Iceland - best time to go?

[PinkFootstool]

I've won a £1500 travel voucher for lastminute(dot)com!

DH hates flying, so we'll probably have a couple of cheap weekends in the UK, however I have been wanting to go to Iceland for a few years, so I'm going on my own!

I LOVE the cold. I want to be there when it's snowy and absolutely baltic so I'm thinking December. I am also desperate to see the Northern Lights, but I appreciate there's no guarantee of that on any date.

Currently thinking 6-10th December based on flights I can get, and stay at a B&B in Reykjavik.

Has anyone been out around that time? Any suggestions on where to go / things to do?

I think I'd like to go to the Blue Lagoon, and a trip out to a recent volcano eruption / lava flow site although everything is dormant right now. I plan to use coach tours and won't be hiring a car - driving in occasional 0.5mm of snow in Cornwall hasn't prepared me for icy driving conditions!

I'd be grateful if anyone wants to weigh in on when and where to go!

Congrats on the win!

Pre-covid, we went to Reykjavik at exactly the same time of year. The snow was apparently heavier than usual for Dec, but it was fabulous. We walked everywhere within Reykjavik itself- sun voyager sculpture on the lake, the museum, cathedral, the opera house, main shopping strip etc- don't forget the penis museum! 😆Even walking through the cemetery en-route to the museum was magical and so peaceful and pretty.

They had many well planned day trips from Reykjavik via bus- so we didn't bother hiring a car either. We did the golden circle tour which included the geysir and Gulfoss waterfall. Gulfoss was the most extraordinary waterfall I've ever seen- think of Niagara falls with ice and snow all around it.

We also did a northern lights trip. One thing to note is that what you see from the naked eye- is nothing compared to what the camera will pick up. I was very disappointed to see some wispy, green waves in the sky- until I looked a the camera photos which looked amazing! We used both these companies for our tours. Their main bus depot is in town, otherwise some trips will pick up and drop off from your hotel Gray Line Iceland - Golden Circle Tour
Golden Circle Tours in Iceland | Reykjavik Excursions

There are many, cheaper, hot springs around which are equally lovely, but blue lagoon is the most famous (and most expensive). IMO- its better to do it to/from the airport. We spent a few hours there before our return flight home and it was lovely.

In terms of clothing, I wore salopettes, ski jacket and layers- even during the day. You will see locals in jeans and a jumper and I'm sure they laugh at the tourists in all their ski wear, hats and gloves. There was a focus on locally made and knitted jumpers, beanies, scarves etc and some lovely items in the local craft shops.

The sun didn't come up till about 11am and it set at 2pm! Shops were still open till the evening though and everything carried on as if it was still day time. It was lovely seeing Christmas decorations around and everyone had a candle arch in their windows.

Alcohol is very expensive. Assuming things are still the same, there was a duty free shop within the airport for arrivals, so you could buy alcohol there a bit cheaper than in town.

We stayed at this place https://ok.hotelsreykjavik.net/en/
It was very central, and although we mainly ate out- it did have a kitchenette in the room. There was a supermarket down the road, so it was very handy to be able to reheat things, or make breakfast ourselves (also cheaper!)

We only stayed either 4 or 5 days but had a lovely time. I have no idea what summer is like, but it didn't feel overly crowded or busy when we went. Sorry this has turned into an epic reply- but happy to answer any questions you have.

Thank you very much! Yes, it was a bit exciting 😂

That's fabulous, thank you for taking all that time to reply - it's very much the kind of trip I'd like to have as well. Although I hadn't even considered salopettes or ski clothes..... 🤔

I have a huge feather filled coat which comes to my knees which I'd planned to wear with jeans, thermal socks and big hiking type boots but might have to review that plan!

Reykjavík wasn't actually any colder than ski holidays I've had in the Alps, so I'm sure warm trousers and jacket with layers would be fine in the day. I only wore salopettes etc as I had them, and had no idea beforehand how cold it would be. As said in my earlier post, when I went, it was apparently the heaviest snowfalls in many years, so maybe a regular December wouldn't have as much snow sitting in the ground, in parks, in the city etc.

Hopeful bump anyway for others who went in Dec.

