another night at the same hotel as the night before.
~8-9 Hours
This is your day of adventure. Today you will be picked up from your hotel and taken on a snowmobile ride on Súlur mountain. The experience is exhilarating, dashing up powdery slopes of the mountains above Akureyri and if you are lucky with the visibility you will be able to enjoy an amazing view from the top. In the afternoon you can relax in Akureyri local thermal pool before enjoying a gourmet dinner at one of Akureyri’s restaurants that uses exclusively local products and ingredients. Stay at the same hotel as the night before.
Today you will fly back to Reykjavik and enjoy a free day in the capital. Reykjavik is an exciting city with a rich culture life. You might want to visit some of Reykjavik’s many art and culture museums and exhibitions. If you are lucky with the weather you might enjoy a stroll around the city and some of Reykjavík sightseeing spots and landmarks, such as the Hallgrímskirkja church, Harpa concert hall, The Sun Voyager sculpture by the sea and some more. In the evening enjoy a delicious dinner at one of Reykjavík many gourmet restaurants. If you are interested we can also organise another Northern Lights tour for you. Stay the night in a hotel in Reykjavik.
Akureyri
Reykjavík
~40 minutes
Today you will be picked up from your hotel for a classic Golden Circle sightseeing tour. First up is Þingvellir National Park. Þingvellir because of its beauty and its geological and historical value was accepted as UNESCO’s heritage site in 2004. After exploring the treasures of the park, you will head south to see the charismatic Gullfoss waterfall, once mentioned as one of 10 most beautiful waterfalls on the planet. Then you will head to the Geysir spouting hot spring, the first to be mentioned in printed sources and the word geyser derives from its name. To complete the “Golden Circle” you will visit Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal power plant, before arriving back in Reykjavik. Stay another night at the same hotel as the night before.
~9 hours
Your Iceland adventure is about to come to its end. You will be transferred to Keflavik International Airport. If your flight is in the afternoon, you still have time to stop at Blue Lagoon and enjoy a soak in the milky blue earth sea, a perfect end to your stay and a nice way to relax and unwind before your flight home. We wish you a nice journey back home and hope you will leave our island with fond memories of Iceland and its inhabitants.
Budget accommodations include shared facilities in guest houses, country hotels, farmhouses, etc. In some cases, the rooms might be equipped with a TV and a washbasin. The in-room amenities are limited and basic but they all adhere to a high standard of cleanliness.
Breakfast is included.
Comfort accommodations offer access to private facilities (shower and toilet). This type of lodges belongs to the 3-star hotel category. Most of these properties have an in-house restaurant. This section offers an upgrade in comfort and service compared to the budget category. Breakfast is included.
Quality accommodations offer private rooms with en-suite shower/bath and toilet. These rooms are the best available accommodations in 4-star hotels or the highest quality lodges in each region. Luxury accommodations - the highest class of lodges, suites, and penthouses - are available upon request. Breakfast is included.
Reykjavík is the capital and biggest city of Iceland with a population of approximately 124,000. It is the northernmost capital in the world. Despite its small size, you can find many attractions and museums, making Reykjavik a popular destination.
Solfar Sculpture, also known as the Sun Voyager, is the famous steel sculpture created by artist Jón Gunnar Árnason. The art piece is located next to the Sæbraut road in downtown Reykjavík. Its shape reminds of a ship floating on air, facing the ocean.
The Aurora is a natural phenomenon caused by electrically charged particles, mainly electrons and protons ejected from the sun colliding with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen causing them to emit light that is visible to us. These hypnotic lights are known as Aurora Borealis, Polar Lights or Northern Lights in the arctic north and Aurora Australis (southern lights) around the south pole. The color of the Aurora has to do with the type of gas that these particles collide with, oxygen produces green light at low altitudes and red at high altitudes. Nitrogen produces purple Aurora. The green color is the most common and red can only be seen at the strongest of geomagnetic storms. The full understanding of the physical processes that cause the aurora are still a mystery but we know the fundamental causes of the Aurora is the interaction of solar wind with the Earth‘s magnetosphere.
