Last Updated: February 15th, 2020
It’s inevitable we say this, so we’ll get it out right at the start – the best time to visit Iceland is all the time.
Okay, with that out of the way, the reality of this question really comes down to what you are looking for in a vacation to Iceland. In our experience, Iceland is a beautiful country – maybe even one of the most beautiful, especially if you are trying to work out some mathematical equation that takes into account how small this country is compared to most in the world, but how densely packed it is with awe inspiring views big and small.
Our trip around Iceland’s Ring Road was life changing in many ways.
Our first time in Europe? Check.
Our first time living in a van? Check.
Our first time standing in the middle of a volcano? You got it!
For photographers and nature enthusiasts in particular, Iceland is the place to be. A lot of the increase in tourism has been the result of beautiful photos and the large number of hit movies and shows that have been filmed here like Prometheus, Star Wars, Interstellar, Game of Thrones, and Vikings…just to name a few.
By this point…you maybe already know about the types of things that lure people to Iceland. We can sum up just a few of them right now in case you don’t:
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Scenic views (waterfalls everywhere, too)
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Movie and TV show inspiration
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Quietness of nature and low number of people
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Auroras
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Whale and Puffin watching
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Relaxation in the geothermal spas
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Icelandic horses!!
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…hot dogs!!!
If any of these things sound enticing and you want to read more about our journeys, check out our post Reflections on our Iceland Trip – One Year Later.
For the rest of this post, we’ll be talking about the seasons in Iceland – and help you choose when the best time is for you to visit.
A Guide to Iceland Through the Seasons
1). Summer (June – August)
For most travelers, visiting Iceland during the summer months is the obvious answer for them. With warmer weather (relatively speaking) and the Midnight Sun lingering in sky and illuminating it even late into the “night,” it’s really hard to go wrong. Some activities and areas of the country are only open during this timeframe, such as the Highland region and the Laugavegur Trail (a popular multi-day hiking destination) that cuts through the middle of the country.
The only downsides that come with Iceland during the summer are the crowds, especially at hot tourist areas such as those found on the Golden Circle, as well as premium prices for everything. As is common knowledge, Iceland is not exactly a budget location to visit, but it is well worth the expense – and there are ways to save money if you know where to make cuts.
2). Fall (September – October)
The autumn months begin the off season in Iceland. Some hiking spots and roads begin to close up, and tourists start to evaporate back to their home countries. Along with this, prices for things like airfare and rental cars begin to dip (still expensive – but a little less than during the summer). Our 10 day trip around Iceland was during early September, and we can attest to it being a great time – but you need to be prepared for more unpredictable weather.
One of the difficulties of this time of year is the fairly rapid weather change from fairly comfortable and relatively dry to an influx of rain and more unpredictability. While we ultimately accepted the weather while we were there, we got to see pretty much all of the faces Iceland has to offer in this department – from light rain showers to torrential downpours, and some days of glowing, even warm, sun – it was a good experience on the whole.
What attracted us to visiting in September was, you guessed it, the lower costs and decrease in tourist traffic. There were still a good deal of people when we visited around the tourist sights, but as we got up North more near Akureyri, and to the East of the country – there were times we would rarely see people for long stretches of time.
With the Midnight Sun gone away, these months are most similar to the standard day/night cycle we find at home in the United States, and it helped making adapt to the time change easier for us when we arrived as well.
Given we visited during the fall, if you need insight into the costs associated with traveling to Iceland, check out Breaking Down the Cost to Travel to Iceland for 10 Days.
3). Winter (November – February)
So…winter is a hit or miss season for visiting Iceland. Relatively speaking, trips to the country during this time of year can be pretty mild in terms of weather and temperatures, and come with significant decreases in tourist traffic and rental costs. Of course, the climate being the beast that it is, sometimes intense snow storms come up and leave the country pretty much stranded as it slowly digs itself out.
Last year, we saw a lot of posts on Reddit’s VisitIceland forum about people who were stuck at airports and wondering if they’d ever get to the country for their trip, and if they could make it, what they’d be able to do. Anyone planning to travel during the winter really needs to be prepared for this as a possibility.
With all this said, winter is also a beautiful time to visit – maybe even more so than any other time for some people. Seeing the snow contrast with black sand beaches and dark volcanic craters, it’s a pretty ethereal experience.
