Iceland in December

[MulhuddartDrive]

I'd love to go to Iceland and have found some ok priced flights in December. Has anyone been then and would your recommend it? We would have 3 full days and I'd prefer not to drive in the snow and dark so do trips from Reykjavík to the blue lagoon, northern lights trip, etc. Any advice welcome!

Should have said who's going - me, husband, 2 teens and my mum (70s).

it'll be cold, really really cold!! and dark for a lot of the day. If you're going I think you need longer than 3 days and much of the awesomeness is well beyond Reykjavik.

You will only have around 4 hours of daylight. However, it's regarded as the best time to see the Northern Lights. The Blue Lagoon will be open but make sure you book. And please bear in mind that it is extremely expensive. A pizza cost me £30!

Yes, the northern lights are one iof the main reasons I want to go in winter. I've found some small group tours that do full day trips to the south of the island, various waterfalls and glaciers which I think would make the most of the time (and daylight). I knew it was expensive, but even coming from Dublin £30 is a lot for a pizza!

Sunrise at 11am and sunset at 3.30pm.

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/iceland/reykjavik?month=12&year=2025

Blue lagoon may not be open there is a lot of volcanic activity on the peninsula at the moment, it was evacuated again last week. But they do seem to get it open again quite quickly. Recommend the secret lagoon instead it seemed way less commercial when I compared experiences with my friend.

it will be cold, we went in April and the wind was demonic.

you really don’t need to drive there are regular buses from the airport and lots of trips from Reykjavik that do hotel pick up . For that length of time you can probably do an evening lights tour and the golden circle tour. Leave time for Reykjavik itself it’s an awesome city. The lava show and Perla musium were good too but I don’t thing you’d have time for all of that.

Oh and an example of cost. 2 fish n chips a wine and a beer £78. It was lovely but ouch.

We went in December and had a great time. There is little daylight but an unexpected joy was that the sunrise and sunset last seemingly forever and are very beautiful. It is cold but not unmanageably so.

We enjoyed Reykjavik including Perlan and the town museum, and a food tour. We also did the Golden Circle (self drive but there are loads of tours as you say). We had a short trip of maybe 5 days and it was a good taster.

Some of the alternatives to the blue lagoon don't take children so check ages before you book.

Food and particularly alcohol is expensive but good and the flights are quite reasonable given the distance so we didn't find it too bad all in all.

Oh and also the Christmas lights and Christmas traditions / stories are great.

The Yule lads and the Yule cat are now part of our Christmas too.

Made smile - cheese toastie and coffee near the harbour in Reykjavik was £24 around 18 months ago!

Recommend the secret lagoon instead it seemed way less commercial when I compared experiences with my friend

I’ve been to both and second this.

I love Iceland- one of the best places I’ve ever been. Agree on the prices though- you have to imagine what’s the most something could possibly cost, then double it. Large G&T- £50.

Just one?? 🫣 even the Sherbourne isn't that bad

Absolutely loved Iceland in winter (we went in March). It is really beautiful, the people are lovely and Reykjavik is a great little city. Definitely try and get out to the Golden Circle if you can and I agree with a previous poster, Secret Lagoon was a really good experience. The tomato farm was also a great surprise and the soup was amazing. We hired a van in the hope of getting off the beaten track a bit but actually, the golden circle attractions are popular for a reason, they're really spectacular!

I knew Iceland was expensive before we went but it was way beyond what I thought expensive would be. Beans on toast and a banana each left us feeling on the verge of bankrupt. £30 for a pizza was one of the cheaper options for eating out in Reykjavik. As long as you're prepared for this, you'll have an amazing time!

Definitely go on a northern lights tour and don't book it for your last night there as if you don't see any, most companies offer a free second trip.

Take plenty of warm clothing and layers, eg leggings under winter walking trousers. Thick hat, gloves and scarf/neck warmer. Base layer, jumper, good waterproof winter coat.

Yes it is expensive, but there are ways of making it more reasonable without missing out. We didn't bother with wine or spirits and just had beer when out. Eating out wasn't too terrible if you didn't have red meat, other options less pricey. We had the fish soup and cheesy bread, casserole, which is like white fish in a creamy sauce on Icelandic bread, plus tapas and Nepalese food, plus ate in a couple of nights. We also got slices of takeaway pizza fairly reasonably, £30 would have bought an entire massive pizza to feed at least 2-3. Coffee shop lunches were cheaper and better quality than UK chains.

