The weeks surrounding the june solstice bathe iceland in sunlight making it almost impossible to see the aurora because it just doesn t get dark enough.
Can i see the northern lights in iceland in the summer.
Personally i ve never seen them until well into september.
Summer june to july summer is short and sunny in iceland.
Other activities visitors can enjoy in late summer.
Instead it circles around the sky touching the southern horizon but never sinking below it.
The brightness of this midnight sun entirely obscures the northern lights.
The best season to see the northern lights in iceland is from september to mid april these are the months where there are full dark nights.
And you can t see the northern lights unless it is dark.
Plan your iceland summer holiday in advance.
There must be enough solar activity usually anything greater than kp 2 is a good rule of thumb to witness the aurora in iceland these last two conditions can be researched prior to looking for the lights by referencing the aurora forecast and cloud cover forecast.
21 to april 21.
If your goal in visiting iceland is to see the northern lights don t plan your trip in the summer.
However that also means that you can t see the northern lights over iceland in the summer.
The northern lights season in iceland is from september to mid april.
In the weeks surrounding the summer equinox at the end of june the sun never sets in iceland.
Thanks to longer hours of darkness and clear night skies december through march is usually the best time to observe this elusive natural phenomenon though you can sometimes see the northern.
Visitors can expect to see the lights on an average of four out of five clear nights during aurora season which lasts from aug.
Personally i ve never seen them until well into september.
It has been said in these forums previously that the northern lights have been seen in north east iceland in late august.
Some sources will recommend november to february as the prime time for viewing the aurora as they are the darkest months with the longest possible window to see the lights.
August is a relatively bright month with 16 hours of daylight each day.
However these months also have the worst weather with lots of rain snow and clouds.