Most winters I’m lucky that my work takes me to warm locales such as California and Hawaii. And when work isn’t calling, I am booking my own flights somewhere with warm lighting and gorgeous light. Working as a local in Los Angeles has it’s perks (escaping Brooklyn’s cold winter). When A travel deal popped up to Iceland in December, the start of a NY winter, without hesitation I booked my tickets.

It has been a dream of mine to see the Northern Lights. While in Alaska’s Denali National Park in 2014 I was hiking, camping and photographing grizzlies. Each night we made camp, waited for total darkness and each night… it rained. After spending 4 nights rained out without getting the chance to see the clear skies lighting up with the aurora’s brilliance, I knew I needed a redo.

If you’re after this wonderful natural sight too, and are headed to Iceland, I have a few suggestions for you. Check out the weather radar and make sure you are aiming for clear skies. Leave the comfort of the busy cities and let darkness settle in. A great resource for the Northern Lights Forecast can be found here and for finding dark skies check out this link. That’s your basic formula for seeing this indescribable beauty. I was there in March and full darkness occurred around 10:30 pm, so make sure you have a thermos full of hot tea or coffee cause you have to be a night owl to witness it.