Come back from a day out to warm water and a comfortable house. Winter at Aurora Hills is a lovely balance of exploring and staying in.
- Shortest day
- Sunrise 11:20 and sunset 15:29 on 21 December, 4 hours 8 minutes of daylight
- Full darkness
- Almost 13 hours on 21 December, with the sun more than 18 degrees below the horizon
- Aurora season
- Generally late August to late April, on clear, dark nights
- Hot tubs
- Every house has a private hot tub to watch the sky from
- Location
- Mosfellsbær, around 20 minutes by car from Reykjavík
- Your hosts
- Agla & Haffi
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Full darkness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 October | 08:34 | 17:47 | 9h 13m | 9h 25m |
| 21 November | 10:13 | 16:10 | 5h 58m | 11h 57m |
| 21 December | 11:20 | 15:29 | 4h 08m | 12h 56m |
| 21 January | 10:40 | 16:38 | 5h 58m | 11h 57m |
| 21 February | 09:03 | 18:19 | 9h 16m | 9h 23m |
| 21 March | 07:25 | 19:44 | 12h 19m | 5h 54m |
| 21 June | 02:55 | 00:02 | 21h 07m | none |
Computed for Mosfellsbær using the NOAA sunrise and sunset method. Iceland keeps the same time all year, so these are local times. Full darkness means the sun is more than 18 degrees below the horizon.
On 21 December the sun rises at 11:20, stays low in the sky and sets at 15:29. That gives 4 hours and 8 minutes of daylight, and almost 13 hours when the sky is fully dark.
Many guests expect the short days to be the drawback, and they often turn out to be the highlight. The evening starts early, so you have the whole night to enjoy the sky instead of staying up late for it.
By 21 March the balance has shifted: 12 hours 19 minutes of daylight and around six hours of full darkness. Late March brings the last weeks of the aurora season and the first long, bright days.
Mosfellsbær is part of the capital area, around 20 minutes by car from Reykjavík, so a winter stay here does not mean a long drive on remote roads.
Conditions still change quickly. Allow extra time, check road conditions and weather alerts on the day you travel, and ask your rental company which car and tyres suit the season. We send directions and arrival details before your stay.
If the weather turns, you have a whole house with a kitchen and a private hot tub, so a quiet day in is still a good day.
Away from the city centre the sky is darker, and on a clear night the northern lights may appear above the houses. You can watch from the hot tub, go inside to warm up and head back out if the display picks up.
No one can promise the aurora. It needs clear skies, darkness and solar activity at the same time. A stay of several nights gives you more chances, and the Icelandic Met Office publishes an aurora and cloud cover forecast.
Questions
It is if you enjoy dark evenings and slow days. Around midwinter the sky is fully dark for about 12 to 13 hours a night, which gives more time to look for the northern lights. Daylight is short, down to 4 hours 8 minutes on 21 December, so plan two or three things a day rather than a full itinerary.
In Mosfellsbær the shortest day is 21 December: sunrise at 11:20, sunset at 15:29 and 4 hours 8 minutes of daylight. By 21 January it rises to 5 hours 58 minutes, and by 21 March to 12 hours 19 minutes.
The houses are in Mosfellsbær, around 20 minutes by car from Reykjavík. Winter weather can change quickly, so allow extra time, check road conditions at umferdin.is and alerts at safetravel.is on the day you travel, and follow your rental company’s advice on the right car.
On clear, dark nights you may see them from the houses, and every house has a private hot tub to watch from. The season generally runs from late August to late April. Sightings depend on clear skies and solar activity, so they cannot be guaranteed.
Warm layers, a waterproof outer layer and shoes with good grip, since icy paths catch people out more often than the cold. Bring swimwear too: every house has a private hot tub, and it is at its best on the coldest evenings.
The Glass House has a glass roof above the bed and suits a couple, with room for up to four guests. Stairway to Heaven sleeps up to eight and has wide views across the valley. Oak House Villa sleeps up to ten in four bedrooms. Each house has a private hot tub, and The Glass House and Oak House Villa also have saunas.
The three houses
Sleeps 4
The Glass House
Glass roof above the bed, private hot tub and barrel sauna.
Sleeps 8
Stairway to Heaven
Rooftop terrace, geothermal hot tub and views across the valley.
Sleeps 10
Oak House Villa
Four bedrooms, a geothermal hot tub and a private sauna.
Contact Agla and Haffi about your stay. +354 775 1832, your hosts at Aurora Hills.