Iceland northern lights

Northern lights are present above Iceland nine days out of ten. Sound too good to be true? Well, technically it is correct but there are several factors to consider.

1. Darkness – it must be dark. In summer it is 24 hour daylight in Iceland.
2. Cloud cover – it must be clear to be able to see the northern lights since they exist far above the clouds.
3. Solar activity – there must be solar activity for particles to be ejected towards the Earth.
4. Solar cycle – the activity of the Sun performs in 11 year cycles. In 2010 a new cycle has just begun.
5. Magnetic field – the right magnetic conditions must prevail around the poles.
6. City lights – can be a problem if the northern lights are faint. Best is to drive away from the city to a dark secluded spot, wait and watch.
7. Moon – can also be a problem, especially when it is full, because it can be quite bright and it may overpower the light from the northern lights.
8. Timing – as mentioned before, the northern lights are elusive. One day they may occur for a minute, or dance in the sky for hours. I’ve been giving northern lights tours for decades and always enjoy the last one just as much as the first one.

I’ve been giving northern lights tours for decades and always enjoy the last one just as much as the first one.

Golden Circle Bicycle Tour and Northern Lights

Fancy a full day of activities in Reykjavik Iceland in November? How about visiting Geysir geothermal area, Gullfoss waterfall and Þingvellir - Parliament plains national park. Then jump on a bicycle in Reykjavik, learn a bit about the history of the city, get some excercise, watch the sun go down at four in the afternoon. Shop for two hours, go for an early dinner at one of Reykjavik's excellent restaurants, search for the northern lights, and go for a drink. Impossible? No it isn't. Visit our website - http://www.reykjavikbiketours.is/

Picture slide show from Reykjavik Bike Tours

Reykjavik Bike Tours offers schduled day tours, private tours, incentive group tours, school group tours. Tours are: Classic Reykjavik; Coast of Reykjavik; Golden Circle and Westman Isles. Have a look at a slide show with pictures from some of our tours.

Reykjavik Bike Tours - slideshow

Safer biking when taking control of the lane

A brillant animation from the Commute Orlando website shows clearly how a bicyclist can stay out of harms way when bicycling closer to the middle of the road instead of too close to the curb. Watch and learn...Click here.

When is it too cold to bicycle in Reykjavik?

Cold is a relative term. Reykjavik for instance is warmer in winter than New York, Spitsbergen and Kululsuk but is colder than Barcelona and Cape Town. The secret to a comfortable ride in Reykjavik‘s capital in winter is to don the right attire for the occasion.

Today, for example, it is 8 degrees Celsius and hardly any wind which for the locals means it is a nice day for biking.

Last December Reykjavik Bike Tours took guest out on a bicycle tour fifteen times including Christmas Day and New Year‘s Eve. Ok, I admit, some days we had frost but I was never cold since everyone wore enough warm clothes.

Best place to see Northern lights

Northern lights are best viewed from Iceland, Canada, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Alaska, Scotland and Greenland. Iceland is surely one of the most accessible places to view the elusive northern lights since it only takes 2.5 hrs to fly from Scotland, 3 hours from London, 3.5 hours from Frankfurt and 5.5 hours from New York.

On a clear night in winter you may experience the northern lights as soon as you‘re out of the terminal building.

Best time to view the northern lights is around midnight and the best place to view the northern lights is anywhere away from the city lights in Reykjavik.

Northern lights cannot be seen every night due to cloud cover, unfavourable magnetic field conditions or solar activity. But man! When you do see the northern lights it is all worth it.

Reykjavik Bike Tours offers private northern light tours when in season. Please enquire.

Reykjavik, Iceland: More pople use bicycles as mode of transport

People‘s travel behaviour has chanced since the eonomic collapse in 2008 according to results reflected in a report made for the Ministry of transport. Less people use a private car and proportionally more walk or use a bicycle.

According to the report the current traffic is level with traffic statistics in 2006, two years before the economic collapse.

Today more people are sympathetic to improved public transport, paths for pedestrians and cyclists instead of adding more roads to the road transport system.

Source: mbl.is