Christmas Tour - Northern Lights in Iceland

Arrival at the Keflavik airport, FLYBUS transfer to your hotel.

If you are arriving earlier in the day, you might consider adding a day tour. We would be happy to make suggestions based on your interests. One of our favorite activities after a long flight is to visit one of the neighborhood geothermal pools. It is so refreshing to relax in the warm water, breathing in the fresh Icelandic air. It’s a wonderful way to get to see Icelandic daily life and maybe meet a few locals. It’s also nice to take a stroll in the old city center, perhaps visiting one of the museums or relaxing with a cup of coffee in a cozy café.

Early this evening you will enjoy a walking tour in downtown Reykjavik. One of our local guides who is an expert in Icelandic traditions and folklore will meet you at your hotel. Enjoy Reykjavik’s twinkling lights and festive decorations as your guide tells you about holiday traditions. Today is St. Thorlak’s Day, a day when stores are open late into the evening and Icelanders enjoy last minute shopping and greeting friends throughout the day and evening. You'll surely enjoy this cheerful backdrop for your walking tour.

Dinner this evening is at your leisure. Reykjavik offers a multitude of restaurants and/or coffee-houses, making dinner a wonderful way to get better acquainted with Iceland's capital.

Please note that hotels in Iceland start check-in around 14:00 (2:00pm), and early check-in is not guaranteed. Most hotels will be happy to store your luggage if you are not able to check in early.

Overnight in Reykjavik

At 09:00 meet your tour guide who shows the group the Christmas spirit of the capital and the Reykjanes Peninsula with its hot springs, mountains, moon-like landscape, bird cliffs, lighthouses and fishing villages. At the end of the day, we get to soak off our travels in the warm blue waters of the famous Blue Lagoon. We stay for two nights in simple cottages in South Iceland.

In the evening we celebrate Christmas the Icelandic way. Before dinner, we join a guided bus tour to visit the Christmas lights in the villages of Hvolsvöllur and Hella. The traditional Christmas lights had their origins in the Middle Ages when people needed to keep the lights in their abodes during the Winter Solstice. In Iceland, the tradition finds its roots in the Pagan Old Norse beliefs when people would keep the fire alive inside the central pit of the Viking longhouses to keep the darkness of the Winter Solstice outside.

Your festive dinner starts around 19:30 and is served at Stracta Hotel in Hella, which is a small village in South Iceland. Drink a toast of sparkling wine as you enjoy a real special Christmas Celebration. Naturally, once darkness falls, you are out in the garden waiting for the Northern Lights.

Overnight in Hella - South Iceland (B, D)

Today we travel along the south coast. We reach the area beneath the Eyjafjallajökull volcano and glacier. We stop at Seljalandsfoss waterfall and visit Skógar folk museum of early Modern Iceland with its turf houses.  At lunch, we visit the Skógarfoss waterfall.

In the afternoon we offer an optional glacier hike. The hike is on the Sólheimajökull glacier tongue which extends from the great Mýrdalsjökull glacier. 

If you don’t book the glacier hike, then the tour continues further south where you walk on the famous Black Lava Beach at Reynisfjara, observe the Cap of Dyrhólaey and the Reynisdrangar Sea Cliffs before visiting the charming village of Vík. 

If the night is clear, you might be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights swirling in a wild and carefree dance across the heavens in dramatic shapes, colors, patterns and sizes.

Overnight in Hella (B)

In the morning we learn about the Icelandic horse, its unique qualities and history and visit a geothermal greenhouse. Then we travel the Golden Circle route, see steam rising from the Geysir geothermal fields and admire the double waterfall of Gullfoss. We end the afternoon at Þingvellir National Park, the location of the ancient Viking Parliament and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The program includes a culinary treat at a traditional restaurant located downtown Reykjavík. Return transfer included.

Overnight in Reykjavik (B, D)

Breakfast at your hotel. Flybus transfer to the airport (B)