Review updated Oct 2026 · Price checked 6 Oct 2026
Gray Line Iceland Northern Lights Tour — An Honest Review
Price from€70 per person
Rating3.7 · 1,654 reviews
Duration3 h
People next to youNot stated
Min ageNot stated
Times21:00–00:00 (Oct–mid-Mar)
If no lightsLifetime guarantee
OperatorGray Line Iceland
The Gray Line Iceland northern lights tour sells the longest guarantee for the lowest price: €70 from BSÍ and a lifetime retry. It is also the lowest-rated of the three most-booked tours (★3.7, 1,654 reviews): 3 hours instead of 4, a full coach, and value for money rated 3.7 out of 5.
Price€70from BSÍ; €72 with transfer
RetryLifetimerebook free if no lights
Rating★3.7lowest of the three most-booked
Duration3 hshorter than most
Updated Oct 2026Prices checked 6 Oct 2026Options and guest ratings read live on 6 Oct 2026Retry terms compared →
Three hours from BSÍ
Gray Line Iceland Northern Lights Tour — What Happens on the Night
The meeting point, a shorter hunt, back around midnight.
Your evening, hour by hour
most displays
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
00:00
01:00
02:00
from 20:45Meet at BSÍBe at BSÍ Bus Terminal 15 minutes early, or wait for the hotel transfer.
from 21:00Out of the cityTours run 21:00–00:00 from October to mid-March.
1.5–2 hAt the stopsStops chosen on the night; guests ask for darker ones.
about 00:00Back by midnightA 3-hour tour; later times in autumn and spring.
Gray Line runs 21:00–00:00 from 1 October to 14 March, and 22:00–01:00 from 25 August to 30 September and 15 March to 15 April. The cheaper option meets at the BSÍ Bus Terminal — be there at least 15 minutes early — and the other picks you up at your hotel.
At 3 hours the hunt is about an hour shorter than most bus and minibus tours. Guests praise the guides and their photo tips, but a recurring complaint is that stops could be darker and less crowded, away from traffic and light pollution.
On board there is Wi-Fi, USB chargers and a multilingual audio guide in an app.
What you actually pay
Gray Line Iceland Northern Lights Tour — Options and Real Price
Two options — prices checked 6 Oct 2026.
Options · prices checked 6 Oct 2026
3-hour tour, meet at BSÍ Bus TerminalRecommendedBSÍ Bus Terminal · be there 15 minutes early€70 per personBook this option
3-hour tour with hotel transferPickup from your hotel in Reykjavik€72 per personBook this option
€70 from BSÍ, €72 with the hotel transfer — a €2 difference that makes the transfer the obvious choice unless your hotel is next to the terminal.
What “lifetime” means here. If you don’t see the lights, you can retake the tour for free, any time you are back in Iceland. It is the longest retry term on any tour we compare, along with Aurora Viking’s unlimited retries.
Read before you book
Gray Line Iceland Northern Lights Tour — What’s Included
From the listing on GetYourGuide, and what isn’t on it.
Transportation
Guide
Wi-Fi and USB charger
Multilingual in-app audio guide
Lifetime guarantee
Hot drinks — not listed
Be at BSÍ at least 15 minutes before departure.
Later start, 22:00, in autumn and spring.
A 3-hour tour — shorter than most.
Hot drinks aren’t listed — bring a thermos.
Gray Line lists transport, a guide and on-board tech — Wi-Fi, USB chargers and an audio guide app — plus the lifetime guarantee. Hot chocolate isn’t on the listing, unlike on most competitors.
Gray Line Iceland Northern Lights Tour — What Guests Say
Guest ratings by part of the tour, and the pattern in recent reviews.
Guest ratings by part6 OCT
Guide4.1
Transportation4.1
Value for money3.7
Gap of 0.4 between guide and value for money.
Source: guest reviews on GetYourGuide · 6 Oct 2026
What guests like: successful sightings and knowledgeable guides with photo tips.
