2025 ICELAND AURORA VIEWING TRIP RESULTS

BY PAUL D. MALEY

last updated 11/13/25

Both images here were taken at our hotel in Egilsstadir, Iceland by Kirsten Colvey

‘Examples of naked eye aurora seen October 29 taken with an iPhone 16 PRO MAX hand-held; automatic setting; 3 second exposures by Kirsten C. Notice the green reflection in the lake foreground caused directly by the brightness of the aurora. Photo info provided where known.

Our first adventure to Iceland concluded November 3 after a challenging set of weather experiences beginning at the start on October 23. The prime objective was to observe and photograph the Northern Lights from various locations around the island of Iceland (its name is actually shown as “Island”). We had a team of 16 participants and used a bus to navigate from place to place. There were some locations were roads were closed due to severe gales and blowing snow. Temperatures were advertised at that time of year to be in the 50’s and 60’s F but in fact hovered in the daytime between 29 and 36 most of the time with at least one night where the low was 14 F. We had two very good nights in Egilsstadir (see small map below) where strong aurora were seen and also on two nights with short periods from Reykjavik and one short window at a remote guesthouse where only one person managed a few photos.

Our group was constantly on the move but spent two consecutive nights in two locations only. Photos from various stops are shown after the aurora coverage. This report covers planned future tours to Iceland with the same objective. There are so many amazing sights to see in this small country and it is hard to see them all even over 11 days.

THINGS YOU PROBABLY DID NOT EXPECT IN ICELAND

-No need to exchange money. Credit cards work everywhere.

-Single beds are common in all lodging (2 or 3 in a room); duvets are used instead of blankets

-Power outlets to charge phones may be accessible in one bed but no others

-Showers are challenging to use; great care must be given to adjust water temperature before entering

-Generally no TV, refrigerator, microwave over, phone in rooms

-Soap bar in bathroom may be cut in half: one for washing hands, the other for shower use

-Weather can turn on a dime and predicting the weather is extremely problematic

-USB connections may not be available in guesthouses

-Room thermostats might as well be decorations. Geothermal power means in 12 hours the heat may be raised by 1.6 degrees.

-Tipping is uncommon

-Shampoo and conditioner are generally not present in guesthouses

-Door locks in guesthouses are uniquely tricky to use

-Prices can be twice what you pay in the US on everything!

AURORA IMAGING

We had a variety of tools operated by participants ranging from different hand-held smart phone models to standard DSLR (digital single lens reflex) tripod mounted cameras. It was rarely a matter of just walking outside and photographing aurora. There were other considerations including:

auroras can last for seconds, minutes or an hour or more depending on the solar activity.
cold temperatures meant that once one heard about an aurora being seen there was a time element to put on socks, hiking shoes, pants (perhaps one or two layers), heavy coat, gloves, gator, and a hat
grab ancillary gear such as shutter release, flashlight, reading glasses, extra battery(ies)
deciding on the best place from which to shoot photos
physically getting to the darkest location in the area
scouting the area for hazards such as holes, fences, steep slops, ravines, trip hazards, other obstacles
location of lights
wind impact
navigating soft snow or more hazardous slippery ice
being too tired from the daytime activities to deal with all of the above elements

There were periods of very high wind (up to 50mph) and at least one where a camera on a tripod was very hard to hold steady and one where even walking 40 m from a cabin to the main building was so difficult that you could be blown over in one direction and desperately fighting the wind in the other.

AURORA READINESS CAVEATS

-From the time you hear that aurora are visible it may take you as much as 15 minutes to get dressed

-Bring a red flashlight and generally aim at the ground so as not to impact photography. A white light may be necessary too since ground is not always without pitfalls.

-Expect auroras to appear and vanish in seconds, minutes or longer and to reappear in any part of the sky

-Some lodging has wakeup calls for guests when aurora is seen; but who is actually outside looking to alert you? We found this lacking.

-Even though Reykjavik is a big city it is possible to get good aurora photos even in town if your lens is not too wide angle (27mm worked)

We stayed at Fosshotel Baron, a hotel inside the city of Reykjavik not far from the water where only the northern part of the sky was relatively free from direct lighting and yet some good photos of the Lights were taken by Daniel Bass in spite of the massive amount of artificial lamps in the area.

Aurora photos by Daniel B. November 2 near to midnight from the harbor in Reykjavik a short walk away. Pentax K-50, f/4, 1.6 sec, ISO1600, 27mm lens.

Photos presented below are just a small selection of the large number taken on this really interesting and varied trip. Unfortunately space does not permit all of the fascinating scenes we were able to capture.

OCTOBER 24 ARRIVE REYKJAVIK AND TRANSFER TO HOTEL

Proceeded with prepaid ticket to the Flybus outside where it was cold and snowy. The bus that goes to bus stop 9 (Fosshotel Baron) leaves every 20 minutes or so from a bus departure point outside the airport.

NOTE: WHERE NO NAME IS CITED AS THE PHOTOGRAPHER, Paul D. Maley is the author of the photo.

Waiting on the Flybus to depart from airport to downtown while others head toward the bus to Blue Lagoon

Fishing is big business in the country and they let you know it

Our planned routing from and back to Reykjavik in a counter clockwise direction.

View of our hotel (left), Dominos Pizza (building on right) which stays open until 2am, and the harbor (aurora view site)

If you are looking for soft drinks the choices are varied. Pepsi Max and Coke Zero are big sellers everywhere and certainly good on the trip.

