Northern lights
Discussion
Best advice might be not to bother. They look stunning on film. They look fabulous on the swankypants digital cameras everyone else has. To me, they just looked like swirly really faint clouds (like being in a bonfire swirl, but really far away, if that helps). I am ever so slightly colourblind.
The missus insists on calling it the most disappointing thing ever.
TL:DR. It doesnt look like it does in the photos using the naked eye
The missus insists on calling it the most disappointing thing ever.
TL:DR. It doesnt look like it does in the photos using the naked eye
As I'm Icelandic hopefully I can help you here! I've seen them countless times, even sometimes in Reykjavik, although that's rarer due to the light pollution. They are, to me stunning to see in person, just as impressive as on film!
The North of the country is the best place to see them in full effect, and I would say November - January is the best time. You want to stay a minimum of a week, as of course not every day they are visible.
Personally I would rent a car and head to the North to go hunting the lights, but the roads can be difficult in winter, so if that puts you off there are many tour companies that will help you, i can't personally recommend one, as I have never used one, but I'm sure either Google or just asking people when you arrive in Reykjavik, will hook you up with a good operator.
Have a great time!
Edit: I just reread and saw you mentioned going for New Year, so that's the perfect time! :-)
The North of the country is the best place to see them in full effect, and I would say November - January is the best time. You want to stay a minimum of a week, as of course not every day they are visible.
Personally I would rent a car and head to the North to go hunting the lights, but the roads can be difficult in winter, so if that puts you off there are many tour companies that will help you, i can't personally recommend one, as I have never used one, but I'm sure either Google or just asking people when you arrive in Reykjavik, will hook you up with a good operator.
Have a great time!
Edit: I just reread and saw you mentioned going for New Year, so that's the perfect time! :-)
Edited by Chisinau on Thursday 30th July 16:04
Just throwing it out there as an alternative but Northern Norway is absolutely fantastic for Northen lights.
Tromsø on particular it's a beautiful little town and there's plenty to do, see and eat. Tromsø is also further North than Iceland and closer to the North Pole so you'll have a much better chance of seeing it.
I've been 7 times in the last 5 years and have seen the Northern lights every time.
Even managed to see them here in Bergen last year which is a surprise given the light pollution of the city!
Tromsø on particular it's a beautiful little town and there's plenty to do, see and eat. Tromsø is also further North than Iceland and closer to the North Pole so you'll have a much better chance of seeing it.
I've been 7 times in the last 5 years and have seen the Northern lights every time.
Even managed to see them here in Bergen last year which is a surprise given the light pollution of the city!
randlemarcus said:
Best advice might be not to bother. They look stunning on film. They look fabulous on the swankypants digital cameras everyone else has. To me, they just looked like swirly really faint clouds (like being in a bonfire swirl, but really far away, if that helps). I am ever so slightly colourblind.
The missus insists on calling it the most disappointing thing ever.
TL:DR. It doesnt look like it does in the photos using the naked eye
That's what I thought the first time we went Northern lights chasing in Iceland. It was pretty cloudy and not a strong show, they were really faint to the naked eye but looked pretty good on camera with long exposure.The missus insists on calling it the most disappointing thing ever.
TL:DR. It doesnt look like it does in the photos using the naked eye
Then we went to northern Norway/Sweden and had the most spectacular display - very bright, loads of colours and were dancing around.
I would absolutely not recommend a tour, the best thing about these places is driving around and having the whole scenery to yourself. If you go on a tour you'd only get herded around the Golden Circle whereas if you drive to Jokulsarlon, Reynisdrangar etc. they'd be empty. Also if you're a keen photographer you'd want a lot of time to capture the lights if they appear.
NordicCrankShaft said:
Just throwing it out there as an alternative but Northern Norway is absolutely fantastic for Northen lights.
Tromsø on particular it's a beautiful little town and there's plenty to do, see and eat. Tromsø is also further North than Iceland and closer to the North Pole so you'll have a much better chance of seeing it.
I've been 7 times in the last 5 years and have seen the Northern lights every time.
Even managed to see them here in Bergen last year which is a surprise given the light pollution of the city!
This. One of my favourite cities.Tromsø on particular it's a beautiful little town and there's plenty to do, see and eat. Tromsø is also further North than Iceland and closer to the North Pole so you'll have a much better chance of seeing it.
I've been 7 times in the last 5 years and have seen the Northern lights every time.
Even managed to see them here in Bergen last year which is a surprise given the light pollution of the city!
Shaoxter said:
That's what I thought the first time we went Northern lights chasing in Iceland. It was pretty cloudy and not a strong show, they were really faint to the naked eye but looked pretty good on camera with long exposure.
Then we went to northern Norway/Sweden and had the most spectacular display - very bright, loads of colours and were dancing around.
I would absolutely not recommend a tour, the best thing about these places is driving around and having the whole scenery to yourself. If you go on a tour you'd only get herded around the Golden Circle whereas if you drive to Jokulsarlon, Reynisdrangar etc. they'd be empty. Also if you're a keen photographer you'd want a lot of time to capture the lights if they appear.
Camera view:Then we went to northern Norway/Sweden and had the most spectacular display - very bright, loads of colours and were dancing around.
I would absolutely not recommend a tour, the best thing about these places is driving around and having the whole scenery to yourself. If you go on a tour you'd only get herded around the Golden Circle whereas if you drive to Jokulsarlon, Reynisdrangar etc. they'd be empty. Also if you're a keen photographer you'd want a lot of time to capture the lights if they appear.
