Can you see the northern lights in Akureyri tonight?

Visit North Iceland says the northern lights season in Akureyri runs from September through April, when nights are dark enough for aurora activity. Visit North Iceland says the lights can appear when skies are clear and solar activity is present, with dark viewing locations situated within a short walk or drive from the town centre. Akureyri is reachable from Reykjavík by air or road, and directly from the United Kingdom during the winter months.

When to see the northern lights in Akureyri

According to Visit Iceland, the official travel guide of Iceland, the best time to see the northern lights is winter, between September and April, when dark and long nights have replaced the bright summer nights. Visit North Iceland notes that the northern lights season in Akureyri runs from September through April, when nights are dark enough for aurora activity. To see how night length changes across these months, you can review the daylight hours for Akureyri alongside the southern figures for Reykjavík.

Within that window, Visit North Iceland states that November through January offer the darkest skies, giving the best chances to see the aurora when conditions align. It also states that late September to October and February to March offer excellent opportunities, with enough darkness and often more stable weather than peak winter. Visit North Iceland says that during winter the aurora can appear several times a week in Akureyri when skies are clear and solar activity is present, and staying longer increases your chances. However, the northern lights are not visible every night in Akureyri, as visibility depends on solar wind and cloud cover.

Visit North Iceland puts the chance of seeing the northern lights at 66% during a three-night stay in North Iceland and 90% during a five-night stay. Visit Iceland states plainly that there are no guarantees with the northern lights, so the more nights you have, the better your chances.

To view them, Visit Iceland says you need darkness and clear skies, or at least openings in the cloud cover. You can check weather conditions, cloud cover and aurora activity on the Icelandic Met Office website. The Icelandic Met Office explains that the aurora requires dark and partly clear skies. On its aurora forecast page, the map of Iceland shows a forecast of cloud cover, where green areas are cloudy and white areas are clear.

How to get to Akureyri

Akureyri is the largest town along the Ring Road, Iceland's 1,322 km route number one. If you are exploring the rest of Iceland, you can reach the town by air or surface transport.

Akureyri airport is one of Iceland's four international airports and the only one in the north of the country. It operates year-round with several daily flights to Reykjavík. Icelandair flies between Reykjavík and Akureyri several times a day, all year. If you arrive on an international flight at Keflavík airport, the driving distance between Keflavík airport and Reykjavík's domestic airport is about 50 km. In winter, easyJet flies directly to Akureyri from London Gatwick and Manchester, operating twice a week from both airports on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The airport is about 3 km from the town centre, which is about a 5-minute drive, and a walking path runs along the coastline into town. An airport bus connects the town and the airport with a pre-booked service timed with international flights, and taxis usually wait at the terminal. Four car rental companies operate at the airport: Hertz, Avis, Europcar and Thrifty.

By public transport on the ground, Strætó route 57 runs between Reykjavík and Akureyri once a day, every day, with its timetable adjusted to the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration's winter service schedule. Route 57 leaves Reykjavík from the Mjódd bus terminal. In Akureyri, it stops outside the airport and outside the Hof cultural house by Strandgata 12.

If you drive, Visit Iceland warns that between September and May you should pay close attention to road conditions. The high mountain passes of Holtavörðuheiði and Öxnadalsheiði are prone to closures during storms or high winds. Most roads in Iceland are free, but there is a toll for the Vaðlaheiði tunnel on the Ring Road near Akureyri.

Where to stand to see the aurora

While Akureyri has some light pollution, open areas with dark skies are easy to reach within minutes. The surrounding fjords, valleys and mountains offer wide views and low artificial light. Visit North Iceland notes that you often only need to drive 5 to 15 minutes from Akureyri to see the northern lights, with nearby coastal areas and valleys offering darker skies; you can compare Akureyri with other places across the region.

Several specific locations around town offer open viewpoints:

• Old harbour walkway: A few minutes' walk from the town centre, the harbour walkway leads to open views across Eyjafjörður, where the northern lights may appear on quiet nights.
• Krossanesborgir nature reserve: A 7-minute drive north of the town centre, this reserve is a wide-open landscape beside Eyjafjörður with open views over the water and an unobstructed horizon.
• Kjarnaskógur woods: Located 8 minutes south of the town centre, the forest blocks the wind, making it more comfortable on colder evenings. Open spaces and car parks inside the woods can be used for viewing.
• Hlíðarfjall ski area: Situated above the town, this area has low light pollution and wide views over Eyjafjörður. Its height often gives clearer skies than places nearer sea level, and if aurora activity is expected later, its car park can still be a good place to watch the night sky.

When choosing a spot, follow the safety rules issued by Safetravel, run by the Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue. Safetravel says to park at a designated parking lot and never stop your car in the road or in an unsafe place on its side, and says Iceland's roads are narrow. Visit North Iceland also advises wearing layers and winter accessories, as clear nights are cold, and bringing spare batteries because low temperatures drain them quickly.