Aurora Reykjavik

What Aurora Reykjavik does

Aurora Reykjavik (Aurora Reykjavík – The Northern Lights Center) is a privately held, founder-owned tourism business based in Reykjavík, Iceland, founded in 2013 by photographers Katarina Raker and Grétar Jónsson. It operates Iceland's only dedicated Northern Lights museum, located at Fiskislóð 53 in the Grandi Harbour district, where it delivers a self-guided museum experience combining interactive exhibits on aurora mythology, science, and photography, what the company markets as the world's first 360° Northern Lights VR experience using real footage, and a 30-minute cinematic show filmed by the founders. The site also houses a gift shop and café open daily without admission.

Beyond the museum, Aurora Reykjavik operates as a licensed tour operator running small-group Northern Lights excursions on minibus and super jeep (late August to mid-April), private Northern Lights tours, and day trips to the Golden Circle, South Coast, Glacier Lagoon, Blue Lagoon, whale watching, and horseback riding. It also sells bundled combos with co-located Reykjavík attractions including Lava Show, Whales of Iceland, Flyover Iceland, and the Hop-on Hop-off City Sightseeing bus. Pricing is published per ticket in ISK (museum) and EUR (tours and combos), with discounts for students, children, and groups of 10 or more.

The business is direct-to-consumer, relying on a multilingual website with 8 languages, walk-in museum sales, and online booking. Aurora Reykjavik maintains 5 employees, has no disclosed external investors or parent company, and reports no revenue figures. Its distribution model emphasizes SEO, cruise-ship proximity, and reciprocal referrals with neighboring attractions, supported by a proprietary aurora-and-cloud forecast used to optimize guided tour routing and advertised as the basis for the highest Northern Lights sighting success rate in Iceland.

Name

Aurora Reykjavik

Legal name

Aurora Reykjavik

Website

https://aurorareykjavik.is

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aurora Reykjavik operates Iceland's only dedicated Northern Lights museum in Reykjavík's Grandi Harbour, combining interactive exhibits, a 360° VR aurora experience, and guided Northern Lights tours, day tours, and combo packages for international tourists and cruise visitors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural attractions and Northern Lights tourism experiences

NAICS

Museums (71211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

History, Heritage & Museum-Focused Study Tours (THAKAGAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Polar & Remote-Destination Expedition Tour Operators (THAKADAM), Cultural, Heritage & Arts Travel Agencies (THAKAFAK)

Keywords

• Northern lights museum
• Aurora borealis tours
• Guided excursion services
• Virtual reality experiences
• Iceland tourism attractions

Headquarters

HQ city

Reykjavik

HQ country

Iceland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission: Entry fees for the Northern Lights museum experience, including VR show, interactive exhibition, and movie theater.
2. Guided Tours: Northern lights excursions (minibus, super jeep, private tours), day tours (Golden Circle, South Coast, Glacier Lagoon, Blue Lagoon, Whale Watching, Horseback riding).
3. Combo Packages: Bundled offerings combining museum admission with other Reykjavik attractions (Hop-on Hop-off bus, Lava Show, Whale Watching).
4. Retail and Food & Beverage: Gift shop sales (Northern Lights-themed souvenirs, local jewelry, Icelandic photography) and café services serving coffee specialties and homemade pastries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Aurora Reykjavik operates Iceland's original Northern Lights museum featuring a world's-first 360° Northern Lights VR experience, interactive exhibitions on aurora science, mythology and photography, and a 30-minute cinematic Northern Lights movie show. The company also sells guided Northern Lights excursions (minibus, super jeep and private tours), day trips to Golden Circle, South Coast, Glacier Lagoon, Blue Lagoon, Whale Watching and Horseback Riding locations, bundled combo packages with nearby Reykjavik attractions, and on-site gift shop and café services.

