Top Northern Lights Location, Iceland 2020/2021

Capital region

The capital region is the location where the most aurora has been spotted in Iceland. It did not surprise us since the majority of the Icelandic population are living in the capital area, and with fewer tourists, compared to the other years we are received more aurora reports from locals than tourists. 

There were over a thousand aurora reported from the capital region's last year. Mostly from the residential area such as downtown Reykjavík, Elliðaár, and Kópavogur.

Read the full article about the most popular aurora location in Reykjavík and the surrounding area.

If you are traveling to Iceland for the first time and want to see the aurora we recommend finding a place where it has less light pollution, the darker the sky is, the brighter you will see the aurora. And if you are wandering in Reykjavík make sure you turn on the notification on our app and we will send you notifications when the aurora is visible or when someone spotted the aurora so you will not miss the chance to see it.

Selfoss

The second-largest aurora spotted location in Iceland is Selfoss. We have already mentioned Selfoss in our last year's report. The town was ranked for the top aurora location in South Iceland from the year 2019 to 2020. In total, we have 181 reports from Selfoss this season.

Selfoss is another great place to visit if you want to travel outside of town. There you can find several hotels and guesthouses along with café and restaurants. The town itself is not big but very convenient for a short stop if you are traveling toward the South where it has many tourist attractions such as Skógar waterfall, Selljalandsfoss waterfall, and more. 

Höfn

Höfn is another great place for aurora spotting if you are traveling to the southeast of Iceland. There you can find many tourist attractions around the area such as the famous Vatnajökull, Mt. Vestrahorn and more. This is a great area if you want to capture the Northern Lights with beautiful landscapes. 

If you are planning to travel there, we recommend following @_mishamartin on Instagram. He has spotted Northern Lights with beautiful landscapes countless times over the past years.

Þingvellir

Another famous location that everyone must visit on their trip in Iceland is Þingvellir (Thingvellir). Þingvellir is a national park and historic site located around one hour away from Reykjavík. There you can capture the Northern Lights with a stunning landscape behind such as Þingvallavatn, Þingvellir Church or even with Öxaraárfoss the stunning waterfall which it flows from the River Öxaár into Almannagjá.

Akureyri

It would be surprising if the second largest town in Iceland would not rank on this list. In total, there were over a hundred auroras spotted around Akureyri. 

The city is a great place for Northern Lights sightings and tours. If you want to explore by yourself, you can choose to take a small stroll out of town where there is less traffic light with clearer sky and wait there for the show or you can also join a Northern Lights tour.

Nearby the city you can find many popular attractions such as Mývatn, Goðafoss, Hverir, and more. 

Reykjanes

Reykjanes is located on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland. Where the volcano Geldingadalir is erupting in Iceland. 

Reykjanes is a great destination for you if you want to find a dark location with a wonderful landscape. Being a smaller town with less light pollution makes it easier for you to find a dark sky where you can set a camera for the Northern Lights show. And don’t forget that you can also spot the Northern Lights at the volcano!  Jeroen, our featured photographer has mentioned Reykjanes in our blog post about this Northern Lights experience in Iceland. Jeroen is also fond of the volcano and had already spotted the aurora at the volcano last year. 

Robert Stankiewicz from IcePhotoLand is a local living in Keflavík. He has spotted the aurora from the area multiple times over the last year and has shared many beautiful aurora pictures from Reykjanes Peninsula on his Instagram account.

East Iceland

Being remote made it easy to see the Northern Lights in East Iceland. Finding the aurora in Iceland is very easy you just need a clear sky, a good aurora forecast, and less light pollution which East Iceland is a perfect location for all the mentioned factors.

At the East, you can find famous attraction such as Stuðlagil the most popular attraction that nobody knew about it until recently.

Vík 

Vík ranked in the top 8 in this season. If you are a Netflix fan you might be familiar with the town name, it’s the location where the popular series Katla was filmed.

Most of the aurora that was spotted in Vík were mostly in the living area and some were around road number one. Keep in mind that the road in the countryside is very dark and cars drive fast. If you plan to stop on the road please make sure you park well 🚙

That's all for the top aurora location in Iceland from the year 2020 to 2021. We hope you like it.