Loads of purple as well, turned out to be a good show. Apparently. All grey to me, like wispy smoke. There was a smear of green on some of the stronger ones. Just doing expectation management, as it absolutely doesn't look like that. Tromso was lovely though.Also there is nothing more spectacular that it just appearing in the sky when you're just doing something else, it literally does dance, such a fantastic surprise!
If you catch it at the right time Norwegian Airline fly from Gatwick to Bergen for as little as £50 return and then it's around the same again to fly to Tromsø. I'm not sure if any of the London airports offer direct flights but I do remember seeing departures from Edinburgh when I was there back in February if your close there
Edit: You can get direct flights from Gatwick.
If you catch it at the right time Norwegian Airline fly from Gatwick to Bergen for as little as £50 return and then it's around the same again to fly to Tromsø. I'm not sure if any of the London airports offer direct flights but I do remember seeing departures from Edinburgh when I was there back in February if your close there
Edit: You can get direct flights from Gatwick.
Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Thursday 30th July 18:19
Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Thursday 30th July 18:21
You'd need a week if you want to see everything, i.e. go round the whole ring road. Or you could go round the south coast and back in 4 days.
As for Tromso, I'd recommend driving towards Lofoten (some fantastic driving roads and scenery along the way) and then take the overnight Hurtigruten cruise back. That can be easily done in 3 days.
As for Tromso, I'd recommend driving towards Lofoten (some fantastic driving roads and scenery along the way) and then take the overnight Hurtigruten cruise back. That can be easily done in 3 days.
Sweden is also a possibility and a lot cheaper than Norway.
Check this place out http://www.auroraskystation.com/
Check this place out http://www.auroraskystation.com/
randlemarcus said:
Camera view:
Loads of purple as well, turned out to be a good show. Apparently. All grey to me, like wispy smoke. There was a smear of green on some of the stronger ones. Just doing expectation management, as it absolutely doesn't look like that. Tromso was lovely though.
It is true that the camera can drag the aurora out of the sky where the eye's cant, indeed when i was spotting i used the camera as a first indicator if that light patch in the sky was a cloud or aurora, a long/high iso exposure turning out green gave hope that something may develop but more grey would just be cloud.Loads of purple as well, turned out to be a good show. Apparently. All grey to me, like wispy smoke. There was a smear of green on some of the stronger ones. Just doing expectation management, as it absolutely doesn't look like that. Tromso was lovely though.
Having said that, when they were really bright and a proper storm broke out they were easily visible as good as on the camera, in fact i would say better as the camera couldn't capture the swirling and movement and when at the peak they were hard to shoot as even a 15s exposure was over exposing them not to mention the blurring from all the movement. So yes if you don't get a strong display i can understand that they are a little disappointing. My first trip to see them was like that, we spent several nights out in the cold and a boat trip for a weak short display, which although was nice was a little over rated, but it didn't put us off and going back in solar max rather than min meant we saw the show as described above and producing these pics.
The trouble with aurora spotting is you have no guarantees of them putting on a show and the weather being clear to be able to see it, What i like about tromso is that if you pay attention to the weather and wind direction, the lyngen alps can form a barrier to the cloud, The day of these pics we went east of the alps as that is supposed to be the better place (predominant westerly winds), but cloud cover and some light snow was all we had in the sky, so knowing it was an east wind we headed back to the west of the alps and as soon as we were west of them the sky cleared and a few hours later the celestial gods put on the show.
Go this year if you can.
Sun cycle is 11 years we are just off peak(last year) but this year has been better. it goes down hill from here.
If the aurora is faint you wont see colour. you need a certain level of light to trigger your eyes colour receptors. Cameras record the true colour regardless of level
Sun cycle is 11 years we are just off peak(last year) but this year has been better. it goes down hill from here.
If the aurora is faint you wont see colour. you need a certain level of light to trigger your eyes colour receptors. Cameras record the true colour regardless of level
Northern Lights or not, Iceland is a fab place to visit! We had a fantastic 5 day self-drive holiday there in January last year. The weather is very unpredictable but that's part of the fun.
There are killer whales to see in winter, as well as the Blue Lagoon etc. My wife adored the Icelandic pony trekking experience too.
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
We hired a cheap 4x4 from an off-airport place which came with studded tyres, but the locals seemed quite happy with little hatchbacks to be honest (everyone on studded tyres). We stayed at http://www.hotelbudir.is/ for 3 nights on Snaefellsness which is remote and windswept but beautiful. The hotel staff will come and wake you if they spot the lights at night - as long as you ask them too at reception! Another english couple didn't know this and missed out
Great place with good food.
We saw killer whales with these guys while there http://www.lakitours.com/
Finished off with a couple of nights in a cheap hotel in Reykjavik for a trip to the Blue Lagoon and pony trekking. I'd love to do the same holiday all over again.
There are killer whales to see in winter, as well as the Blue Lagoon etc. My wife adored the Icelandic pony trekking experience too.
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrIceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on FlickrWe hired a cheap 4x4 from an off-airport place which came with studded tyres, but the locals seemed quite happy with little hatchbacks to be honest (everyone on studded tyres). We stayed at http://www.hotelbudir.is/ for 3 nights on Snaefellsness which is remote and windswept but beautiful. The hotel staff will come and wake you if they spot the lights at night - as long as you ask them too at reception! Another english couple didn't know this and missed out
Great place with good food.We saw killer whales with these guys while there http://www.lakitours.com/
Finished off with a couple of nights in a cheap hotel in Reykjavik for a trip to the Blue Lagoon and pony trekking. I'd love to do the same holiday all over again.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff