Itinerary

Day 1 - Starting: Reykjavik & Finishing: Reykjavik

You can arrive at any time during the day as there are no activities planned until the welcome meeting at 7pm. Please check with the hotel reception where and when it will take place, or check the reception notice boards. The group leader will recommend and organise an optional group meal in the evening.

Day 2 - Starting: Reykjavik City Tour & Finishing: Reykjavik City Tour

Reykjavik Sightseeing - Reykjavík is a modern city with an excellent variety of restaurants, museums, galleries, cozy bars and coffee shops and a wonderful new concert hall on the Habour side, the Harpa. As the world's most northerly capital and the only city of any size in Iceland, Reykjavik is home to more than one third of Iceland's population but small enough to get to know well in just a few days.

Day 3 - Starting: Fly to North Iceland & Finishing: Fly to North Iceland

This morning we will take the short flight to Akureyri where you will be met by our local guide. On the way to the hotel, you will have a guided tour that will introduce you to the North of Iceland, only a few kilometres from the Arctic Circle. On the way you will stop at the beautiful waterfall Goðafoss, a wonderland for nature enthusiasts and bird watchers. Lake Mývatn is surrounded by lava fields, volcanoes and mountains, with weird volcanic formations in Dimmuborgir (Dark Citadels), pseudocraters and underground caves with geothermal water. After lunch at your hotel at Lake Mývatn you will visit Hverarönd mud pools with its steam jets and boiling sulphur pits, Dimmuborgir lava field.Finishing back at your hotel which will be your base for the next 4 days. The hotel is in a remote region far away from street lights making it ideal for watching the skies for aurora.

Day 4 - Starting: Free day at Lake Myvatn & Finishing: Free day at Lake Myvatn

You are free to enjoy a range of optional activities available in the area or simply enjoy this beautiful region. The optional activities include cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, super jeep tours and horse riding. There are a number of walks that can be made from the hotel around the southern shores of the lake on which you can take in the pseudocraters and volcanic cones in the area. Dinner will be available at the hotel at an additional cost, after which your astronomy guide will host a number of lectures and discussions related to the Aurora discussing both the science and mythology attached to them. He will also be keeping an eye on the sky and if the Northern Lights appear will ensure we all head out to view their beauty. For those who want to finish the evening with some relaxation there is an outdoor hot tub from which you can also view the night sky.

Day 5 - Starting: Husavik and Nature Baths & Finishing: Husavik and Nature Baths

You will be taken on a tour that introduces you to the locals. You look at a hydro-electric power station, see time past at the old turf farm and folk museum at Grenjadarstadur. Then drive to Husavik, a small fishing village, and pay a visit to the Whale Museum. On the return you will stop off at the Mývatn nature bath for a luxurious swim in a pool of geothermal water drawn from depths of up to 2,500 meters. Containing a unique blend of minerals, silicates and geothermal microorganisms, the waters are beneficial to skin and spirit alike. Aurora watching in the evening.

Day 6 - Starting: Free day at Lake Myvatn & Finishing: Free day at Lake Myvatn

You are free to enjoy a range of optional activities available in the area or simply enjoy this beautiful region. There are a number of walks that can be made from the hotel around the southern shores of the lake on which you can take in the pseudocraters and volcanic cones in the area. There are some interesting birds to see in the region including the Barrow’s Goldeneye which are present around the lake all year and Ptarmigan and Gyrfalcon which are often seen near the hotel.

Day 7 - Starting: Fly to Reykjavik & Finishing: Fly to Reykjavik

This morning we transfer back to Akureyri where the local guide will take you on a short city tour before taking you to the airport for your flight to Reykjavík where you will be transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay.

Day 8 - Starting: Tour ends & Finishing: Tour ends

Your tour will end at the hotel.

More Information

Highlights

• Learn about the Norse mythologies inspired by the Aurora Borealis
• Enjoy a dip in the naturally heated waters of a geothermal pool
• Peer down into the thundering chutes of the Godafoss Waterfall
• Enhance your understanding of astronomy through lectures delivered by an expert in the field
• Discover the ins and outs of Reykjavik on a guided city tour
• Be awed by the otherworldly natural features of Lake Mývatn

Devoid of light pollution and rendered all the more surreal against a backdrop shaped by seismic geological forces, the rugged landscape of Northern Iceland makes for one incredible setting from which to witness the Aurora Borealis. Indulge your passion for astronomy – and hope to witness one of Mother Nature’s most dazzling displays – on a journey both educational and spectacular. By day explore a terrain of snow-covered volcanoes, ice-encrusted waterfalls and astonishingly warm thermal springs, then settle in for long evenings of astronomy lectures and star-gazing in the company of a Northern Lights expert.

Day 2 Included Activities

• Reykjavik City Tour

Day 3 Included Activities

• Astronomy Lectures

Day 5 Included Activities

• Myvatn Nature Baths
• Husavik Day Tour

Included Meals

Breakfast: 7

Lunch: 1

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