Aurora Viking

02/04/2024

We got lucky last night!

21/02/2024

We were able to get some lights last night and this picture reminded me of the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol of health, protection and restoration.

The ancient Egyptians made amulets and other trinkets with this symbol to place on those that needed healing.

I think that basking in the lights is already healing to the soul. And the simple goal of staying out in the cold and dark night with no other mission than to witness the magic of the aurora is refreshing and a good way to ground yourself away from the everyday troubles of life.

So my conclusion is that seeing the northern lights is good for you so you should come to Iceland and heal your soul, and of course join a tour with us. 😊

04/01/2024

I snuck a picture of one of the guests on our tour, he was a photographer that travelled well over 24 hours to reach Iceland.

We had a good show and it was awesome to catch the photographer living out a moment that he had thought of for a long time, immersed in his element.

21/12/2023

Beautiful lights over the Urriðafoss waterfall tonight. We have a bonus moonlight rainbow you can see over the waterfall if you zoom in.

26/09/2023

Last night on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula we were graced by a little bit of pretty purple and green Aurora in challenging conditions.

We often give it a go when other operators cancel and we definitely understand why other operators cancel when the conditions look challenging.

They, like us, don't want to leave dissatisfied customers.

We have however discovered that people are more dissatisfied when they can't even give it a try, even with challenging conditions. For many people it's the sole reason for their visit to Iceland.

We are lucky to have a small and flexible family operation and are able to make independent decisions based on our own take on the meteorological data and we are also willing to take the hit if we aren't successful. At least we can always say that we tried our best and mean it.

Even though this show wasn't the postcard picture that everyone wants to see it was a lot more than a big bag of nothing.

We will continue to try our hardest to allow everyone to get a glimpse of the Aurora this winter, the season is just getting started and we look forward to all the adventures that we will have.

Have a great day

Kolbeinn (Kobe) - One of the two guides that run this show.

13/09/2023

A lot of operators canceled last night because of cloud cover, understandably, as the cloud cover was not great and there was little Auroral Activity.

We were scratching our beards and evaluating the data for the evening when we suddenly noticed some data indicating that a Coronal Mass Ejection had hit the planet.

We stared at the monitors in trepidation, eyes twitching, hands shaking and the warcries of our ancestors thrumming in our ears when we finally had confirmation that it had indeed happened.

We called the hotels and our sales channels and promised them a long and painful death should they not sell all of our seats, they did and were spared a trip to the afterlife.

As evening came along the auroral activity was spiking and fortunately we stumbled across this nice opening in the clouds giving us this glorious display of the gods.

12/09/2023

This is a safe place to horse around and no need to have a long face.

20/08/2023

A completely unbiased opinion

If you're looking for the best place in the world to see the Northern Lights, look no further than Iceland. Here are just a few reasons why Iceland is the ultimate destination for Aurora Borealis enthusiasts: 1. Location: Iceland is located in the perfect spot for viewing the Northern Lights. It sit...

09/08/2023

We are waiting excitedly for the season to begin and I spotted a faint glow just above my house last night.

It still doesn't get completely dark and we have the light pollution of the city as well but I believe that if this display would have been in effect in complete darkness we would have gotten a nice show.

I think this is a sign that the season will be good and filled with wonderful displays. To back that sign up we have some science and the science says that we are approaching the activity peak of the 11 year solar cycle.

Definitely good times ahead!

07/08/2023

Why Aurora Viking is the Aurora Viking

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, have been a source of wonder and fascination for centuries. But did you know that the Viking settlers of Iceland had their own mythology and history surrounding this natural phenomenon? In this blog post, we'll explore the connection between th...

07/08/2023

A frequently asked question

The Northern Lights are a stunning natural phenomenon that draws visitors from all over the world. These colorful lights dance across the sky, creating a breathtaking display that's unlike anything else you'll ever see. But did you know that some people experience the Northern Lights differently dep...

16/07/2023

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, have been a source of wonder and fascination for centuries. But did you know that the Viking settlers of Iceland had their own mythology and history surrounding this natural phenomenon? In this blog post, we'll explore the connection between th...

13/04/2023

Last night was nice, pretty lights.

We are heading out tonight and we have availability and if you want to join us make your booking at Auroraviking.com/tours

Tonight we have a 10% discount with the promo code "VIKING"

Not much left of the season, we are planning on operating untill the 26th of April, at that time we should have around 1-2 hours of usable skies when it's dark enough to see the aurora.

The season is not yet finished and we are already getting very excited for the beginning of the next season.

23/03/2023

Forecast pretty good tonight, we have a very large Coronal hole from the sun facing the earth at the moment producing a lot of geomagnetic activity.

If these conditions hold we will have strong lights tonight.

Cloudwise, will likely have to drive north of Reykjavík for an hour for clear skies, but we will see as satillite images start showing us more reliable data for tonight.

We have 5 seats remaining for tonight.

23/03/2023

A very colorful display tonight.

21/03/2023

We had some good company on our tour last night. These fluffballs have a winter coat that keeps them comfortable all winter long in the Arctic elements.

19/03/2023

Two nights in a row!

Two nights in a row we find success when nobody else does, the day before yesterday everyone canceled, we didn't, we saw the aurora.

