The Best Travel Period for Iceland
Because of its location, the climate of Iceland is different from central Europe. Day length varies tremendously through the year and as they say in Iceland: nothing is as changeable as the weather. We travelled during spring and actually think this is a great time to travel outside peak season. In this article we tell you more about the best travel period for Iceland.
Day Length in Iceland
Iceland is located just below the Arctic Circle, which means large difference in day length throughout the year. In the summer months there is almost 24 hours of daylight, so you wouldn’t even have to pay attention to time for planning activities. During winter, the sun only rises for a few hours. This is, of course, the time to see the northern lights. Iceland turns into a winterwonderland and there are even some ski resorts. During spring and autumn, day and night are closer to “normal”.
Best Travel Period for Weather
Summer temperatures are rare in Iceland, but you don’t come here for a beach holiday. The average temperature in Reykjavik is about 15 degrees (Celsius) during summer months, more to the north in Akureyri this is even lower. During winter months, it freezes on most parts of the island, only in the southwest it is slightly above zero. The weather is unpredictable and variable. For instance, the day starts raining cats and dogs, when a few hours later it is sunny as there never was any rain. We actually got a little lucky during our roadtrip, not having any rain during hikes. Most of the time, however, it was cloudy. Some days were even blue skye and in Akureyri we sat on the terrace! Hence, we think this might be the best travel period for iceland regarding the weather.
Wildlife and nature
Iceland consists largely of volcanic rock. That means there are often vast (grass) plains, trees hardly grow there. In the summer months the meadows turn green, but during our travel period early May the landscape was mostly brown. In the northern part there was still snow along the road in many places, providing a nice contrast to the black rocks.
The town of Húsavík is known as the whale watching town of Iceland. The best chance to see these mammals is in the summer. This is also the time to spot the famous puffins. These birds come to Iceland from late spring to the end of the summer period. Unfortunately, we were just a little too early and didn’t see a single one in the first week of May. If you want to see these animals, best travel period are the summer months.
Best Travel Period to Avoid Peak Season
Iceland is becoming more and more popular. Especially in the summer months, don’t even think of having a waterfall all to yourself. Prices are higher during this period, however chances for good weather are best in summer. Iceland can also be visited in spring and early autumn, the days are still long enough and the weather is fine. If you are bound by school holidays, then spring break is an excellent period to our opinion. We travelled at the beginning of May and didn’t think it was really busy anywhere, on the north side (after Höfn) it even became very quiet. For example, at the Dettifoss waterfall there were only a few other tourists and at Myvatn no other guests stayed in the guest house at all.
Travel Route Iceland
Most tourists in Iceland travel the southern part of iceland only. However, we think it is really worth it driving the whole ringroad of Iceland. This main road of over 1300 km is completely paved and can be driven in about 8/9 days, without having to rush the attractions. In the spring we drove all the way around with an A-segment rental car without any problems, so a four-wheel drive isn’t strictly neccessary. If you want to explore the inland off Iceland, this is only possible in the summer months and only accessible with a 4×4. In the winter months there is a good chance of snow, even on the ringroad. Studded tires are used during this period. If you are traveling in the winter, make sure to check whether the rental car is properly equipped!