We went over new year this year and it was -24C! Definitely needed all the ski gear./ thermals. However we had friends that went a couple of weeks earlier and a couple of weeks later and both had cold but not arctic weather so proper technical coat and jeans were fine. It was amazing! Also sun starts setting at 2/3 ish but takes a few hours to set so it’s a very prolonged dusk. Enjoy!

(We also apparently hit the worst snowfall/ coldest weather in years. Hmmm….)

DH and I went to Iceland for 4 days in December 2018.

Absolutely no snow whatsoever and no Northern Lights!

We did the Golden Circle tour (Gulfoss waterfall, Thingvellir National Park and the Geysir Geysers) as well as the Blue Lagoon on our departure day - coach picked us up from the hotel and after the Blue Lagoon, took us straight to the airport. Don't forget to bring a waterproof bag to put your damp swimsuits in!

You only get around 4 hours of daylight in December.

We spent a day in Reykjavik, the Phallus Museum, The Hallsgrimskirkja church, Harpa Opera House and the Perlan Museum.

There is also so much more, such as glacier/cake hiking, whale watching tours,

Food and drink is expensive, but the food is so fresh, it's just delicious and therefore worth it in our opinion.

Iceland was no colder than the UK - we came prepared, but didn't need half of it!

😲😲😲😲 OK, I definitely don't have suitable clothes for -24c 😂. I've just told my mum about that temperature - she's said she assumes I'll not go then but nope, that sounds like a great adventure!!

I'll need to have a plan before travel to acquire ski gear if that's the case closer to the time.... Slightly more complicated by the fact I'm a size 22-24, so not a huge availability of ski clothing in my sizes. Maybe it's an incentive to also drop some weight before I go.

@Frecklespy I think if be sad if that is how it is when I go, however I'm conscious it's probably more likely than the terrifying minus temps so I'll have to suck it up and just enjoy the sights even if I miss out on snow and the Northern Lights.

Great tips on the Blue Lagoon - I'll check what works for the flights in looking at.

Thanks all, I'm enjoying reading how others have found it and I'm looking at all the trip options!

@CC4712 I've never been to the Alps or even skiing outside of a dry slope in Scotland so whilst I have a feathery technical coat, I don't really have much else that's suitable as I live in Cornwall! The whole county grinds to a halt at the first sniff of snow on Dartmoor.

I'm Scottish and spent many a winter in the cold growing up and a few trips home at Christmas since, but it's not quite the same as visiting somewhere where I plan to be out and about as much as possible so I definitely need to review my clothing options!

Layers are your friend. From memory, I had a T-shirt, thin long sleeved top then my jacket on top. If you get hot walking about in the daytime- you can take a layer off. For the northern lights tour, I also had a pair of leggings under my ski salopettes and a jumper, in addition to ear muffs, gloves and scarf. My husband just had jeans, T-shirt and jacket, but I feel the cold more than him.

Asda have some wintery jackets for sale, as does trespass. Sports direct also have base layers on sale, along with jackets, boots etc.
https://www.trespass.com/women/jackets/ski-jackets

https://www.cottontraders.com/women/coats-and-jackets/fleece-lined-coat/AD11809.html?cgid=womens-coats-jackets#cgid=womens-coats-jackets&start=24&list=product%20list&p=16

https://direct.asda.com/george/women/coats-jackets/green-faux-fur-hooded-longline-padded-coat/GEM1022437,default,pd.html?cgid=D1M1G20C6

https://www.sportsdirect.com/missguided-plus-size-hooded-puffer-coat-609917#colcode=60991704

https://www.sportsdirect.com/missguided-plus-size-oversized-belted-puffer-coat-606021#colcode=60602103

https://www.sportsdirect.com/missguided-recycled-plus-size-maxi-chevron-puffer-coat-596120#colcode=59612003

If a heavy jacket isn't something you'd wear again, you could possibly hire one if you have a ski shop near to you- although unlikely in Cornwall 😆

We went in early August (2020!) and the weather was good, but no Northern Lights. I'm told that the end of August or early September you have a better chance

We went in feb 2017 ( I think) and it was great as Iceland had just had the biggest snowfall for many years, some of the roads were hard to walk on though !. Unfortunately didn't see the northern lights.

I went last week of Jan in 2019. Snow was waist deep and we saw the northern lights.

