Seeing the Northern Lights is the thing that started my bucket list way back when. Although I travel alone most of the time, this felt like an experience to be shared. So I pitched the idea and budget to my family and was able to convince them to come to Iceland with me for a week!

Day 1

We took a redeye in from EWR to Reykjaviks international airport. The redeye flights out of New York/New Jersey are pretty cheap, and they do different deals throughout the year. Because we went for New Years, our flights were $800 per person with IcelandAir, but you can find cheaper options at non-peak travel times. 

Landing around 6am, we had booked transportation through the airport shuttle site to get to the apartment we were staying in near downtown. The international airport is about an hour outside of the Capitol of Reykjavik, so I suggest planning your transportation from the airport ahead of time, especially when taking a redeye in because there aren’t as many shuttles and taxis running so early.

When we got to our stay, it was still dark since around the New Year it is light out from about 11am-3:30pm. We booked through booking.com a really lovely apartment for us with a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and 4 beds so we had plenty of space. I specifically wanted a kitchen because I was worried about my Mom’s seafood allergies in a country where most of their food options involve seafood, so having the kitchen would allow for safe options. In reality, we had no problem regarding her allergies. However, the kitchen did come in handy for cheap early morning or late night meals. Iceland can be expensive since it is an island with many imports, so food can really run up your budget. Having a kitchen allowed me to have some quick oven ready pizzas, or pasta when we didn’t want to go out for a whole meal. If you are traveling Iceland on a budget, you’ll definitely find having access to a kitchen useful.

We napped until the sun rose and went out to explore the city. Reykjavik is easily walkable (despite potentially slipping on the ice) with tons of stuff to do and see. I wanted to give us a buffer day after the flight to adjust, so we had no specific plans other than flying in and exploring our first day. The walk around town is beautiful as well as being only a few blocks from the water with a mountain view.

Day 2

On our second day, we hit the ground running with our longest tour of the trip – Reykjavik: Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon Full-Day Guided Trip. This 10 hour bus tour takes you along the Southern Coast of Iceland, with the turn around point being Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach. Diamond Beach has been a big bucket list item for me for years so I booked this tour for that specific place but the entire tour ended up being amazing! We left in the dark morning, and got picked up from our selected bus station. With all of the tours we booked in Iceland, they give you options of pick up and drop off locations, some hotels but mostly bus stops. Keep in mind there are many people and multiple tours so you have to pay attention if your name is called and look at the logos on the bus/van for which tour company you booked through. Certain times at the bus stop can be hectic and overwhelming with so many people running up to each bus that pulls up, but they all call out your name and if you’re confused you can always ask one of the bus drivers.

As we headed along the coast we stopped at Seljalandsfoss, a large waterfall, just before sunrise when we got into the town of Vik. We stopped for a food and bathroom pit-stop since there is a restaurant, grocery store, cafe and gift store in the same building. But if you want to brave the cold and walk out to the water, you’ll find Black Sand Beach and an iconic rock structure full of Icelandic folklore. It was great having an Icelandic tour guide tell us about the culture, industry, and folklore of all the different towns we traveled through. The white mountain ranges and snowy road made for a beautiful sunrise drive.

As we drove, our tour guide did a great job of giving geologic and cultural context to the areas we passed by. We made a few other stops as we went from flat lava fields to glacier covered mountains. We got to Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach (they are connected to each other and are technically the same place but two different areas) before sunset and stayed until it started getting dark. The lagoon with a glacier on its far end has huge chunks of bright blue, black and white icebergs floating about. That lagoon of icebergs follows the water out to the beach where the icebergs get smoothed by the crashing waves and wash up on the beach. Both the lagoon and the beach are extremely unique and picturesque areas. It is surreal to be there. Coming to this place has been on my bucket list for years, and it was still beyond my expectations. It is very windy and cold, so make sure you are bundled everywhere, the wind will feel like ice on your skin.

The way back we had less stops as the sun fully set and the tour guide gave us some time to relax and nap if we wanted to. We stopped back in Vik for dinner before making it all the way back into Reykjavik. The Ice Cave Bistro in Vik has an AMAZING ‘Hot Dog Our Way’ that exceeded my expectations.

I planned the trip knowing how exhausted we would be after this tour, so we only had a night tour planned the next day, allowing us to sleep in.

Day 3

With only an 8:30pm tour planned for the day, we had a lot of time to kill in town. My mom had the excellent suggestion of visiting the Phallological Museum (only one of its kind in the world!) We had so much fun walking around the exhibits and gift shop. It was a very unique experience and if you don’t have young kids, I highly recommend it. 

After walking around the museum and town for the day we got ready for our northern lights tour and went out to the bus stop. Keep in mind that the hot times for northern lights tours will have your pick up location packed with travelers and many different tour buses, so keep an ear out for your name and pay attention to what company you booked with through the crowds. 
We bundled up as much as possible as we knew we were going to be spending many hours out in the cold. For this Northern Lights Super Jeep Northern Lights Tour, we got to be on a 4X4 mini bus/van thing with a smaller group of people. We drove around to a couple different places and saw just a tiny tiny bit of northern lights at one point, but overall the northern lights aspect of the tour was a bit of a bust. However, our tour guide was amazing answering specific questions I had about the land, culture and wildlife. He also served us hot chocolate and had chocolate treats to share with us as well as some type of alcohol fermented with basking shark (the Icelandic national dish). He also told us how to read the aurora forecast so we could know what to look for. It was a very unique experience, we learned a lot and it was totally worth it even if we didn’t get to see the lights. The tour guide also gave the great suggestion that if we were going to be out in Reykjavik for new years, we should go to the church at the top of the hill at midnight, because people gather there and light off fireworks. We went home after and although slightly disappointed we didn’t see the auroras, I was very excited for the next day, New Years Eve!

Day 4

We allowed ourselves to sleep in after the late night we had before and took the day slow knowing we would go out at night. After learning from the tour guide the night before about how to read the aurora forecast, I saw we would have a chance to see them around 9pm in the northern direction, so we planned to head out earlier than initially planned to go look out over the water and try to find them. And to our great luck and amazement, even through light pollution, WE SAW THEM! We watched for a while as people lit fireworks off all throughout town until the lights faded. Happy with ourselves, we decided to go inside somewhere for some warmth before going to the church for the firework show.

We had fallen in love with this ice cream place, Valdi’s, so we went there. And even though we went inside because we were cold, we all still got ice cream and waffles while there – it was just TOO good! We headed to the church just before 11pm knowing we had a lot of time before midnight but unsure when the fireworks would start. As we stood there, we started to see the lights again. We walked around the church, where there’s less light pollution, the northern lights went from the horizon, to above us, to a full 360° in the sky, dancing around us. We all watched the northern lights sway above us as the fireworks started and eventually the firework smoke took over the sky. This is hands down the most magical New Years experience I have ever had and I was so grateful to have shared it with my family. The firework show was also intense and amazing. Not only do they have a fireworks show, but everyone in the crowd ALSO has fireworks and sets them off at the end too.

Day 5
Recovering from New Year’s in the morning, giving ourselves the opportunity to sleep in, and enjoying the 11am sunrise. We enjoyed walking and eating around the city before our evening tour – Lava Tunnel Evening Tour & Northern Lights Excursion from Reykjavík. This tour was great, giving you other activities to do while waiting for the Northern Lights so you aren’t just waiting around in the cold. They pick you up from your bus stop and take you to an ice cave. They check around for the lights to see if you should enjoy it before going in or if it’ll get better in a bit. We could see a bit before going into the cave (which was warmer than outside so a nice reprieve), but when we came out, the lights were absolutely spectacular. My iPhone could pick up the lights a bit more than I could see them the whole time, but they were so bright that I was seeing exactly what my phone capture

Day 6
After two pretty chill days, we had another full day tour. The Golden Circle and Glacier Snowmobiling Day Trip from Reykjavik tour took us on a full day adventure. We started with Thingvellir National Park, which has walking paths between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates as well as down to a waterfall. In winter with the snow, it definitely limits the things you are able to do and see compared to summer, but it is still beautiful. Next, we went to Geysir, where you walk out to a geyser that erupts every 10-15 minutes. The final big stop of the trip was Langjökull Glacier, where we doubled up on snowmobiles and went out for a great ride until the sun started to set. In order to get up to the glacier and back we had to get in a large tank-like off-roading truck. The road up was so icy that the driver would often get stuck and have to get out to change the tire pressure to keep going. We were told this was normal before the drive up, so it was a fun wild part of our excursion.

Day 7
For our last full day, I wanted to have something more relaxing planned for us, so a Blue Lagoon day it is! The Blue Lagoon Comfort Package Including Transfer from Reykjavik was a great tour to book for transportation and the base entry ticket to blue lagoon (you can upgrade when there if you want). It is important to remember, if you plan on getting your hair wet, or ven if you don’t but worry about it getting wet, go into their bathrooms and put conditioner in your hair. Otherwise it can completely dry your hair out until it is brittle. The base admission that the tour covers includes a face mask and a drink. We spent a few hours enjoying the hot springs, each having our drink and doing our facemasks. The tour has shuttles back to town every hour or so, allowing you to choose how long you want to stay.

Day 8

Nothing booked for the day of our travel back, just enjoying our last moments in Iceland! We had booked transportation back to the airport like we had coming into town.