Sep 26, 2024 - Oct 10, 2024
Last updated: 10/16/24 12:00pm PT
One of the things we’ve wanted to see in person was the Northern Lights. Sure, we could have driven out to rural Oregon or Washington, which on very rare occasions have views of the lights. But that’s not as much fun as going to a new country. Iceland is located just short of the Arctic Circle, so it usually has a high probability of seeing the lights. It also has other nature to see. So even if we had missed out on seeing the lights, we’d still get to see other interesting things.
We picked late September/early October for our visit because we needed a time of year when the sun actually sets and it is not too cold. In summer the sun goes below the horizon, but you don’t get a lot of total darkness. Winter is mostly dark, only getting 4-5 hours of sunlight a day, but it’s too cold. We also picked these two weeks because the moon was into the new moon phase, making the nights even darker. We decided to go this year, as 2024-2025 is the peak of the 11 year solar cycle, meaning lots of solar storms and chances to see the lights. And our trip was a success. Every time we went out, we saw the lights (4 or 5 times).
We stayed in Reykjavik for 4 nights, then drove along the south coast of Iceland, staying in Vik for 2 nights, then drove back to Reykjavik for 7 more nights.
Reykjavik seems to be booming. There were a lot of construction cranes and new buildings. And there were a ton of tourists (said the tourist). It was mostly cold when we were there, but there were a few pleasant days where the high was 10C/50F. The wind was a killer though. But we bundled up with multiple layers, windproof pants, scarfs, gloves and hats, and it was tolerable.