Not to mention, this is the time to see the Northern Lights in all their glory. While we caught a glimpse ourselves during the fall months, the time to really see them on display is the winter season. These is due to the increased amount of darkness as the sunsets much earlier than most people would like (except vampires, they would dig it).
4). Spring (March – May)
Springtime in Iceland has been described as a “weird” time. It can be hit-or-miss in terms of the weather, sometimes straggler snow storms come in to ruin everyone’s day, or you find yourself in a nice 50 degree sunlight while you hike. As is found in many places around the world, the appeal really comes from the evolution the country undergoes during this time period – with flowers beginning to bloom and more color starting to come back into the landscape. Animal enthusiasts will also probably want to check out the puffins in their natural habitat.
The end of May also marks the end of the off season, so as you might expect we are brought full circle with rental costs steadily increasing until all of the tourists are on the island 🙂
Our Big Tip for Picking the Best Time to Visit
Unless you want to visit Iceland in the middle of July when the Midnight Sun is at it’s peak, the best advice we can give you is to visit at the very beginning or very end of a particular season. This will normally allow you to take advantage of some slightly better prices for various rentals, and often minimize (to some extent at least) the number of tourists that will be in the way while you travel.
We chose the first two weeks of September for this reason – as it was still close enough to the end of summer to not be radically different (at least at the start), but from quick price comparisons on our campervan and other things, we could see the prices already dipping when compared with August rental prices. It was partly a budget decision as you can see, but one that just makes sense for us.
How to Prepare & What to Do When I Get to Iceland?
Once you have a sense of when you want to visit Iceland, we would suggest you book your flights, rental car, and lodging accommodations in advanced. For this, Booking.com often has great deals you can take advantage of. For some travelers who want things a little more simplified, you might even consider an Iceland travel package that can be found through Groupon (though be sure to read the reviews). With these things done, you can follow our free Iceland packing checklist to make sure you have everything you need to have a great trip!
Once you’ve made it to Iceland, the country is yours to explore.
There are many places to visit and sights to see.
How you decide to do this is ultimately up to you.
Many things can be done on your own if you are willing to drive from place to place, and there are a large number of tour groups consistently serving up a wide array of options. Some things can only be experienced with a certified tour, such as snorkeling in the glacial waters of Silfra, visiting an ice cave, walking on a glacier, or snowmobiling on a volcanic mountain.
For many tourists, the starting places for their travels begin in Reykjavik (the capitol city) and The Golden Circle route. Both of these are great introductions to the landscape and culture. For more adventurous people among us, the real beauty of Iceland begins once you get off the beaten path – we’d suggest the Snaefellsnes Peninsula as it can give you a good taste of what the whole country has to offer due to the diversity of it’s landscape. If you wish to go where few other tourists do, the Westfjords is the most majestic part of the country in our experience, with Dynjandi waterfall taking the cake as “the best in Iceland” for us – though we do admit the drive up to it and back to the Ring Road is a challenge (to say the least).
Whatever you choose to do – at the end of it all – you should also make some time to visit at least one Icelandic geothermal hot pot. The Blue Lagoon is one of the big selling points for Iceland as a whole (we heard about it about 500 times on our United airlines flight over there), and is a pretty great experience. But, there are many spas in Iceland – all of which are more affordable too. In the North of the country, we visited the Myvatyn Nature Baths and had a great time.
Altogether, Iceland is the place to be no matter what time of year you decide to visit. It is one of the few places to really captivate us to the extent it has. Our memories are very vivid, and we plan to return some day soon. 🙂
Need some help finding the right camera gear for your Iceland trip? Read up on our recommendations based on our own experiences there in The Best Photography Gear for an Iceland Adventure.
If you want to read more about traveling to Iceland in general, and some considerations for planning a trip and staying there, check out our article we wrote entitled Top Considerations When Taking a Trip to Iceland.
In addition to those articles, as mentioned earlier in this article, we detailed our 10 day campervan trip in Iceland comprehensively in our Traveling Iceland blog series over on our Hand and Arrow Photography website. We’ve included a list of the day-by-day travel posts we put together there and here below for your reference if you are more interested in the play-by-play (highly recommend if you are considering a trip to Iceland yourself!):
If you have any questions at all about packing or planning your trip, feel free to leave a comment below!