What they’d change: stops could be darker and less crowded, away from traffic and light pollution.
The numbers explain the ★3.7 from 1,654 reviews: guide and transport both 4.1, value for money 3.7 — the lowest sub-rating of the six tours we review. People who saw the lights are happy; people who didn’t notice the shorter hunt and the busy stops.
Similar price, different deal
Gray Line Iceland Northern Lights Tour vs the Alternatives
Our verdict: buy it for the guarantee, not the evening. Gray Line’s lifetime retry is unique at this price, and if you are likely to return to Iceland it has real value. As an evening out, though, it is the weakest of the three most-booked tours: 3 hours instead of 4, no hot drinks listed, busy stops and a value-for-money rating of 3.7 out of 5.
For a single trip, €2 more buys the Hot Cocoa bus tour with ★4.3 from 15,106 reviews, an extra hour and hot chocolate; €31 more buys the Small-Group Premium minibus with a 3-year retry. If you do choose Gray Line, take the €72 hotel transfer and book your first night.
Straight answers first
Gray Line Iceland Northern Lights Tour FAQ
€70 per person from the BSÍ Bus Terminal and €72 with hotel transfer (checked 6 Oct 2026). The €2 difference makes the transfer the easy choice unless your hotel is next to the terminal; with the cheaper option, be at BSÍ at least 15 minutes early. Both options include transport, a guide, Wi-Fi, a USB charger, a multilingual in-app audio guide and the lifetime guarantee. Hot drinks aren’t listed.
If you don’t see the northern lights, you can retake the tour for free, any time you are back in Iceland — the longest retry term on any tour we compare, along with Aurora Viking’s unlimited retries. The guarantee is included in the €70 price, so it has the most value if you are likely to return. On a single trip it works like any free retry: book your first night so there is time to use it.
Mainly because of the stops and the value: it has ★3.7 · 1,654 reviews, and guests rate value for money 3.7 out of 5, the lowest sub-rating of the six tours we review. Guide and transport both score 4.1. Recent reviews ask for darker, less crowded stops away from traffic and light pollution, and the hunt lasts 3 hours instead of 4. Guests who saw the lights praise the guides and their photo tips.
21:00–00:00 from 1 October to 14 March, and 22:00–01:00 from 25 August to 30 September and from 15 March to 15 April. With the cheaper option, be at BSÍ Bus Terminal at least 15 minutes before departure; with the hotel transfer, be ready for pickup at your hotel. The tour lasts about 3 hours, so you are back around 00:00 or 01:00, depending on the season.
At BSÍ Bus Terminal in Reykjavik — be there at least 15 minutes early — or with hotel pickup if you book the transfer option. The transfer costs €72 instead of €70, so for €2 more you skip the trip to the terminal. The listing gives 31 drop-off points for the way back. Hot drinks aren’t listed, so bring a thermos if you want something warm at the stops.
About 3 hours — around an hour shorter than most bus and minibus tours, including the 4-hour Hot Cocoa bus tour and Small-Group Premium minibus. From 1 October to 14 March it runs 21:00–00:00; in late August, September and from mid-March to mid-April, 22:00–01:00. Fewer hours leave the guide less time to drive toward clear sky, and guests who saw nothing notice the shorter hunt.
No, hot chocolate isn’t on the listing. Gray Line lists transport, a guide, Wi-Fi, a USB charger, a multilingual in-app audio guide and the lifetime guarantee — but no hot drinks. Most competing tours include hot chocolate, among them the €72 Hot Cocoa bus tour and the €101 Small-Group Premium minibus, so bring a thermos if you want something warm at the stops.
Yes, if the lifetime guarantee matters and you will be back in Iceland. For a single trip, the Hot Cocoa bus tour (€72, ★4.3 · 15,106 reviews) or the Small-Group Premium minibus (€101, ★4.4 · 3,182 reviews) gives you a better-rated evening, an extra hour and hot chocolate. If you do choose Gray Line, take the €72 hotel transfer and book your first night. See retry terms compared.
