Which Small Group Northern Lights Tour in Iceland Fits You
Minibus, 4x4 or something extra — the same aurora hunt with fewer people next to you.
A small group northern lights tour in Iceland means 14–19 people in a minibus or a 4x4 instead of a full coach. It costs €101–€212.95 per person for 4–5 hours from Reykjavik.
Pick the minibus if you want the smaller group at the lowest price: the Small-Group Premium tour at €101 has 3,182 reviews at ★4.4 and a guide rated 4.7 out of 5. Pick a 4x4 if getting off the paved road or a smaller jeep group matters. Pick the lava tunnel combo if you have one evening and want something to show for it even under cloud.
Small means stated. We count a tour as small-group only when the operator states the limit or the vehicle is a minibus or jeep. Coaches never state their size.
Small Group Northern Lights Tour in Iceland by Minibus
Three minibus tours from Reykjavik — the cheapest, the one with photos and kids from 5, and the longest.
All three minibus tours leave Reykjavik in the evening with hotel or bus-stop pickup and hot drinks at the stops. They differ in three ways: price, photos and how long they stay out.
A minibus seats up to 19, so the group fits around one guide at the stop. You hear the explanation of what you are seeing, get help with your phone settings and climb back into a warm vehicle quickly when the guide decides to move on. On a full coach the same moves take longer, and the best spot at the viewpoint goes to whoever gets off first.
1Small-Group Premium (€101) — up to 19 people, age 8+, a 3-year open ticket for a retry on the operator’s big bus, full refund if the weather cancels every night of your stay.
2EastWest with Hot Cocoa & Photos (€144) — up to 19 people, age 5+, free photos, Icelandic kleina doughnut and wool blankets; rebook free within 2 years, subject to seats.
3David The Guide with Photos (€106.92) — the longest hunt at 5 hours and free photos; the retry terms are not stated, and the operator advises booking your first night.
Source: operator listings on GetYourGuide · 6 Oct 2026
Off the paved road, from €135
Small Group Northern Lights Tour in Iceland by 4x4
A 4x4 minibus, a true super jeep and the smallest jeep group on GetYourGuide.
Three tours use a 4x4. The Nordur Travel 4x4 minibus (€135) is the cheapest way off the paved road, with one guide per 16 guests, hand warmers, Icelandic pastries and photos. The Arctic Adventures super jeep (€180) is a true big-tire jeep with unlimited retries for 3 years; it may cancel by 18:15 if the weather is bad, and you rebook.
The Norse Adventures jeep (€212.95) has the smallest stated group on this page — at most 14 — Icelandic guides with folklore stories and a photographer-guide. It has only 21 reviews so far, all at ★5.0. If the weather cancels it you choose a new date or a full refund.
Off-road matters less than it sounds: most viewpoints are reached on paved or gravel roads, and every guide chooses the destination by the cloud forecast. What a 4x4 adds is flexibility on snowy side roads and, on the jeeps, a smaller group. If you are choosing between the 4x4 minibus at €135 and the super jeep at €180, the difference is the vehicle and the longer, unlimited retry.
Small Group Northern Lights Tour Iceland with Photos
Free aurora photos come with most small-group tours — check before you pay extra for a photo tour.
Five of the seven small-group tours list free photos of you under the lights: EastWest, David The Guide, the Nordur Travel 4x4, the Arctic Adventures super jeep and the Norse Adventures jeep. The guide sets up a camera on a tripod and you get the files after the tour.
Tour
Photos
From
EastWest minibus
Free photos
€144
David The Guide minibus
Free photos with the aurora
€106.92
Nordur Travel 4x4
Photos of you by the guide
€135
Norse Adventures jeep
Photographer-guide
€212.95
Small-Group Premium
Not listed
€101
Source: operator listings on GetYourGuide · 6 Oct 2026
Small Group Northern Lights Tour in Iceland with a Lava Tunnel
One evening, two experiences: underground first, then the sky.