I can’t remember the temperatures, but I was wearing fleece legging and cheap skiing trousers, walking or snow boots, thermal long sleeve top, thin jumper, fleecy hoodie and thick winter coat and I was about right (with hat, glove, scarf).

It was amazing!

We went on an organised day trip which included the golden circle and 2 hours at the secret lagoon. Much cheaper and less busy than the blue lagoon. Also did a trip to walk on the glacier and see the black sand beaches. Both day excursions booked before we went with a company called get your guide. Picked up and dropped off from our hotel. Would highly recommend. Also spent a day in Reykjavik, the Perlan museum and the concert hall Harpa has a beautiful public area ( make sure you look up !)
It's a fabulous place. We went in March needed decent outdoor clothes and walking boots but not ski wear.

We went for a week in early February and it was just perfect. Lots of snow but also saw the lights 3 times. We booked then because the nights are long enough to optimise your chances of seeing the lights but generally a little less cloud cover if I remember rightly.
The blue lagoon is very touristy but still an experience. The Secret Lagoon is better, hotter (naturally hot) and less crowded.

If you travel to Iceland in Winter one thing to bear in mind is that even Iceland can struggle if it is too snowy. Not a reason to not go, but do need to be aware of the risk and prepared to adapt plans.

(This was last December - https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/iceland-keflavik-airport-closed-snow-b2249264.html )

We went at new year this year and it was awful. It was -25 and we were only allowed off the coaches for 15 mins at a time due to the cold (you wouldn’t have wanted to get off longer anyway)! It was too cold to take your hands out of the gloves to even take photos! It meant hours and hours on the bus in the dark and then getting off at the actual places for a really short time. I think it was freak weather, but it really wasn’t good. Some friends went in either feb half term or Easter, I can’t remember, and they were in jeans, so much better. I’d like to go back in summer.

we booked all the tours before we want but the 2 day tour of the south was cancelled due to the weather, but we did manage to find a one day tour of the south with viator instead. There are so many four buses, and it’s really well organised. Try to find a hotel near one of the tour stops.

it’s an incredible place, but I hope it’s not that cold when you go as it wasn’t good, one of the days was -10 and that was fine with ski clothes.

I have been twice, the first time in February. We were staying in Husafell and doing tours from there. It snowed so heavily we did not move from the hotel for 3 days. It did have outdoor hot spring swimming pools so swimming in those in a snow storm was fun! We did go back in the October half term and drove from one side of Iceland to the other. It was amazing and such an adventure. We saw the northern lights and it only snowed once!

The weather is extremely changeable and unpredictable. Take layers, I had some excellent thermal trousers.

I went in June once and the weather was fairly good, though not “warm”.
good weather for walks and exploring though I remember regretting not bringing an eye mask as trying to sleep at midnight when still very light was disconcerting

If you definitely want snow, not December. There is sometimes snow in December, but often not until after Christmas in the south west.

January or February are colder and more snowy months in general.

Reykjavík rarely sees temperatures below -10, and most of the deep winter is between -2 and -5 or so. Last winter was incredibly and unusually cold.

I'd say February would be the best for what you say you want. You get that much more daylight if you avoid the absolute depths of November to January.

Of course if you go in the winter, hiking to the recent eruption site is much more of a serious undertaking and I would not recommend hiking into mountains in Iceland in the winter unless you are experienced and confident with those conditions. I've done the hike in the snow and it's fine if you're well equipped but it's not a walk in the park.

Well, I reviewed my plans in light of the recent eruption (which looks like it's slowing down), but still decided to wait until it's cooler in Iceland. Mostly because I'm far too fat and unfit to manage a 20km round trip hike to the eruption site and lots of the flights have booked up to see if from the air.

So I'm still thinking later in the year, but probably going to book it closer to the time based on what I see with weather, depth of snow, temperatures and potential for the northern lights.

It also looks like volcanologists are monitoring the possibility of another eruption brewing near the coast road between the airport and Reykjavik which could cause chaos, let alone the potential for harm to local residents so I'm hanging on to see what happens in the next few weeks as things seem to be moving quite swiftly!

I have a history of being in the wrong place at the wrong time (Hurricane Irma being my most spectacular experience.....) so could do without the added adventure of an eruption extending my credit card debt where possible!

Thanks all for the tips - rest assured I'm taking it all into account!