There are three basic requirements for seeing the northern lights. Solar activity, darkness and clear skies. This means that you cannot see the northern lights during summer, they are still happening, there's even a phenomenon called daylight aurora, but our eyes cannot detect them as sunlight drowns out the Aurora. So the darker the better. Going out of the city is not a requirement, the Aurora can often be spotted within city limits in Iceland, however to best enjoy them going away from city lights enhances the experience. Also people should not use mobile phones if they are looking for the northern lights, as the light from the screen will make it harder for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. It‘s always a good idea to take warm clothes on your Aurora excursions as Iceland can get very cold in the winter, that means wool undergarments, warm mid layer and a windproof shell.
Akureyri is the main town of northern Iceland. It is located at the base of Eyjafjörður Fjord and is the second largest urban area of Iceland. Akureyri is well known to be an important port and fishing center.
Akureyrarkirkja is an outstanding Lutheran Church in Akureyri designed by Guðjón Samúelsson. It is located in the center of the city, overlooking the town from the top of a hill.
Akureyri Art Museum is located in the center of Akureyri city, hosted in a building considered a major example of Bauhaus architecture.
Akureyri botanical garden is located in the southern part of the city, in North Iceland. The garden is exceptional for its extreme northern location. This is also known as a site of scientific research where it has been proven that shrubs, trees and other plants can survive on the edge of the Arctic.
Dimmuborgir is a field of unusually shaped lava formations located east of Mývatn in Iceland. The area consists of caves and rock formations resembling an ancient collapsed fortress. The lava tubes were formed by a lava lake flowing in from a large eruption in the Þrengslaborgir and Lúdentsborgir crater row to the East. The legend wants Dimmuborgir to be connecting earth with the infernal regions.
Mývatn is a volcanic lake in northern Iceland. It is located in a geothermal area not far from Krafla volcano. The lake was formed by a volcanic eruption therefore the surrounding area is characterized by lava pillars and craters. The lake is also well known because of the rich waterbirds fauna that populates it.
Mývatn Nature Baths, located in the popular Lake Mývatn Geothermal Area, is an impressive man-made hot-spring. The characteristics of the water are unique in many ways. It contains a large amount of minerals, is alkaline and well suited for bathing.
Akureyri is the main town of northern Iceland. It is located at the base of Eyjafjörður Fjord and is the second largest urban area of Iceland. Akureyri is well known to be an important port and fishing center.
Hallgrímskirkja Church is most certainly Reykjavík´s best-known landmark. The white concrete Church whose image is printed in many postcards, dominates the city. As a matter of fact its tower can be seen from almost every corner of Reykjavík. Its distinctive and futuristic exterior made the Church one of the most visited spots in Reykjavík.
Harpa is the famous concert hall and conference center located in Reykjavik. The building features a distinctive and original colored glass facade inspired by the basalt landscape of Iceland. Its unique architecture makes it one of Reykjavik most loved landmarks.
This sublime museum displays artifacts from the settlement to the modern age of Iceland history. The exhibition gives you an excellent and enlightening overview of Iceland's history and culture. The museum functions as the center for the preservation of Iceland´s national heritage. It counts about 300,000 artifacts and nearly four million photographs in its collation.
Solfar Sculpture, also known as the Sun Voyager, is the famous steel sculpture created by artist Jón Gunnar Árnason. The art piece is located next to the Sæbraut road in downtown Reykjavík. Its shape reminds of a ship floating on air, facing the ocean.
Þingvellir National Park is the most important historic and geological sites in Iceland. The area is part of a fissure zone running through Iceland, being situated on the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Major events in the history of Iceland have taken place at Þingvellir and today the entire area is a protected national treasure.
Gullfoss, also called the Golden Waterfall, is one of the most iconic gems of the likewise named Golden Circle. The waterfall is located in the upper part of the River Hvíta. Gullfoss is actually two separate waterfalls, the upper one has a drop of 11 meters and the lower one 21 meters.
Geysir is the famous hot spring area located in the Haukadalur valley. The main attraction is known as Strokkur, which erupts energetically at regular intervals of 10 minutes or so its boiling waterjets can reach as high as 30 meters.
Hellisheiði power station is the third-largest geothermal power station in the world, located in southwest Iceland. The plant has a geothermal energy exhibition and offers presentations on sustainable energy as well as educational tours.
