THE THRILL OF THE CHASE:
A GUIDE TO CHASING THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ON A BUDGET.
GENERAL ADVICE:
TIP ONE: expect nothing– that way you may end up pleasantly surprised and you’ll never be disappointed!
We didn’t go to Iceland to see the Northern Lights and I’d recommend that outlook completely. That’s not to say the entire time we were there, there wasn’t an niggle in the back of our minds, hoping that we wold see them, BUT there is enough unbelievable, incredible and unique things to see in Iceland to last a lifetime, so go with the intention to see and do those things – because they’re there, they’re definite and they’re unreal.
If you go, expecting to see the Northern Lights, Sod’s Law suggests that you won’t. Whatever you do, it relies hugely on luck. And that, by nature, can’t be planned.
TIP TWO: consider the time of year.
Although it’s based largely on luck, the winter is of course, far darker and so it makes sense that the darker the skies, the more likely the lights will be visible. Remember though, as we discovered, the winter time can involve a lot of bad weather- bad weather often means cloud cover, cloud cover means poor visibility and no Northern Lights. That’s not to say there’s no chance of seeing them in the summer months- it’s just less likely. August-April gives you the best chance!
TIP THREE: don’t expect what you’ve seen on TV- it’s far better.
We’ve all probably seen footage of dancing light displays swirling in the sky and changing colour for twenty minutes straight, Joanna Lumley in the North Pole etc. It’s important to know that such events are incredibly rare. Any glimpse of them is just as magical as the next, and most importantly totally unique. Be happy with whatever you see if anything – it feels like a blessing.
TIP FOUR: if you know you’ll want footage, know which of your devices is most likely to take good pictures/videos in low light!
Luckily for us, one of our phone cameras (Google pixel) is great for long exposure shots and picked up the light really well in night sight mode – try and get a similar phone/camera for quick camera work because you never know how long the lights will stick around. GoPros and the Samsung Galaxy A3 picked up little to nothing (though maybe we just didn’t change the right settings!).
TIP FIVE: think low light.
If you might be in luck one night according to the apps, try and think of places to go with low light pollution. We were in Selfoss which is a fairly large town so we drove off to an empty car park out of the populated area for darker skies and higher visibility and still didn’t see them (though we did see the Milky Way!). Then we spotted them once back at the hostel in Selfoss and our reaction was to drive carefully and quickly towards them, away from the lights. We ended up down a virtually unlit side road looking at them! If you have time and suitable vehicles to venture further North or to one of the islands off Iceland, they are less populated, darker and displays may appear brighter!
In your own car?
TIP 1: Be ready for anything! Honestly, if you’re really up for seeing the Northern Lights, you shouldn’t not do anything else for them BUT you have to be ready to drop anything when they do come along because they don’t always stick around. If you’re in a hot tub and you don’t even have time to throw your boots on before getting in the car, so be it! This is once in a lifetime potentially, and the lights don’t wait for anyone so be prepared to be unprepared, but chase them anyway. It’s part of the magic. Do bear in mind, in a car rather than a 4×4 there are certain roads you are not permitted to drive on, particularly in the mid-North areas, which are where the lights are more likely visible!
TIP 2: (and this is the big one!) apps are essential to follow. Trying to end up in the right place at the right time without guidance would be virtually impossible so follow the apps. Don’t go too far out of your way based on what the apps advise though, or get yourself into any danger in the dark because the apps aren’t completely reliable and the lights can still be unpredictable. Follow the following when you can (click the app titles to go to the websites and check them out!)
- Cloud cover app: this app is great and seemed very accurate when we were there. It shows low, mid and high cloud on various tabs- it’s your job to look at each layer throughout the hours and find the spot where there’s no cloud at any level- it’s more accurate on the day because storms can arrive off the Atlantic unpredictably!
- KP index app: (there are lots of these and their info varies, so get a few and compare for the fuller picture). Our personal favourite was My Aurora Forecast. It gives all kinds of stats such as viewing probability and it explains what each KP index number means. Essentially though, the scale goes from 1-10 and without going too deep into the science that we don’t quite understand, we’ll say 2 is moderate chance, 3 is pretty good chance, 5/6 is almost unheard of, huge beautiful displays that could be seen from countries like the UK and 10 is just a phenomenon. We saw our display at a KP 3.
- Weather app: checking the weather is useful just to know what is best to wear when wandering around looking up- if you’ve used the cloud cover app correctly it should be clear skies for most of the time you’re outside, but seconds after the display we found the weather (as is always the case in an Icelandic winter it seems) can change into a snowy blizzard in seconds! So stay warm.
- Road app: to check if it’s safe to chase! If you’re in the car, which if you’re on a budget we’d suggest you should be, you might want to drive a few miles to get out of the way of light pollution and clouds above in order to see the best display possible. Before you do, just check the road conditions! In the excitement of it all it’s easy to forget, but if it’s late at night/early morning and the roads haven’t been cleared and it’s pitch black, you don’t want the fun excursion to turn into a not so fun road accident/car slide. So check it, always! And if you think the chances are high one night-stay off the alcohol so you’re in a fit state to chase!
Not in a car?
Don’t get us wrong, there are still plenty of incredible opportunities to see the Northern Lights if you’re not in a car. It only worked on a budget for us because there were two of us splitting the cost of the rental, petrol etc. If you’re a lone ranger/hesitant driver/have a bit more cash to splash in a group and want the big experience…
There are plenty of trips for the Northern Lights where you stay in glass roof hotels, go on ‘safaris’, have staff who’ll alert you if they appear, drive you through any and all weather to where they appear – they cost a little bit more than the way we did it, but it just depends on the experience you want. The expertise of those you’re with will help relieve the stress of things. Just be prepared for the disappointment if you’ve spent a lot and tailored your trip towards seeing them, there are no guarantees and you will be seeing them with lots of other people from your trip (which could be a positive or negative depending on what you like).
The fact is you are with experts, in the safety of an experienced driver and you may just make friends for life so these guided tours and experiences are by no means a bad idea if that’s suitable for you! And hey, if you stay in a glass roofed hotel in the North of Iceland and get to travel in 4x4s with wheels the size of a small car, they are once in a lifetime experiences in themselves!
Click here to check out some guided tour options!
If you do see them, take a moment whilst they’re visible up there to really take it in- don’t just look at them through your phone or camera; they really are an experience to cherish. And even now we’ve seen a glimpse of them once, whenever we’re in a country where they’re common, we’d chase them again because every display is unique and entirely captivating. And whatever the outcome, enjoy the search.
Please comment any questions. Thanks for reading!
CLICK HERE FOR GENERAL DRIVING IN ICELAND AND PACKING FOR WINTER tips!
Places We Roam 
I would long to be able to visit the Northern lights, the photos look stunning enough but I cannot imagine how amazing they look in real life!
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They were really magical! I would love to see them again some day too, hopefully we will both be in luck!!
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