Out of my Element

The wind and the wet will be worse in Iceland than in Finland. Make sure you have a waterproof (not water-resistant) outer layer! And forget the umbrella as it won't work

liamvad

Ok,no umbrella.......have waterproof stuff.....thanks again.^

KHTravelBitten

This thread is relevant to me, as just recently my gf and I decided to switch plans. We originally were going to do Tromso, Norway for 3-4 days in mid-December, in hopes of seeing Northern Lights, but the fact that there would be basically no sunlight would put a damper on most other activities, so we decided to do Iceland during this time ( Iceland does only get about 4 hrs sunlight during this time, but that beats zero in my book). We're hoping to still be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights, but are interested in other activities.

Other than Northern Lights and the obvious stuff (Blue Lagoon, Golden Circle), what other activities do people recommend for Iceland in December?

Out of my Element

South Coast tour (2 day/1 night) gets you away from the city and shows you the big waterfalls (Seljalandfoss and Skogarfoss), a couple glaciers (Solheimjokull and Vatnajokull), and the iceberg lagoon (no boat rides in winter, but still spectacular). Includes Northern Lights excursion.

boxo

I have a 50-hour stopover mid-December when there will be 4-4.5 hours of light. In my research, I come across day tours of anywhere from 8-11 hours with no seasonal itinerary variation. Please, someone, explain how these tours (of waterfalls, beach, glaciers, etc) go during winter when half of the time is dark? I cannot wrap my head around it.

Out of my Element

The first 60-90 minutes are getting you from town to the first site, in the dark. Same with the last 60-90 minutes. There's also extended "dusk" so even though the sun is down you can still see the geysir or whatever you are visiting.

:D!

Shortest day of the year is 21 December - this year in Reykjavik sunrise is 1122 and sunset is 1529, but as the sun is a large ball rather than a dot, provided that it isn't cloudy you will start to be able to see with natural light from 1002 and it won't be completely dark until 1648.

Timings for the tour I did last year - hotel pickup 0900, arrive Þingvellir 1015, so sun would just be peeking out if it was in December; then by 1600 we were in a warm geothermal pool which I presume would be well lit in the dark. And you probably aren't missing any scenery on the drive as it's going to be barren

That said, it's quite likely to be cloudy so it may well be dark all day! This is why I won't be going to Iceland between November and February.

boxo

Thanks to you both for your responses making some sense to these winter tours.

My strategy will be to spend the time in town, and if clear skies permit, book a northern lights tour. If anyone has personal experience with these, I'd love to hear about it.

vh_bu98

I have a 24 hour layover in Iceland in December. I am wondering if it's worth renting a SUV and driving 5-6 hours to Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon and Diamond Beach and back? I did a 1 day layover in the summer a few years ago so I have already been to the Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik, as well as most of the Golden Circle.

MissJ

So how is Christmas in Iceland... like the actual day? We are thinking about going to Copenhagen and Iceland the week surrounding Christmas and are trying to figure out which part of the trip to spend where. I've been to Copenhagen before, but not Reykjavik. Do things close down like they do in the states?

I've been in other parts of Europe for various holidays, but not Christmas. Usually I make it a point to be home then but this seems like the only time we can both get out of work to go and I want to give the northern lights a shot.

DragonSoul

Interesting points about driving in Iceland in winter in this thread: Help planning a trip to Iceland!

Out of my Element

Most of your drive will be in full darkness as there only are about 4-5 hours of daylight that time of year. Driving in midwinter in Iceland is not for the faint of heart, it requires special skills to handle the narrow and winding roads usually sporting black ice and definitely experiencing strong winds. There are at least 2 mountain passes that you have to go thru as well, where conditions will be worse than at the surface. Iceland roads have no street lights, limited guardrails, and no curbs, and are raised above the surrounding countryside so wind can blow snow off of the surface. If you slide off of the tarmac you will end up in a position you will need help to extricate yourself from.

The Lagoon and Beach should be gorgeous if you can time your arrival for when the sun is up, but there won't be any boat tours or similar.

If it were me I'd find a local tour operator and take a minibus excursion and let a pro handle the driving. There are one day tours to Jokulsarlon, but it is a ton of car-riding time involved


Reykjavik doesn't close down for the holidays like in the US. It closes down like a small European town, in other words it REALLY closes down. From the afternoon of the 24th thru the 26th don't expect stores to be open or many restaurants. Tourists to Iceland are encouraged to book multi day tours out of the city during that time frame if they don't want to be "trapped."

vh_bu98

I've driven in "not faint of heart" conditions all over the world although not in serious wind conditions or a time constraint, so that's what is giving me pause. Time is a big issue for me since I arrive in KEF at 6 AM and most day tours pickup between 7-8 AM in Reykjavik. I have considered flying on Eagle Air from Reykjavik to Hofn and getting a car there and driving the 1 hour to Jokulsarlon. It would be an extra $500 USD, but it would save me at least 6 hours minimum.

MissJ

Sounds like we will do Iceland for the second part of the trip and not for Christmas itself.

Do all rental car companies put winter tires on their 4x4 vehicles? I've seen a few that specifically said they do. We are definitely going to get out and do some exploring. We're both very capable and comfortable winter drivers. We would be fine going a couple of hours from Reykjavik. Any specific day trips that would really be worth driving in the dead of winter? I know it won't be fast driving so we won't plan to be too ambitious.

Edited... did some more searching and most rental companies do say they have winter tires. Some say studs can be requested but I really have mixed feelings about those. I've driven on them before.

Out of my Element

Miss J:

They should have studded tires on but you should make sure you request it, just in case.

The area we had our worst scare was under an hour out from Reykjavik. There is a mountain pass you have to go thru to get to the Golden Circle. It's narrow, it's winding, and there are no guardrails. My 30 years of New England winter driving and the Land Cruiser I was driving (with studs) were no match for those winds. Had they been a bit stronger I'd have gone off of the side.

Icelanders check the forecasts throughout the day. When we got to our destination and told our tale I wouldn't say we were laughed at, but they were surprised we had set out and not surprised about our scares. That was a day they were staying home because although they are capable and comfortable driving in winter, they knew the forecast (which we were too dumb to check) and knew not to go out in that storm.