The best time to visit Iceland: month by month, no spin

Daylight hours, aurora odds, which roads are open and how busy it gets. The perfect month depends on what you came to see — here is every one of them.

There is no "best month to visit Iceland". There is the best month for what you want to see, and those are different months. This is the table we use when someone writes asking when to come.

The short answer

• Coming for the northern lights? February, March, October.
• Coming for landscape, hiking and the midnight sun? June and July.
• Want both? September. Without hesitation.
• Want value and quiet? May, or the first half of October.
• Coming for ice caves? November to March, and there is no alternative.

Month by month

January — 4 to 5 hours of daylight

The longest nights of the year and the best aurora conditions. Sunrise near 11:00, sunset at 15:30, which sounds terrible until you realise all of that light is golden hour. January photographs of Iceland are unrepeatable. Ice caves open. Highlands closed.

February — 8 hours of daylight

Our favourite aurora month. Statistically the one with the most clear-sky departures, and the days are already long enough for a full South Coast run. Still low-season pricing.

March — 12 hours of daylight

The perfect balance: enough night for auroras, enough day for driving. The equinox brings high geomagnetic activity. Snow stays on the peaks but the main roads are clear.

April — 15 hours of daylight

The handover month. Aurora season fades halfway through, but the country wakes up: the first puffins arrive at the end of the month and prices have not climbed yet. Very good value.

May — 19 hours of daylight

The best-kept secret. Almost nobody comes in May, the moss turns green again, waterfalls run at full meltwater volume, every coastal road is open and prices are still low. No auroras — that is the only catch.

June — 21 hours of daylight

Midnight sun. The sun sets for a few minutes and comes straight back. The interior tracks (F-roads) open around mid-month. Puffins are at Dyrhólaey and Látrabjarg. This is peak season: book accommodation months ahead.

July — 20 hours of daylight

The warmest month and the busiest. Every trail dry, every road open, every car park full. Which is exactly why a small group that leaves before the coaches is worth something.

August — 16 hours of daylight

All the summer access, and from mid-month real darkness returns. The first faint auroras show up in late August. The crowds start thinning. A very good month.

September — 13 hours of daylight

The month Icelanders pick. Autumn colour in the moss and the birch, summer roads still open, aurora season properly back, and half the people of July. If you let us choose for you, we choose September.

October — 10 hours of daylight

Long nights, theatrical weather, empty viewpoints. The highland tracks close. This is when Iceland starts looking like Iceland again.

November — 6 hours of daylight

Quiet, cheap and cinematic. First snow on the South Coast. Ice caves open. Very few travellers.

December — 4 hours of daylight

The most atmospheric month: Reykjavík lit end to end, the thirteen Icelandic Yule Lads coming down from the mountains, ice caves at their best. Four hours of light forces tight planning, which is why it works better guided than solo.

What is open, and when

A note on prices

Iceland has two high seasons: June–August (summer) and late December (Christmas and New Year). Everything else is cheaper, sometimes dramatically so. If your calendar is flexible, May and October give the best ratio between what you see and what you pay.

Frequently asked

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