South of Iceland early April

If we go on the dates we have in mind, we would still have a chance of
seeing them, right?

Yes, you would have a chance. A very small chance though and to be honest this is a bad plan if the main aim is to see the northern lights.

My wife has the wish of going in a camper / motorhome, but they cost
about 700€ / 1400€ respectively + petrol + campsites, and with an
average of 0º and possible frost / storms I don't know if it's
advisable, especially the camper without interior bathroom.

This is a matter of personal preference, but a motorhome would not be my choice. Another thing to take into account is that in bad weather a smaller car is better as it can get very windy in Iceland.

This is not directly related to your questions. but I assume you have tried to
estimate the amount of time you want to spend at each attraction and how
far you have to drive to get from place to place?

Most roads outside of Reykjavik are two lane, even the Ring Road, and 55mph
is the best you can probably hope for.

I'm not current on this, but it used to be that most gas stations are unattended
at night and you needed a chip&PIN card to get gas. With chip cards much more
common now, not quite sure, but you want to make sure you can get gas at all
hours.

As you note, bad weather is still a possibility at that time of the year. I'd say it
depends on your driving skills as to what vehicle to get. I will say that most
hotels offer breakfast with the room and that is a great $ saver given the price
of food in Iceland.

Even if there is solar activity when you're there, you'll have to wait until nighttime
to try and see the lights. Have to balance that against getting sleep since you're
driving and have energy to see all the attractions.

Finally, the Blue Lagoon is closed right now due to the volcanic activity, so I'd keep
tabs on that as your trip gets closer.

Early April is still a time when the aurora might be visible. It all just depends of course.

As for a camper, I would highly advise against this as April is still winter. The winds can be brutal and they do blow cars and campers off the road. Campers are more vulnerable of course. Since you are only doing the south coast, I would just stay in regular lodging.

The Blue Lagoon should be open, unless the volcano starts up again. There are quite a few other options though for lagoons/hot springs if you do not have your heart set on BL. Fontana and Secret are both in the Golden Circle, and Sky is in Reykjavik although not in the heart of town, and then Hvammsvik which is about 45 minutes north of Reykjavik. In al of our Iceland trips, Hvammsvik is our favorite commercial hot spring, FWIW.

For a hotel near the airport, take a look at the Northern Light Inn in Grindavik. It is about 20 minutes from the airport, but a wonderful place for your last night. They have float pods that are not to be missed! Max's is their restaurant and is excellent for dinner. Breakfast is the usual buffet, nothing noteworthy, but decent. We have stayed there a couple of times and just love it.

No way to predict the aurora activity until a couple days ahead. This site has the forecast for solar activity and cloud cover (the latter the most likely reason you won't see the lights). As noted above, you need complete darkness to see the lights, so you will have to stay up quite late.

When I visited in late October, I took a few day tours. One of the guides on a small van tour mentioned that they canceled tours pretty often due to windy conditions (panel vans literally get blown off the road). I am an outdoorsy camping person and wouldn't choose that option for the time of year you're going given the potential weather and the cold. You'll be constantly thawing out from your planned outdoor itinerary visits, then you'd be at a campsite outside cooking your own food, hiking to/from the facilities, and then trying to warm up to sleep in a tiny van. Not my personal idea of fun.

According to a recent article in National Geographic (which I cannot post as it came to me on an app), 2024 is expected to be a year of high aurora activity. The sun has an 11-year cycle for the type of ionizing activity that produces the aurora, and next year will be the peak. (But note that the last peak, in 2013, proved disappointing).

Here is a similar article on the subject from NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/09/1211595597/northern-lights-aurora-borealis-2024

You can only camp in designated campgrounds, many which are only open from May to September. I suggest that you first research and find out if your plan to camp is even doable. Given the cold temperatures and possibility of high winds, camping just doesn't make much sense that time of year.

We loved our campervan trip but it was in June/July. I don't think I'd want that kind of travel in April.

Hello again!

