These popular bespoke breaks are perfect for those looking for a short break away to see the Northern Lights, and experience Iceland’s stunning volcanic highlights.
Classic short breaks in Iceland
Staying in some of the best places to see Aurora in Iceland you have the chance to self explore, as well as taking exciting super-jeep adventure tours to take you off the trodden path to some of the most dramatic and beautiful places in Iceland.
Stay in luxurious rural hotels, or celebrate a special occasion in your own private boutique wilderness cabin, with the Northern Lights dancing right outside your front door!
Explore our trips
Useful information
Our Classic range of breaks to Iceland are tried and tested Northern Lights Trips that we have been offering for 15 years. Over the years we have tweaked and crafted these breaks and truly believe they offer the very best opportunity to see the Northern Lights and experience the very best of Iceland.
We work with local small family run companies that care about your Northern Lights Trip and go out of their way to go above and beyond. Having built such a great relationship with them we are able to develop exclusive activities for Aurora Nights clients.
Our Northern Lights & Bonfire Trip is one of these where the guide will take you out to hunt down the Auroras. The guides have their favourite spots, one of them being near Porsmork. Surrounded by 3 Glaciers the dry air they create clears the skies which is what you need to see the Northern Lights. Often you will come back from a Northern Lights Tour in this remote region having had a marvellous display and then drive back into cloud with no possibility of seeing the Northern Lights.
We choose lodges and hotels situated in good areas for seeing the Northern Lights with Hotel Ranga in South West Iceland the most renown. They track Aurora sightings from the lodge and on any 3 nights stay you have about a 70% chance of seeing the Northern Lights. We think that is pretty good! Along with this enviable reputation for seeing the Aurora’s we can personally vouch for a very special experience sitting in one of their hot tubs, with a glass of wine, watching the Northern Lights dancing overhead. Don’t let the cold air put you off going into a hot tub as there is something pretty special about being toasty warm inside the hot tub as you watch the Auroras on a cold Arctic night.
For those who are not tempted by the hot tubs there is a superb observatory that Hotel Ranga has built a little way from the hotel. On clear nights an astrology expert will be on hand to show you how to use the highly sophisticated computerised telescopes, (and for those lucky enough to have the right type of camera hook up their camera to the telescope to take photos of the planets and Northern Lights in great detail) The Iconic Northern Lights Break is particularly popular for those wishing to stay at Hotel Ranga
In many of our choice accommodation we have an Aurora wake up call system in place so you don’t have to worry about going to sleep and missing the Northern Lights display! This is something that Hotel Ranga pioneered as they are so determined that your Aurora Trip lives up to your expectation.
For those celebrating a special occasion the Northern Lights Wilderness Iceland Escape is a wonderful break as you have your own private wilderness cabin. For many having this private space makes it the perfect location to propose, celebrate a big anniversary or birthday, or to take the family. There is a choice of 2 cabins and your food ingredients are pre bought and await your arrival in the cabin saving you precious time on not having to go shopping on your Northern Lights Trip. The first night the guide will cook for you, (we highly recommend his lamb sourced from a family farm- you don’t get more organic than in Iceland!), but of course vegetarian options are available. For those not wishing to cook on the other two nights there is the option to upgrade to eat at two local hotels, both of which offer excellent quality using locally sourced fresh ingredients. It may surprise many that the food in Iceland is superb, majoring on lamb and seafood and often presented in creative and delightful ways.
On these Classic Northern Lights Holidays Superjeep tours will take you off the tourist trail to visit stunning volcanic wonders away from the others. Glaciers, Geysers, Waterfalls, Volcanoes are all within reach on these tours and we balance our breaks so that you have time to self-explore the areas of Iceland that are easily accessible, and then invest instead in the superjeep tours to truly give you that wilderness adventure which you would not be able to reach yourself. It is a winning combination that has worked well for 15 years, but of course we can offer transfers and extra superjeep tours for those of you who don’t want to self-drive and who have a larger budget for your Northern Lights Trip. The beauty of what we do is that we can tailor your Northern Lights trip for you.
The Geothermal Blue Lagoon is considered a “must stop” for those visiting Iceland with its bright blue silica enriched waters. With in-water Massages, Spa treatments, Saunas and warm waterfalls what is there not to love? Increasingly people are looking to not just visit the Blue Lagoon but stay as well, relax and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. The Blue Lagoon Northern Lights Escape and the Northern Lights Paradise breaks are worth considering if that is of interest.
For those short of time Reykjavik is a good base and a great option for Whale Watching. Our Iceland Northern Lights and Whales Explorer is particularly popular as it combines hunting for the Northern Lights both by sea and superjeep, with whale watching and a superjeep to explore the Golden Circle.
For those looking to go Glacier snowmobiling then the Reykjavik Aurora Short Break should be top of your list.
Our Iceland New Year break books up fast and offers the contrast of the high energy celebration of Reykjavik’s stupendous fireworks with a 2 night stay in a rural retreat in the heart of what we call “Northern Lights Alley”. Having said that many of our clients have even been lucky enough to see the Northern Lights as well as the fireworks from the New Year’s Eve firework cruise we include on our Iceland New Year’s Eve Northern Lights Classic Break
Our Icelandic Aurora over the Golden Circle and the Fire and Ice Northern Lights Trip are the best value Iceland Northern Lights breaks and in include some dinners so it is easier for clients to estimate the total cost of their Aurora Holiday.
The Icelandic Aurora over the Golden Circle break is based in a super family run Hotel located on a working traditional family farm of around 300 hectares far away from artificial lights and therefore a great location for viewing the Northern Lights.
On the Fire and Ice Northern Lights Trip you will spend 2 nights at Hotel Ranga- celebrated for its high incidence of Aurora sightings, and have the option of choosing between a superjeep adventures or an exploration to a Secret Ice Cave.
See what our clients say
Cannot thank this company enough. Our break to Iceland was the second time we’ve let them organise everything for us and once again they didn’t disappoint. Everything ran seamlessly and the organised tours were wonderful. This company knows what they are doing. If you want to experience the geysers, the volcano, the northern lights and all the other exciting things that Iceland has to offer then this is the company to use.
This vacation has without without doubt, has been the best experience we have ever had. The organisation from the minute we landed in Kiruna until we departed at the close of our trip was second to none. The transition between hotels was always seamless and punctual. Everywhere we stayed was beautifully clean and the meals were top quality. Every driver was polite, entertaining and very knowledgeable, furnishing us with invaluable information about Sweden and the activities in which we were to participate. The snowmobiling was wonderful giving access via our guide, to stunning panoramic views of the mountain whilst viewing reindeer in their natural habitat.
Our guide demonstrated how to use the snowmobile safely he was pleasant and informative. When visiting the reindeer on the Sami reservation; we found the brother and sister team who hosted lovely. Again they were so hospitable and helpful and feeding the reindeer up close was a wonderful experience.
They provided additional activities for us to try and we were treated to a traditional Sami lunch in their hut. They provided us with invaluable information appertaining to their culture and caring for their reindeer. The reindeer were in superb condition and happy in their environment. Similarly, when out with the dog sleds the experience was magical. Two hours of beautiful scenery, and frozen lakes, finishing with a one-on-one experience massaging the dogs. Magic! We were so impressed with the care that was placed upon ensuring the dogs were comfortable, well-nourished and so loved by their owners/handlers.
Now to the photographic experience. A large group of us were treated to a demonstration of how to operate some serious camera equipment with tripod. Each of us was loaned the camera and given assistance setting up the camera on a frozen lake in preparation for the appearance of the Northern Lights. We were taken to this lake on large wooden sleighs pulled by a snowmobile. We cannot speak too highly of the two young men who accompanied us on this experience. They could not do enough for us. They were there to offer assistance with our cameras throughout the two-plus hours we were on this beautiful lake.
They advised where to position the camera and when the Lights appeared, what a performance. We had a two-hour display of this most breathtaking phenomenon. We were so fortunate to be able to experience this once-in-a-lifetime occurrence for which we are so grateful. We will never forget this memorable holiday and cannot thank you and everyone who assisted in making a lifetime dream come true. Karen & Andrew Adamson
Overall very good. Staff excellent and helpful. Accomodation basic but was what we expected. Tour guides very good (nature walks, snow mobiles, dog sleighs). Sky station disappointing as we never got to go up due to the weather and this seem to be a recurring feature.The alternative walk at night and meal was a let down as a result.Overall would recommend to others.
Fantastic service, with every detail taken care of and communicated to your agencies and hotels. Would definitely recommend and will be using again.
We enjoyed both the hotels that were arranged by weekend a la Carte Aurora nights. The Porsmork trip was very enjoyable, both guides were fantastic and informative.
The Northern Light hunt trip out of Reykjavik with Superjeep was an adventure and we got to see the lights, worth braving the cold at -6.
Hotel Ranga was perfect, with amazing food. It is in the middle of nowhere, very quiet and with the weather being bad there wasn’t the possibility of leaving the hotel in the evening so mightn’t suit all for that reason. Super Jeep tour we thoroughly enjoyed with 2 lovely guides.
Hotel Borg was in the perfect location. For us, one night in Reykjavik would be ample.
Blue Lagoon was a wonderful experience only heightened by the appearance of the northern lights on our walk home from dinner. All in all we had the best holiday and we plan to return to Iceland hopefully sooner rather than later.
A fantastic short break which fulfilled all expectations. Well organised with a polished delivery, we could not have asked for more. The accommodation was perfect for us and the guides knowledgeable and helpful. Every day was packed with adventure, each lasting longer than scheduled but we were never rushed; the guides took pride in showing and explaining their beautiful country. We would certainly use Weekend a la carte again and recommend them to others.
My daughter and I had an amazing time on our trip, we didn’t want it to end! Everything went according to plan, each excursion was well organized and everyone involved with each activity, as well as everyone at the lodge was kind, friendly, positive and happy, which makes such a difference to your whole experience. The food at The Abisko Mountain Lodge was also incredibly good. Our room was large, comfortable and well-furnished. The bathroom too was also spacious and well-equipped. The outdoor clothing provided was of very good quality which kept us warm, and the staff members are happy to change items if they are not quite the right size for you. This is my second trip with Weekend a la carte and I’m sure there will be more as I have complete trust in them. I highly recommend Aurora Nights, it was fabulous.
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