A year earlier, we had already been to Iceland once.
It was a beautiful trip, but there was one problem: we didn't get to see the Northern Lights.
Honestly, that was the main reason why we wanted to visit Iceland again. We had seen plenty of waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, and black-sand beaches in person, but those weren't what stayed in our minds. We felt like we had missed the biggest part of Iceland.
We Had to Go Back
Almost a year after our first trip, we found a surprisingly good airfare deal on WOW Air. The round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to Reykjavík was $879.96 for the two of us.
At that price, we looked at each other and basically thought, We have to go.
We weren't planning a long vacation. This was going to be just a weekend-style trip, three nights and four days. We also weren't going to pack much.
WOW Air was a budget airline, and we decided not to pay for luggage. Instead, we each brought a large backpack. Since Iceland was going to be very cold, we found another way to save space: wear the clothes instead of packing them.
At one point, I think we were wearing close to seven layers.
It wasn't exactly a fashionable way to travel, but it worked.
We chose October because there was a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights. Still, I wasn't confident that we would actually see them. We had already tried once and failed because of overcast weather.
This time, though, we had hope.
And I brought my Fuji X10, just in case if we find something interesting to document. It was small enough that I could easily carry it around, and I figured that if we actually saw the Northern Lights, I wanted a camera with me.
Back to Iceland
Our flight from LAX took about 8 hours and 45 minutes. We left Los Angeles around 10 p.m. and arrived at Keflavík International Airport around 1:30 p.m.
We rented a Fiat 500X for €97.44 through Green Motion Rental Car Company. We would have and booked a bigger car if it was snowy season, but mid-October weather was just good for Fiat 500X. There were not many cars to choose from at this price range.
We booked our accommodations through Airbnb. Because we were only staying three nights, we didn't stay in one place. We booked a different location each night and basically drove around Iceland. We spent about €100 per day and we were totally okay with what they offered us.
This was our second trip, so we didn't feel like we needed to spend a lot of time in one particular place. We wanted to see as much as we could while keeping an eye on the weather and, most importantly, the Northern Lights forecast.
We spent the days driving, stopping at famous attractions, taking pictures, and enjoying the scenery.
The roads were generally easy to drive, although the speed limits sometimes felt a little too slow to us.
We also cooked at our Airbnb most of the time. Iceland was already pretty expensive back then, so cooking helped keep the cost down.
Of course, we couldn't completely avoid one of our favorite Icelandic road-trip traditions:
N1 gas station hot dogs. We had plenty of them.
Diamond Beach and a Lot of Ice
One of the most memorable places was Diamond Beach.
Seeing that much ice scattered along a black-sand beach was something we simply didn't get to see back home. The size of some of the ice pieces was impressive, and we walked around getting as close as we could and taking plenty of pictures.
There were also a lot of people there taking pictures, including us.
It felt like a major hotspot, and with all the people around, we couldn't help but wonder if the ice was disappearing quickly.
The glaciers were memorable too.
We took lots of pictures, and while we were posing for photos, my wife jumped to make a gesture for the camera.
Her phone flew right out of her pocket. Luckily, it didn't fall into the water. It came close, though. And somehow, I actually caught the whole thing on camera. Looking back, those little moments are just as memorable as the scenery itself.
Our Little Iceland Accident
Not everything went perfectly.
While we were leaving one of the attractions, we were stopped on a sloped road waiting to exit.
Suddenly, the car in front of us started rolling backward.
Before we knew it, it bumped into our Fiat.
Fortunately, it was nothing more than a fender bender. Nobody was hurt, and because we had insurance on the rental car, we exchanged information and moved on.
I think the other car may have had a manual transmission, and the driver simply wasn't comfortable starting on a slope.
The car accident did make us nervous for awhile, but we felt better as we drive by peaceful scenery of Iceland. It was just one of those unexpected things that happens on a road trip. Please make sure you purchase a car insurance. It will make your life, much easier.
Little did we know that another driving moment later that trip would become the most memorable part of our entire Iceland adventure.