Many thanks to all of you for your nice tips! they helped us to decide not to go with a camper but with a 4X4 (Dacia Duster) and hotels in our way :) Our main goal is to enjoy Iceland's landscape / nature and not just the northern lights as we know they are a matter of luck, so no worries about that and will enjoy the 13.5 hours of sunlight!

We've changed our itinerary slightly and would appreciate your feedback as we have two options and are unsure which would be more enjoyable. Basically, we've dropped the East Fjords / Höfn and aren't sure if we should spend the extra day on a more relaxing trip or visit Snæfellsnes as a "day trip".

OPTION 1: 970km

Friday 29th - we land at 14:30 + afternoon and evening in Reykjavík. Overnight in Reykjavík or Hlid Fisherman Village. 50km
Saturday 30th - Þingvellir + Strokkur geyser + Gullfoss waterfall + sunset at Secret Lagoon/Hrunalaug
Overnight in Flúðir. 150km
Sunday 31st - Seljalandsfoss + Skógafoss + Sólheimajökul (+ DC3 Plane Wreck?). Overnight in Vik or Kirkjubæjarklaustur. 200km
Monday 1 - Svartifoss + Jökulsárlón / Diamond beach + Skaftafell glacier walking and blue ice cave hike. Overnight in Kalfafellsstadur. 150km
Tuesday 2 - Stokksnes beach + way back to Fjaðrárgljúfur. Overnight in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. 270km
Wednesday 3 - Katla Ice cave + Dyrhólaey + Hálsanefshellir + Reynisfjara Beach. Overnight in Hella. 150km
Thursday 4 - Kerið + Reykjadalur Hot Spring 1h hike + Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon. Late dinner and option for Aurora tour if we missed them, return car and go to airport at 2-3am. 150km
Friday 5 - Flight home at 05:45.

OPTION 2: 1350km

Friday 29th - we land at 14:30 + afternoon and evening in Reykjavík. Overnight in Reykjavík or Hlid Fisherman Village. 50km
Saturday 30th - full "day trip" to Snæfellsnes (Selvallafoss, Kirkjufell, Snæfellsjökull View Point, Budir church, Ytri Tunga beach) + half way back to around Borganes for overnight. 300km
Sunday 31st - Þingvellir + Strokkur geyser + Gullfoss waterfall + sunset at Secret Lagoon/Hrunalaug
Overnight in Flúðir. 200km
Monday 1 - Seljalandsfoss + Skógafoss + Sólheimajökul (+ DC3 Plane Wreck?). Overnight in Vik or Kirkjubæjarklaustur. 200km
Tuesday 2 - Svartifoss + Jökulsárlón / Diamond beach + Skaftafell glacier walking and blue ice cave hike. Overnight in Kalfafellsstadur. 150km
Wednesday 3 - Way back to Fjaðrárgljúfur + Dyrhólaey + Hálsanefshellir + Reynisfjara Beach. Overnight in Hella. 300km
Thursday 4 - Kerið + Reykjadalur Hot Spring 1h hike + Blue Lagoon or Sky Lagoon. Late dinner and option for Aurora tour if we missed them, return car and go to airport at 2-3am. 150km
Friday 5 - Flight home at 05:45.

Questions :)

1. Itinerary: would you choose option 1 with 4-5h / 350km less driving and more time for visiting Stokksnes beach and Katla Ice cave, or option 2 with the extra "day trip" to Snæfellsnes?
2. First night: would you spend the first night in the centre of Reykjavík to enjoy it a bit more or in the fishing village of Hlid with beautiful scenery and a first chance to see the Northern Lights?
3. Glacier experience: would you recommend us the Katla Ice Cave, Skaftafell Blue Ice Cave & Glacier Hike or a snowmobile ride on Langjokull or Vatnajokull glacier?
4. Extras: no matter which itinerary, is it worth going to Stokksnes or visiting the DC3 plane wreck by bus?
5. Hot Pools: we would like to visit at least one between Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon and one between Hvammsvik, Secret Lagoon, Hrunalaug and Reykjadalur. Which one or two would you recommend us?

Many thanks in advance again!
Victor

I replied to your post on another forum just a little bit ago;)

Many thanks for that mikliz97!

Any further advice is very much appreciated :)