FAQ

Different trips, not better and worse. June to August gives you near-24-hour daylight, open highland roads and green landscapes, but no aurora. October to March gives you northern lights, ice caves and low winter light, at the cost of short days and weather that closes roads.

If it is your first visit and you want to see the most in one trip, come in September or early October — the ice caves open, the roads are still reliable, and the nights are just dark enough.

Milder than people expect and windier than they prepare for. Reykjavik sits around 1-3°C in winter and 10-13°C in summer. The number that matters is wind chill: -2°C with a 15 m/s wind on an open glacier feels like -15°C.

Dress for wind, not for the temperature on your phone.

No. Essentially everyone in the tourism industry speaks fluent English. Our guides work in English by default; Mandarin, German, French and Japanese can be arranged on private trips and on selected scheduled departures.

Yes, and you should. Iceland is close to cashless — cards work at petrol pumps, cafés and rural guesthouses. There is no need to carry krona at all.

Pick a date on any tour page and complete the booking there. A confirmation email with your voucher arrives immediately — show it on your phone at pickup.

No. The price on the page is the price you pay.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on day tours. Inside 24 hours the booking is non-refundable. Multi-day and private trips carry their own terms, shown on the tour page before you pay.

Prices display in whichever currency you pick in the header, but the charge is processed in the currency shown at checkout. Your bank may apply its own conversion on top.

Two weeks is comfortable for most departures. For July, August, Christmas and New Year, make it a month — and for private trips, longer again, because guides book out first.

Tours with hotel pickup collect you from any accommodation in central Reykjavik. Meet-on-location activities say so clearly on the tour page, with a map and a parking note.

Pickup can take up to 30 minutes as the vehicle works through the city — that is normal, not a delay.

Call the number on your voucher immediately. If the group has already left we will try to move you to a later departure. A no-show with no contact is not refundable.

For glacier walks and ice caves, yes — ankle-high, waterproof, with a sole stiff enough to hold crampons. Trainers will not work and your guide will not let you onto the ice in them. Rentals are available; book them with the tour so we bring your size.

For sightseeing tours, any comfortable waterproof shoe is fine.

Thermal base layer, fleece or wool mid layer, windproof and waterproof outer shell, hat and gloves. This holds in summer too — you will be standing still outdoors in wind.

Yes, on all our vehicles. It runs on the mobile network, so it drops in the highlands and in some fjords.

Moderate. Three hours on uneven ice wearing crampons is more tiring than three hours on a path, but it needs no experience and no technical skill. If you can walk briskly for an hour without stopping, you will be fine.

It varies by activity and is listed on each tour page. Glacier walks are usually 10 or 12 years, ice caves 6, sightseeing tours have no minimum.

Not in national parks or protected areas without a permit, and never over a group. Rules changed recently and are enforced. Ask your guide before you unpack it.

Guides check road.is and the met office before every departure. If conditions are unsafe we shorten the route, change it, or cancel — and a cancelled trip means a free re-booking or a full refund, your choice.

Aurora tours include a free retry on the next available departure, as many times as you like while you are in Iceland. Tell your guide at the end of the night and we book you in.

The aurora is weather. We will not pretend to guarantee it.

The season runs September to April; October to March gives the longest dark hours. Within your trip, go early rather than late — that keeps the free-retry nights in reserve.

Modern phones in night mode manage a strong display. For a weak one you need a camera on a tripod. Either way your guide takes long-exposure photos and sends them to you free, so you can spend the night looking up.