TRAVEL COLUMN: See the Northern Lights

Thinking of a trip to Iceland to see the Northern Lights?
The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is on many people’s bucket list.
The Holiday With Us Group is the place to book this once in a lifetime experience, here is why?
Our staff have the experience and knowledge to ensure your trip is amazing and you can be assured that we have first hand knowledge on these areas as staff have visited Reykjavik and can offer your honest and expert advice.
Check out one of our travel experts blog on Iceland www.holidaywithus.co.uk/blog
One of the most important factors of seeing the Northern Lights is guaranteed darkness. The best season is from September to mid-April – these are the months where there are full dark nights. Some sources will recommend November to February, as they are the darkest months with the longest possible window to see the lights, however these sources often fail to take into account that these months can have the worst weather with lots of rain and snow. This creates cloudy skies and therefore blocks the view of the lights.
A second important factor is the length of time you choose to stay in Iceland. To get the best odds of seeing the lights, it is recommended you stay a minimum of seven nights in the country. The northern lights usually tend to be very active for two to three nights, then low for four to five nights.
As the old saying goes, location location location! Once in a while the northern lights will take Reykjavík by surprise and they are so strong that the city lights don’t matter, but most of the time, it’s best to get away from all the street lights and car brights. Taking your visit out of the capital and into the countryside further increases your chances of catching them.
There are many great small towns to visit around the country with beautiful country hotels and guest houses, just steps from pure un-modernized nature where there is no light pollution.
For Reykjavik we recommended the Hotel Fron, which is a perfect location right on the main high street, so it is within easy walking distance of everything the capital has to offer.
In regards to eating here, it can be quite an expensive place but don’t be put off as this capital city is a magical experience and the dining is fresh and great quality.
Iceland is not just about the Northern Lights, there’s also the Blue Lagoon and another recommendation is whales/dolphins watching and then an afternoon visit to the Golden Circle.
On this visit you can get to see whales, dolphins plus visit an area of geothermal where there is geysers erupting every couple of minutes.
Some attractions get booked up, so speak to our travel experts and plan your trip before you go.