Checking the Northern Lights off my Bucket List with EastWest

One of the items on my Bucket List was to see the Northern Lights. We decided to take our chance in Iceland with EastWest Tours. KP Index was only a 3 the night we went but we were able to see the most beautiful green Aurora Borealis. Here is what to know about your tour and how to have the best chance of spotting the Aurora Borealis on your trip to Iceland!

Though our tour with EastWest was gifted, all photos and opinions in this article are my own.

The Best Chance to see the Northern Lights
If you want my honest opinion, going on a tour with an experienced guide is the best chance you have of seeing the Northern Lights. Guides live in Iceland, are experienced with reading the forecasts, and know exactly what to look for. They also know everywhere they can drive around, and what roads are off limits.

Why EastWest?
We loved EastWest because the tour is small group with a maximum of 19 people. It is a nice Mercedes Sprinter van with WiFi and charging ports. Your tour cost includes hot cocoa, an Icelandic donut, professional photos of your group and the Northern Lights on your tour, as well as a guarantee that if you do not see the northern lights, you can attend another night’s tour for free. For this reason, book your tour the earliest you can during your trip.

The Truth with your Naked Eye
Unfortunately, you cannot see the Aurora Borealis very well with your eyes. It is definitely not like the movies. The photo below was taken with my iPhone 15 pro max on night mode. With the naked eye, you can see even less than my photo below. It is extremely hard to see but once our guide pointed out what to look for we were able to see at least where to point our cameras. This is another reason why I do not suggest going out on your own to look.

What to Expect on your Tour
You will know by the afternoon if your Northern Lights Tour is on or off the day you booked. The call of going forward with tours is based on the forecasts. They will notify you via email and post on their Instagram. We were picked up in the evening in Reykjavik around 8:30/9:00pm. Make sure to dress warm, bring layers, gloves and hats. Even if it’s not winter it gets cold at night.
We were given blankets to use while we waited for the sky to awaken and were even treated to hot chocolate and an Icelandic donut. Tours are approximately four hours and you can expect to be back to Reykjavik between 12-1:00 am.

Where do we go?
Another reason why I think EastWest Tours is the best, is because they do not go to a specific place to see the northern lights. I know the heated globes are tempting (trust me, I looked at those tours too) but they take you to one specific place. Cloud cover is unpredictable, so why chance it? EastWest Tours will drive you to the place where you will have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Best part? You will have the area all to yourself (it will be just your small tour group).

The Sky Awakens
Slowly but surely, we started to see the sky really come alive and witness the Aurora Borealis. I liked watching Gummi, our guide, snap the photos. He was shooting on a tripod with a professional camera on long exposure. That’s the only way you can truly see the beauty of the Aurora Borealis. You can see it progress and get more vibrant through the night in these photos.

The photo above shows the Aurora Borealis on the left, and the light pollution coming from Reykjavik over the mountain on the right.

Our daughter Aurora finally got to see the Aurora Borealis.

EastWest Tours
We had the most amazing experience seeing the Aurora Borealis with EastWest Tours and I know you will too! Use code EWOLIVIA10 for 10% off your booking.
Read all about the Northern Lights Tour HERE.
View more info and see other tours offered by EastWest HERE.