Iceland Hotels Offer a Northern Lights Wake-Up Service

When I arrived astatine Hotel Rangá successful Iceland, I was astir excited to spot the fastener connected the telephone successful my country that said, “Aurora Wake-Up.” The tiny, achromatic fastener seemed insignificant based connected its size but, successful my opinion, it was 1 of the astir important features astatine the hotel.

Each day, I clicked the fastener and received an automated connection letting maine cognize I had been added to the Aurora Wake-Up telephone list. And each evening I went to furniture with my fingers crossed. Just arsenic I was drifting disconnected to slumber connected my past night, the telephone successful my edifice country rang astatine 11:30 p.m. and an automated connection alerted maine to look for the bluish lights. I jumped disconnected the bed, threw connected my overgarment and hat, and ran outside, pursuing the different guests.

The auroras were hard to spot with my eyes alone. So I pulled retired my telephone and pointed it astatine the shifting clouds supra maine and took a photograph with the slowest camera velocity possible. That’s erstwhile I saw them. Greens and purples shooting done the clouds successful a assortment of antithetic hues. As I walked astir the beforehand gait of the hotel, which is situated successful a distant country successful the confederate portion of the Nordic land nation, I could not lone spot the lights done my camera but, arsenic my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the stars became much wide and vivid than I had ever seen before. As the nighttime went on, I befriended a household from Connecticut besides staying astatine the hotel. The 5 of america spent the adjacent mates of hours taking photos and waiting for the clouds to displacement for adjacent amended viewing.

I was thrilled to enactment astatine a edifice with a bluish lights wake-up service. Especially since, by that past nighttime connected my trip, pitchy lag had yet caught up with me. When it was clip for viewing, I was adjacent to a heavy slumber and mightiness person missed the show.

Bring Your Phone Outside

I asked the experts astatine Hotel Rangá, which paid for my stay, to assistance maine recognize my experience, particularly since I couldn’t spot overmuch with my eyes alone. Eyrún Aníta Gylfadóttir, selling manager the hotel, explains that “when star enactment is low, cameras tin prime up bluish lights that are little disposable to the quality eye. Using a agelong vulnerability connected the camera allows much airy into the lens, making them disposable connected the photo. However, erstwhile star enactment is high, the bluish lights are easy seen with the quality eye.”

How the Wake-Up Call Works

Each day, erstwhile I pressed the Aurora Wake-Up telephone fastener connected my phone, my country fig was added to a list. “If a impermanent does not prime up the telephone for the wake-up call, we bash spell and sound connected the doorway to marque definite they bash not miss the lights,” Gylfadóttir says. “The lights tin besides alteration rather quickly, meaning they mightiness person been disposable erstwhile the nighttime defender made the determination to commencement the wake-up telephone but had past faded by the clip our impermanent came outside. Sometimes it’s a substance of seconds, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours. We ne'er cognize for however agelong they are going to beryllium visible.”

Hotel Húsafell, located successful the municipality of Húsafell successful occidental Iceland, besides offers an aurora wake-up telephone work for its guests. “People tin motion up astatine the reception for their idiosyncratic rooms, and if the bluish lights look during the night, our nighttime receptionist volition telephone their country to fto them know,” says Áslaug Ragnhildardóttir, the groups coordinator astatine Hotel Húsafell. “They past request to spell extracurricular and look the north, to presumption the aurora borealis.”

When to See the Lights

An quality of the bluish lights is highly hard to predict, arsenic the lights can beryllium seen anytime from the commencement of September until mid-April. There are a fewer bluish lights prediction apps disposable to download. The squad astatine Hotel Rangá uses the forecasting website Iceland astatine Night, which it says is rather accurate.

Hotel Details

Hotel Rangá is intentionally located successful a distant country successful confederate Iceland, truthful visitors person a amended accidental of seeing the lights. It’s besides a large spot to presumption assorted waterfalls and different fashionable attractions. The starting complaint successful the wintertime is €394 ($426) per nighttime successful a modular room. The edifice besides offers a four-night enactment for aurora chasers called Age of Aurora with a starting complaint of €303 ($328) per nighttime successful a modular room. The mean complaint for each country categories successful the wintertime is €600 ($649) per nighttime with meal and geothermal blistery tub entree included.

Hotel Húsafell is besides located successful a distant country large for viewing the bluish lights but farther northbound successful Iceland. “The edifice is precise adjacent to Icelands 2nd biggest glacier, Langjökull, and galore times the clouds interruption and we get to spot the [northern lights] here,” says Ragnhildardóttir. Hotel rates—which are inclusive of meal and unlimited entree to the hotel’s geothermal pools and blistery tubs—range from $308 to $875 per nighttime depending connected the size of the country and the clip of year. Hotel Húsafell often has peculiar offers connected its website, particularly during the debased season.

My caller travel was astatine the precise extremity of August, and acknowledgment to this summer's summation successful star activity, I was capable to cheque the bluish lights disconnected my bucket list. But adjacent if I didn’t, determination is truthful overmuch to bash successful Iceland, from viewing progressive and dormant volcanoes to driving betwixt astonishing waterfalls to eating delicious meals. I anticipation to beryllium backmost again soon.