The group had a great dinner at Messinn Restaurant. This is the location of the best arctic char you have ever tasted! By the time dinner was complete it was snowing and most elected to take a taxi back to the hotel.

OCTOBER 26 REYKJAVIK TO HOLSVOLLUR

Van used for the entire trip. Photo by Chris N.

Bus interior with wifi connections in the ceiling. Note the small overhead space suitable for coats and other small items. Merrill D. (right) and Lynn P. are in the image.

Two USB ports and a back seat holder for smart phones

For icy situations crampons will keep you from slipping or falling on the ice which is ever present in March and October. We recommend that you bring your own. You can buy them in Iceland but the cost will be between $40 and $100. If you think you know prices, in Iceland double what they are in your mind and you will be close to their prices.

VIDEO OF STROKKUR GEYSER ERUPTION by Daniel B. See the following link:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/A3wZxtYJcmsQG222A

Strokkur is the most visited active geyser in Iceland. Here are two static images related to the cyclic eruption.

OCTOBER 27 SOUTH COAST/JOKULSARLON GLACIER LAGOON

Fun in a small town when there is no school

Guesthouse Gerdi with mountains to the north

An archway overlooking the sea in early morning

A beaded sunrise

A church at sunrise

A colorful street in a small town

Mirror image of mountains

Daniel B. Skogafoss Waterfall with rainbow

OCTOBER 28 EAST FJORDS

All Northern Lights images on this web page are but a fraction of those taken, especially on October 28 and 29.

Kirsten C.

David A.

Bob G.

Daniel B.

Paul D. Maley (taken from behind the hotel in Egilsstadir)

Paul D. Maley (taken from out front of the hotel in Egilsstadir where lights were everywhere and still the auroras were clearly visible)

Paul D. Maley

David A. image shows the beginning of the end as clouds blocked good viewing/photos but clearly demonstrates that the bright auroras were so strong as to clearly be visible between even the slightest breaks in the cloud.

AURORA BEHIND THE CLOUDS by Chris N.

Chris Northcutt was able to take a time lapse video showing how intense the aurora was behind the cloud. You can view the link by going to:

AURORA VIDEO WITH CLEAR SKY by CHRIS N. made from 350 exposures (5 seconds each) 14mm lens, f/1.8, ISO5000

Sheep herding Iceland style

Swan clusters seen in a lake along the road

OCTOBER 29 FOREST AND WATERFALLS

Ice balls on a frozen lake was just one of the oddities seen. No swans here.

A small fissure where it was possible to straddle both sides.

Bathrooms free of charge can be located all along the route. This Japanese pay toilet above is a rarity out in the middle of nowhere.

Robin M. The ice cave

Tom M.

Kirsten C.

Robin M.

Lisa M.

Paul D. Maley

Daniel B.

Chris N.

OCTOBER 30 MODRUDALUR VALLEY

Gulfoss Waterfall

Unusual cloud over mountains

Icelandic horse, one of hundreds seen

A group of flying saucer (lenticular) clouds on the way to our lodge

An evil reindeer at the Guesthouse Fjalladyrd

No radar detection, no police on the roads, but if you speed you might see an unhappy face

Icelandic creature: the Christmas cat that eats children

Daniel Bass: Seydisfjordur scenic view

Fast food exists throughout the country. Here is one example we saw in one of the gas stations.

OCTOBER 31 LAKE MYVATN/AKUREYRI

On the road we followed a small car that we thought might be being driven by a goat(right). However, as photos revealed the goat was a passenger in the back (left).

Lisa M. photo

Sunset

Dinner buffet at Lysuholl Guesthouse

A rare sight in astronomy: a moon bow more commonly seen near large waterfalls. In this case the moon bow was spotted over mountains north of the lodge while the Moon (80% illuminated) was directly south. Both were at the same elevation above the respective horizon. The moon bow appeared for a number of minutes before clouds covered the Moon and the moon bow vanished. Chris T. saw it first and this is her photo.

Even though this night was cold and windy, Daniel Bass captured these two images through his cabin window.

NOVEMBER 1 AKUREYRI/SNAEFELLSNES PENINSULA

Looking for less expensive eats? The Turninn Kebab was a small yellow building behind our Akureyri hotel and the food was worth it

Loading/unlading bags on the bus was generally done in either rain or snow. Temperatures were nearly always within a few degrees of freezing (32 deg F) the entire trip.

Paul providing talk on aurora viewing in Akureyri. Lynn P. photo.

NOVEMBER 2 BACK TO REYKJAVIK

We arrived at a lava field still steaming from a late 2024 eruption.

A group picture was taken.

The aurora watch team: (Right to left) Daniel B., Barbara B., Merrill D., Kathryn G., Roy T., David A., Lisa M., Tom M., Robin M., Chris N., Chris T., Kristin C., Theresa N. Bob G., Lynn P., Paul D. Maley (photo by Arni R.).

After that we visited the town of Grindavik that had to be abandoned due to the active lava flows threatening to engulf it. Two houses were destroyed and the rest (all appeared brand new construction) were mostly intact with lava literally up to the edge of many of them.

We did not plan for this but did stop at the bridge between the North American tectonic plate and Eurasian plate. The bridge between two continents at Sandvík is a small footbridge over a major fissure, which provides clear evidence of the presence of a diverging plate margin. The bridge was built in 2002 as a symbol for the connection between Europe and North America. One can cross the continental divide on Leif the Lucky Bridge and take home a personalized certificate at the information center in the folk museum in Gardur and the Reykjanes Geopark visitor center at Duus Cultural House.

NOVEMBER 3 RETURN HOME