The Northern Lights Were Waiting for Us
Throughout the trip, we kept checking the weather. Clouds were the enemy. We had already learned that during our first visit. We didn't book a Northern Lights tour. We simply watched the weather and hoped for clear skies.
The first two nights passed without the moment we were looking for.
Then came our last night.
We were driving toward our last Airbnb location, Flúðir, Iceland.
It was getting dark, and I was driving like I normally would. There wasn't much around us. No city. No streetlights. Just a dark Icelandic road.
Then, almost casually, I looked in the rearview mirror. I thought I saw a faint green light in the sky. At first, I wasn't completely sure. But something about it looked familiar. I knew what it might be. I told my wife to look back. She immediately told me not to look back and to keep looking forward so we didn't get into another accident. Fair enough.
I started looking for somewhere safe to pull over. Once we found a place, we got out of the car. And there it was. The Northern Lights.
Finally
We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by darkness. There were no streetlights competing with the sky. There were a light, but it was far and probably a house or something. Just a clear, dark Icelandic sky with a faint green glow.
The green wasn't extremely bright. It would become stronger and then fade a little, changing intensity from time to time. But it was unmistakable. We stood there for about 15 minutes. It was one of those moments where you don't really know what to say.
It was just...
Wow.
The only problem was the temperature. It was incredibly cold. After about 15 minutes, we couldn't take it anymore and got back into the car. But I was glad I had brought the Fuji X10. The camera captured the Northern Lights surprisingly well. The pictures were different from what I saw with my own eyes, but I was still very happy with them.
Still, no photograph could really capture the experience. We have all seen Northern Lights pictures online. But seeing them in person is completely different. As the lights slowly moved across the sky and changed intensity, it almost felt like they were making a sound.
They weren't.
But somehow, that's what it felt like.
It was surreal.
And Then We Saw Them Again
We finally made it to our Airbnb and were relieved that we had managed to see the Northern Lights on the very last night of our trip. After dinner, we were relaxing inside when we looked through the window.
There they were again. Green lights in the sky. We couldn't believe our luck. We immediately changed out of our pajamas and put on our regular clothes, followed by our thick winter jackets.
Then we went outside, but we lasted only about ten minutes. It was just too cold. I wanted to get a good picture of my wife and me, so I asked her to stand still for about 30 seconds due to the darkness. after a few pictures, she started complaining because the cold was unbearable. But I didn't care. I had one thing on my mind: getting that perfect picture. I'm not sure if it was the perfect picture, but I was happy with whatever I got.
Was Three Nights Enough?
For us, three nights and four days was just about the right amount of time because this was our second visit. We already knew what Iceland was like, and this trip had one main mission: see the Northern Lights.
For a first-time visitor, though, I think it would be too short. There is simply too much to see, and driving around Iceland takes time.
If we go back—and we've talked about it many times—we would do things differently.
This time, we'd bring our kids. We would stay longer. We would drive less. And we'd probably visit during the winter season so we'd have another chance to see the Northern Lights.
I'd also love to try kayaking with the kids.
Iceland would be a very different trip with our family, but that's part of what makes travel fun. You can return to the same place years later and have a completely different experience.
Going Back to Iceland
Our second trip finally gave us what we had been missing. We didn't need a fancy Northern Lights tour. We didn't need a perfect itinerary. We didn't even need a lot of luggage. We just needed a cheap flight, a small camera, a rental car, a few layers of clothing, and a little luck with the weather. And maybe the biggest thing we needed was a reason to go back.
WOW Air gave us that reason.
When we went in 2017, WOW Air was one of the airlines that made Iceland surprisingly accessible from Los Angeles with its low-cost nonstop service. The airline eventually disappeared, and the LAX–KEF nonstop route we used is no longer operating.
Looking back, I'm glad we went when we did.
Because if we hadn't seen that cheap airfare and decided, “Let's go back,” we might never have had that moment when I looked into the rearview mirror and saw that faint green glow following us through the Icelandic night.
And after missing the Northern Lights once, finally seeing them on our very last night made the whole trip feel even more special.
LET'S GO!
Check out my Iceland Road trip!
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