Can You See The Northern Lights in Summer?

Many tourists try to skip the bad winter weather of Iceland and plan their trips during the summer months, hoping for greener landscapes and fewer layers of clothing. Iceland is breathtaking in the summer, with green grass, flowers, horses and sheep strolling along the mountains and the sides of roads, and the sunlight and blue skies makes a chilly wind much easier to deal with. But the one thing that you will miss during the summer months, are the famous Northern Lights.

Now to fill in those who aren’t quite sure what the Northern Lights are except for pretty colors in the night sky, the colors that you see are the gases that are found in the atmosphere, brilliantly lit up by certain interactions between cosmic rays, solar wind, and magnetospheric plasma. Charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, collide with these gases and the result is aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights. The term, aurora borealis, comes from the name of the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, coupled with the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas, given by Galileo. These mythical and magical lights have long been famous in Iceland and tourists from all over the world have flocked to the country to see it for themselves.

But the trick is timing…

The best season to see the Northern Lights is usually from September to mid-April. Why? Because these are the darkest months in Iceland and to view the Northern Lights, one needs guaranteed darkness and clear skies. Both of these can be found during Iceland’s coldest months, when the sun only comes up for a few hours each day, giving the longest time period of darkness to view the lights.

So as beautiful and temperate as Iceland is in the summer, we highly recommend you visit one more time in the winter. We promise that the Northern Lights will not disappoint and will make your trip worthwhile.

From Berjaya Hotels, Iceland's premiere hotel chain.  For best Northern Lights viewing, we suggest checking out the following countryside hotel locations:  Berjaya Hotel Hamar, Berjaya Hotel Vik and Berjaya Hotel Fludir.