A Windy and Wonderful Icelandic Aurora Adventure

Sky & Telescope’s 9th annual Iceland Aurora Adventure tour recently wrapped up, having run from October 7 to 14, 2023. Of course, we visited all the best-known sights, including the Blue Lagoon, magnificent Gullfoss waterfall, Geyser, Þingvellir national park, Reynisfjara black sand beach, and a host of other fantastic destinations.

A particular highlight was a day trip to the Westman Islands, just a short (electric!) ferry ride from the south coast of Iceland. This group of tiny islands has a fascinating history and was the site of a devastating volcanic eruption in 1973 — an event that buried a substantial portion of the town of Vestmannaeyjabær, under a thick layer of ash and lava. Although the volcano stirred to life with almost no warning, the entire population (5,300) was evacuated within six hours, thanks largely to the heroic efforts of the local fishing fleet whose boats were pressed into service. It’s a remarkable story told very effectively by the Eldheimar museum.

However, there were times when it felt like the tour should be re-named the Sky & Telescope Iceland Wind Adventure. We definitely got to experience the notoriously lively Icelandic weather. Gusts at times rose to hurricane force, resulting in the closure of several main roads. As a result, we had to be agile with schedules and there were a number of on-the-fly tweaks to the itinerary to take advantage what was possible, rather than what was planned. In Iceland, nature has the final say!

Of course, highest on the must-see checklist was the aurora borealis — the ethereal phenomenon that frequently flashes, flickers, and sweeps across Iceland’s night skies. Our tour’s success rate was eight for eight, but would our record remain perfect?

Initially things didn’t look good. Our best view early on was an unsatisfying glimpse of an auroral glow through broken cloud – not enough to say we’d “seen it.” By the time we rolled into the country’s capital city, Reykjavik, at the end of the tour, guests were consoling themselves with, “Well, at least I got to see Iceland – and that was great.”

We had only one more card to play: a late evening bus trip away from city lights to the nearby countryside. Thankfully the move paid off with a modest, yet enjoyable display of aurora magic. It started with a faint glow near the northeast horizon – something that looked more like a rising comet than northern lights. Soon a luminous fan flickered to life and expanded westward across the northern sky. At times it brightened to prominence and displayed shifting rays in a lovely auroral curtain.

Those who came equipped with cameras, smartphones, and tripods, frantically fired off frame after frame, trying to capture a prized souvenir of both the northern lights and of a magical adventure in a breatakingingly beautiful country.  And for once, the wind didn’t make its presence felt.

Sky & Telescope’s 10th annual Iceland Aurora Adventure commences on September 28, 2024. Learn more about our tours and sign up for updates.