Aurora near the city
A clear northern horizon and low light pollution at the capital's edge.
Bultro — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Massimo Margagnoni from Mondo, Italia — CC BY 2.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0
A lighthouse on a small island at the tip of the Seltjarnarnes peninsula west of Reykjavik, among the best places to watch the northern lights close to the capital. The reason is practical: the site sits metres beyond the last buildings and faces north over open ocean, so light pollution is far lower than in central Reykjavik and the northern horizon is completely clear. On clear winter nights people stand here for hours. A decisive practical point: the island can be walked to only at low tide. At high tide the causeway floods and the route is cut, and inattentive visitors have been stranded. Check the tide table before crossing — it is published locally and online. The area is also a bird reserve, and access to the island is forbidden during the nesting season, roughly May to July. Beside the shore is a small pool of warm geothermal water for soaking your feet, a well-loved local detail. Practical points: free and open. The shore itself and the coastal walk are available at any time, even when the island is closed or cut off.
A clear northern horizon and low light pollution at the capital's edge.
Warm geothermal water by the shore — a well-loved local detail.
The seasonal closure is not bureaucracy but protection of nesting sites.
Tip of the Seltjarnarnes peninsula, west of Reykjavik
From late August to mid-April, and it needs three conditions together: darkness, clear sky and enough solar activity. Check the aurora and cloud forecasts on the Icelandic met office site. Even in ideal conditions there is no guarantee — the aurora is a natural phenomenon, not a scheduled show, and someone visiting for three nights may not see it.
By bus to Seltjarnarnes then a short walk, or on foot along the shore from central Reykjavik in about an hour, a fine walk in itself along the bay. By car there is a car park near the shore, which can fill on aurora nights.
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