The Arctic Adventures lava tunnel combo (€180, ★4.7, 89 reviews) starts with about an hour inside the Raufarhólshellir lava tube — helmet, head torch and crampons included — and then hunts the aurora for about 2.5 hours. If the lights don’t show, the retry covers the northern lights part and includes the tunnel again.
A small-group evening follows the same rhythm as any northern lights tour from Reykjavik. Pickup runs from 20:30 to 21:30 at your hotel or a numbered bus stop; the Arctic Adventures super jeep picks up at 20:30 or 21:30 depending on the season. The guide checks the cloud forecast and drives to where the sky is clearest, usually 30 to 60 minutes away.
Expect one to three stops of 20 minutes to an hour each, with hot chocolate and, on most tours, a guide taking photos of you. You are back in Reykjavik after midnight: the minibus and 4x4 tours run 4 hours, the David The Guide minibus 5. Dress for standing still in the cold for an hour or more.
On the minibus tours we list the operators state a maximum of 19 people: the Small-Group Premium tour and the EastWest minibus both cap the group at 19. The Icelandic-guided 4x4 jeep tour takes at most 14, and the 4x4 minibus runs one guide per 16 guests. A big coach does not state its size.
The sky is the same; the stop is not. With up to 19 people you get out faster, stand closer to the guide and wait less at the toilet. The big bus is cheaper — from €65 instead of €101 — and its free retry is just as useful. Pick the minibus if crowds at the stop would spoil it for you.
Sometimes. A smaller vehicle can change plan faster and park where a coach can’t, and the David The Guide minibus runs 5 hours instead of 4. A 4x4 or super jeep can also leave the paved road. None of the operators promises a fixed distance — the guide drives towards the clearest sky that night.
On most of them, yes. EastWest, David The Guide, the 4x4 minibus by Nordur Travel, the Arctic Adventures super jeep and the Norse Adventures jeep all list free photos of you under the lights. The Small-Group Premium tour does not list photos; for portraits taken by a photographer, see northern lights photography tours.
It depends on the operator: 5 years on the EastWest minibus, 6 on the Arctic Adventures super jeep and 8 on the Small-Group Premium tour. The David The Guide minibus, the Nordur Travel 4x4, the Norse Adventures jeep and the lava tunnel combo don’t state a limit, so ask the operator before you book with young children. Keep in mind that the tours run 4 to 5 hours and you are back in Reykjavik after midnight.
You get a free retry, not a refund. The Small-Group Premium ticket stays valid for 3 years but the retry runs on the operator’s big bus; EastWest lets you rebook within 2 years, subject to seats; the Arctic Adventures super jeep gives unlimited retries for 3 years. Book your first night so the retry still fits your stay.
Yes on all the small-group tours we list, usually from your hotel or a nearby numbered bus stop in Reykjavik. The Small-Group Premium tour has 23 pickup locations and warns that pickups can take up to 30 minutes; the Norse Adventures jeep doesn’t pick up from every hotel.
Don’t count on one. None of the small-group listings mentions a toilet on board, and the Aurora Viking photo minibus states plainly that there are no toilets during the activity. The dark viewpoints the guides look for are away from town, so go before pickup — on the Small-Group Premium tour pickups can take up to 30 minutes, and the whole evening lasts 4 to 5 hours. Expect one to three stops of 20 minutes to an hour each.
Average night lows in Reykjavik are about −2 °C from December to March and around +6 °C in September, before wind chill. You stand still for an hour or more, so dress in layers with a hat, gloves and boots with grip. Several tours lend blankets; the 4x4 minibus hands out 2 hand warmers each.
Only if off-road access or the jeep itself matters to you. A super jeep costs from €180 against €101 for the minibus and adds big tires and fewer people; the Arctic Adventures jeep also gives the longest unlimited retry at 3 years. For the aurora alone, the minibus does the same job for less.
If you want the smaller group at the lowest price
Small-Group Premium Northern Lights Tour from Reykjavik
Small-Group Premium Northern Lights Tour from Reykjavik★ 4.4 · 3,182 reviews · up to 19 people · 4 h
€101per person
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Compare all seven →
No lights? Free retry for 3 years on the operator’s big-bus tour.
