Seeing the aurora dance overhead is a genuine bucket-list moment, but nature keeps its own schedule, and a little planning dramatically improves your odds. Aurora season runs from September to March, when Iceland's nights are long and properly dark. The lights are technically always present in the upper atmosphere — you simply need darkness and clear skies to see them.

Give yourself several nights rather than pinning your hopes on one. The aurora is famously unpredictable, and cloud cover can foil even the strongest solar activity. Travelers who build in a few chances almost always come away with a sighting; those who gamble on a single night sometimes leave disappointed.