Yesterday was different, every tour operator operated their tour, we had clear skies and perfect conditions. People that have joined the tour might remember the guide talking about the "Magic Portal" or the "Aurora Door", that's the IMF (Interplanitary Magnetic Field).

At the beginning of the evening the magic portal was closed, meaning that there wouldn't be any Aurora for the next 1,5 hours. Knowing that we took it easy and went to the darkest place possible to do some stargazing in a mountain pass far away from any light pollution. Got some really nice pictures of the milky way too!

We waited until around 00:00 and then the portal was just starting to open, good news! We knew that it would just be a matter of time until the lights would come to life. Knowing that and having a group willing to wait longer than normal we toughed it out.

Just as our hopes were starting to vain and the Kolbein's self confidence in his ability to interpret space weather data was at an all time low we started heading home, but only five minutes after the bus departed the lights finally came to life!

at 02:10 in the morning some really tired and weary, (I'm sorry guys), but exited and awestruck travelers rushed out of the minibus as Kolbeinn took a handbrake turn in to a parking spot and viewed the spectacle.

Success! we got them.

Patience and perseverance won last night, and we are over the moon about it.

18/03/2023

Last night was one of those nights, every other operator had canceled due to cloud cover and meanwhile I (Kolbeinn) and Emil were scratching our head looking at the data. It all seemed decent and we saw no reason to cancel.

Being a small and vulnerable company it's always hard to make the call when everyone else cancels, and of course we have doubts, is there something we are not seeing that the big companies are seeing in the forecast? Are we overlooking something that would cause the big companies to cancel?

After starting our operation in December and really being successful with our calls, be it luck or skill, probably a combination of the two. We have built enough confidence in our own judgement to say yes, we can do it, even if 90% of the other more established companies say no chance.

So on our tour last night, with clear skies and dancing aurora, we had the whole island to ourselves, watching the Aurora and getting some epic viking pics.

Tonight is looking good in the forecast, clear skies and if current activity holds, probably aurora.

Book with us on auroraviking.com/tours

15/03/2023

Have you ever seen so many stars?

Activity data points to a good show tonight with clear skies.

Join our Northern Lights tour tonight from Reykjavik. We still have availability!

Auroraviking.com/tours

09/03/2023

Skies are clear tonight and we still have a few seats available.

Is current Bz magnetic alignment holds, northern lights appearing tonight looks promising.

For those of you that have been on our tours you might have heard us talking about the door, or the magic portal. That's the Bz alignment and the further negative it goes, the larger the opening for the solar winds to flow in to the top of our atmosphere and form auroras.

We monitor the Bz value throughout the day like a sports fan watches his teams goal numbers, the more negative it gets, the happier we are.

05/03/2023

Captain of the guard

01/03/2023

Boom! Crazy lights tonight!

27/02/2023

Double whammy tonight, a very rare midnight rainbow with the aurora shooting up out of the clouds.

It was a fun night out chasing the aurora with fast moving clouds and many stops to catch clear skies and aurora as it blossomed in between the clouds.

26/02/2023

A coronal mass ejection has just been detected, we might be seeing northern lights in 45 minutes and onwards, all over the sky. If you have a cloudless sky.

17/02/2023

Wow! Emil pulled it off yesterday when thousands of people didn't!

The conditions yesterday were favorable untill around 16:00 when the IMF shifted positive making auroras unable to form.

Emil was not deterred though and pulled out all the tricks in the book to find clear skies in case the auroras would form.

He managed to find a few clear spots but unfortunately the poor IMF charge wouldn't enable the Auroras to form.

When he was just about to give up and all the other tours were heading home he noticed a drop in the IMF to the negative, (enabling the aurora to form), and suggested to his group that they waited a little longer.

Luckily the group was geared up for some success and they all wanted to stay a little longer.

Just as the expected activity was supposed to form the clouds came in, Emil had to be quick to find another opening in the cloud cover to catch it!

He hurried up and drove quickly to a spot where the satillites indicated that an opening might appear and as he was driving, BAM!, He noticed something!

He spotted it and had to ram the minibus in to reverse and back up 400 meters to get to a spot where they could pull over.

What a great ending to the adventure of last night.

We still have a few remaining seats tonight and if you're quick you can grab them!

Book at auroraviking.com/tours

13/02/2023

We have no more availability for tonight.

13/02/2023

We are ON, tonight.

We still have 8 seats available but they will likely sell out quickly.

Cloud cover:
As of for the outlook, all cloud cover forecast agree that gaps will form in the cloud cover around Reykjavík, but they don't agree where. Hopefully as time goes the forecasts will agree more and satillite images come in with better data as to where we head tonight.

Activity:
Right now the solar wind is blowing slow, but dense with the IMF negative and if that stays the same we should have some Auroras tonight.

CME:
A coronal mass ejection is predicted to hit the planet today and if that happens we should have a good show. However, bear in mind that the estimations on if it will hit or not can be highly inaccurate.

Weather:
Wind will calm down around 16:00 and should be around 10 m/s tonight. Temperature's will be hovering around freezing and no precipitation.

So to summarize, we could win big or lose big if the cloud cover forecasts are wrong. We will see how it goes. 🤞