New Years & Northern Lights in Iceland

Individual transfer by Flybus shuttle bus from Keflavik airport to your accommodation in Reykjavik. You may explore Iceland’s capital city on your own if time allows.

Overnight in Reykjavik.

At 09:00 meet your tour guide in hotel lobby. After a city tour of Reykjavik, continue to the Reykjanes Peninsula with its hot springs, mountains, moon-like landscape, bird cliffs, lighthouses and fishing villages.

In the afternoon relax in the Blue Lagoon, then drive along the south coast to arrive in the village of Hella where we stay for two nights in simple cottages.

In the evening, we hear about the Northern Lights from our tour guide. Naturally, once darkness falls, you are out in the garden waiting for the Northern Lights.

Overnight in Hella (B)

Today we explore the south coast. We reach the area beneath the Eyjafjallajökull volcano and glacier, 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. 

In the evening we celebrate New Year the Icelandic way. Before dinner, join a guided bus tour to visit the bonfires in the villages of Hvolsvöllur and Hella. The traditional Brenna bonfires of New Year’s Eve had their origins in the Middle Ages when people built bonfires to burn the old things they no longer needed. In Iceland, there are bonfires all around the country where inhabitants gather, shoot off fireworks, sing and dance as they wait for the New Year to come in.

Your festive dinner starts around 20:30 and is served at Stracta Hotel in Hella, which is a small village in South Iceland. Afterwards, we walk through the village and celebrate New Year’s with a bang when at midnight the sky opens with thousands of fireworks set off in the village by the local inhabitants. This is an experience of a lifetime; you will never forget. Drink a toast of sparkling wine as you enjoy a real special Icelandic New Year’s celebration.

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, colours, patterns and sizes.

Overnight in Hella (B, D)

In the morning we learn about the Icelandic horses and their unique qualities. Then we visit a geothermal greenhouse. 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 restaurant located in the heart of downtown Reykjavík. Return transfer included.

Overnight in Reykjavik (B, D)

Individual transfer by Flybus shuttle bus from your accommodation in Reykjavik to Keflavik International Airport. (B)