Product overview

Aurora Reykjavik is Iceland's original and leading Northern Lights Center offering a unified experience combining a museum with interactive exhibitions, 360° VR experiences, and cinematic shows, along with guided Northern Lights excursions and day tours. The portfolio includes core museum admission, small-group and private Northern Lights tours (operated late August to mid-April), day trip packages to destinations like Golden Circle, South Coast, Glacier Lagoon, Blue Lagoon, and Whale Watching, plus bundled combo offers. Supporting services include aurora forecasting tools, multilingual audio guides, and a gift shop/café. The company is founded by photographers Katarina Raker and Grétar Jónsson.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aurora Reykjavik Museum Experience Iceland's original Northern Lights museum featuring an interactive exhibition on mythology, science, solar cycles, and photography; the world's first 360° Northern Lights VR experience with real aurora footage; and a 30-minute cinematic Northern Lights movie show. Aimed at international tourists visiting Reykjavik.
• Northern Lights Tours and Excursions Small-group guided Northern Lights tours on minibus or super jeep, plus private tours, operated from late August to mid-April with expert local guides following real-time forecasts to clear-sky spots around southwest Iceland. Targeted at tourists visiting Iceland during aurora season.
• Day Tours Day trip packages covering Golden Circle, South Coast, Glacier Lagoon, Blue Lagoon, Whale Watching and Horseback Riding destinations in Iceland. Sold to tourists as add-ons to museum visits or Northern Lights tours.
• Combo Offers Bundled ticket packages combining Aurora Reykjavik museum admission with other Reykjavik attractions including Hop-on Hop-off City Sightseeing Bus, Lava Show, Whale Watching, and multi-attraction combinations such as Golden Circle + Blue Lagoon + Northern Lights. Targeted at tourists seeking combined sightseeing and Northern Lights experiences.
• Gift Shop, Gallery and Café Northern Lights-themed gift shop selling exclusive souvenirs, local jewelry, and Icelandic photography, alongside a café serving coffee specialties and homemade pastries. Open daily without museum admission ticket required. Targeted at museum visitors and walk-in customers in the Grandi Harbour area.

Quantifiable outcome

• Highest success rate for Northern Lights sightings in Iceland

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Lava ShowminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdjacent attraction located side by side with Aurora Reykjavik, offering exclusive combo tickets that bundle both experiences. No formal partnership announcement date specified.
• Flyover IcelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNearby attraction in Grandi Harbour area mentioned as a combined day-trip option for visitors. No formal partnership announcement date specified.
• Whales of IcelandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNearby attraction in Grandi Harbour area offering combo tour packages with Aurora Reykjavik. No formal partnership announcement date specified.
• Hop-on Hop-off Reykjavik City Sightseeing BusminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCombo ticket partnership offering bundled admission to Aurora Reykjavik and the city sightseeing bus. No formal partnership announcement date specified.
• Local Expert Northern Lights GuidescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of expert local guides providing small-group Northern Lights tours on minibus or super jeep, as well as private tours. Operating season: late August to mid-April. No formal partnership announcement date specified.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Arctic Adventures: Leading Icelandic tour operator running Northern Lights minibus tours, super-jeep tours, Golden Circle, South Coast, and glacier day tours. Competes head-on for tour-side bookings and is an obvious acquisition candidate for expansion of Aurora Reykjavik's tour business.
• Reykjavik Excursions (Reykjavik Sightseeing): Iceland's largest tour operator offering Northern Lights, Golden Circle, and South Coast tours; now part of the Hop-on Hop-off partner network with Aurora Reykjavik. Direct competitor for day tours and aurora tour bookings.
• Whales of Iceland: Grandi Harbour museum exhibition on whales with combo partnership to Aurora Reykjavik. Same audience, same neighborhood, same cruise-ship catchment, and same bundled-ticket positioning.
• Lava Show: Located side-by-side with Aurora Reykjavik in Grandi Harbour, Lava Show offers the world's only live lava experience and is a bundled-combo partner. Same international tourist audience, same multilingual DTC booking model, same combo-ticket ecosystem.
• Perlan Museum - Wonders of Iceland: Reykjavik's prominent nature and science museum with indoor exhibitions on Iceland's natural phenomena (including aurora-related content), observation deck, and immersive experiences. Direct competitor for the same international tourist ticket and bundled-tour wallet share.
• Flyover Iceland: Adjacent Grandi Harbour attraction offering immersive fly-over theater experiences across Iceland's landscapes. Direct peer because it competes for the same experiential-tourist ticket, often appears in the same combo packages, and operates the same multilingual DTC booking model.

Broad incumbents

• Gray Line Iceland: Major inbound tour operator in Iceland with broad portfolio of Northern Lights excursions and day tours. Broader incumbent competing on tour capacity and cruise-ship contracts.
• The National Museum of Iceland: Reykjavik's larger, established national museum covering Icelandic history and culture. Broader incumbent competing for cultural-tourist ticket spend and group bookings, but without the Northern Lights specialization or seasonal tour operator arm.
• Blue Lagoon Iceland: Iconic Icelandic geothermal spa and tour destination that appears as an add-on in Aurora Reykjavik's combo lineup. Competes for the same leisure-tourist day-spend and serves the same cruise and fly-in visitors.

Regional players

• Tromsø Arctic-Alpine Botanic & Northern Lights experiences (e.g., Aurora Husky / Tromsø Tour Operators): Comparable Northern Lights-focused tour and museum operators in Norway (Tromsø), Finland, and Canada. Comparable product (aurora tours plus informational/indoor experiences) and customer segment, but in a different geographic catchment — useful benchmarks rather than direct competitors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aurora-reykjavik

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aurora Reykjavik