YY to Christmas lights and just wandering around. The big relief map in the town hall is interesting and there's lots of museums, which would be a good choice in winter. A lot of the public swimming pools have spa areas and you can get a city card that covers the pools and a lot of the museums (not Perlan, which is about £30 each but well worth it).

I'm not sure about the Golden Circle tour because would you see much? They might be able to get to the big waterfall and geysers in daylight, but if it's not light you wouldn't see the big crater and possibly not be able to walk around the parliament crack bit near the end. Plus obviously not see anything out of the window on the way around.

3 days is plenty to see if you like the country and you can't see everything in one trip because there's so much to see and do and some things are better at different times of year so you need to go multiple times to experience short days/midnight sun, northern lights and then get the best of landscape/scenery. Even the waterfalls are different across the year - frozen in winter or much bigger in the summer when the glaciers and winter ice is melting in the mountains.

We went in December. As PP say, only 4 hours of daylight. But we loved hanging out in the thermal pools by starlight. You can travel in darkness to some of the best sights, spend four hours seeing them, then travel back in darkness.

We had an airbnb in Reykjavik. Eating out can be expensive (though we found one amazing restaurant which was agreat value for a Michelin-type meal) But supermarket food is similar in price to UK, so we mainly bought our own and cooked at night.

There were free jazz concerts in Hallgrimskirk. The outdoor thermally heated swimming baths cost next to nothing - the one we went to had massive tubular slides with coloured flashing lights inside, a floating chessboard, and loads of other water toys. DC played happily in there for hours, with snow falling on us. It was magical.

We were very lucky with weather. Thick snow and ice on the ground but not much falling. The previous week there had been bad blizzards and many trips acrss the island were cancelled due to road closure. We had crystal clear skies for the Northern lights.

Icelanders are so friendly. We went into a second hand record store and the man made us fresh coffee, opened a tin of chocolates and found some coluring books for DC. In a musical instrument shop they got out a tiny electric guitar for DS2 to play. In a cafe that ground its own beans they gave DS1 and me a tour of the back of the cafe so he could see how they roast the beans.

Just to add to Bjorkdidit's good post - Golden Circle tour was fine in December. We saw loads - the waterfalls, the huge geyser, the parliament where the two tectonic plates meet. Even had time to take an added walk up a glacier and stopped to stroke some wild icelandic ponies. The tour that adds on the secret lagoon at the end is great, especially if Blue Lagoon is currently closed.

I went in January. Best holiday I've ever had! Absolutely freezing, never gets properly light, loads of snow.

You won't need to hire a car as there are so many coach tours to see the sights. Absolutely loads to do. Its expensive to eat out (I went about 8yrs ago and a hot dog was £14) but an incredible holiday. I stayed in the centre of Reykjavik and would go again in a heartbeat.

The penis museum, the volcano museum, the whale museum, the Church you can go to the top of the tower in, the golden circle - just fantastic!

We went early January and had about five hours of daylight. We had clear blue skies and a little snow. It was cold but not unbearable, hovered around zero. Took organised tours including Golden Circle. Saw it all (just!) Very expensive but pre empted this and took a suitcase of food! Didn’t see the NL though. Amazing place.

If you really want to enjoy Iceland at its best, go in the summer.

I think it’s one of those places that every season brings its charm.

My brother lives there. We’ve been in December and across New Year (a brilliant evening in Reykjavik if you can be there then). It’s cold (obviously!) but lovely. We had a day in Reykjavik just pottering around at the sites then hired a car and drove outside the city to the black sand beach and to see some of the waterfalls. Some great restaurants in Reykjavik too. Take more money than you think as it’s incredibly expensive.

@Billybagpuss Short days limit what you can see! High winds and snow can easily ruin planned trips. If you have not experienced winter conditions you might not realise all that snow comes down - and it might be on your holiday!

Thanks everyone, lots of useful information to do more research.

Oh we were there when it did, I totally get what you’re saying but I do believe every season has its charms. (Although completely with you about the wind, that I do not like)

I actually loved the snow in Iceland although I wouldn’t have wanted to drive in it.

@Billybagpuss We had atrocious weather one year. Even if you book a coach trip, I’m not sure they would run in poor visibility and high winds. Everything stops. Personally I would not risk it. Snow is better in the Alps.

The barhop app is a great one - it highlights all the happy hours. We used appy - but I am not sure that is still working. We managed to get some OK prices using it!
One of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.