The Best Time to Visit Iceland!

2012-02-28T06:46:00.000-08:00

You´ve probably heard everything about the beautiful nature, the volcanoes nobody can pronounce (Eyjafjallajökull-simple), the first lesbian prime minister, and the mix up in names between Iceland and Greenland. You might even know a few more cool facts about this interesting country in the north. The fact is, Iceland has never been more popular with tourists than now. But when´s the best time of year to go over there? Is it in the summertime when it´s bright for 24 hours a day and people play midnight golf? Or is it in the winter when the northern lights brighten up the sky?

I am not going to tell you that it is better to visit Iceland in July rather than in September. I am not even going to tell you that it´s better to visit the country on a weekend rather than during the week. What I will do is give you a good idea of the difference between seasons in Iceland, what you can do and what you can see at different times. That way you can make up your own mind on when is the ideal time for you to visit Iceland based on the information from this article.

Summer

When: May – September

Climate: Average temperatures vary from 7-14 °C (45 – 57 Fahrenheit) with highs of 20-25 °C (68 – 77 Fahrenheit).

The summers are by far the biggest tourist months in Iceland. And for a good reason, the summers are beautiful and unique. From mid-May to mid-August it is bright in Iceland for 24 hours. The sun might set for a few hours a day in that time but it is still bright the whole day and whole night (Just close your curtains and you will sleep just fine).

The summers offer the biggest variety of tours and activities. Glacier tours, volcano tours, Geyser, The Blue Lagoon and many more. Accommodation is more expensive in the summer and I recommend booking your hotels well in advance because of how many people visit Iceland in that time. If you want to take a cheaper and more adventurous choice you can camp all around Iceland in the summertime. The summers are also the fishing season in Iceland and people can book trips for fishing in many of its famous rivers.

Fall/Winter

When: September – February

Climate: Average temperatures vary from 2-10 °C (36 – 50 Fahrenheit).

As it gets closer to the new year in Iceland it usually gets colder with each month that passes. Colder and darker to be exact, in December it´s effectively dark for 18 hours a day. For locals and tourists that isn´t so bad because that means there is a way bigger chance of seeing the Northern lights. In the winter it is popular to go skiing in the town of Akureyri, which is really beautiful at that time of year. Most of the tours that are offered in the summer are also offered in the winter but are not as frequent. Hotels and are cheaper in Iceland during the winter and tourist attractions aren´t as crowded as they can be in the summer months. Sometimes in the summer there are long lines just to get into the locker rooms of The Blue Lagoon but if you come during the winter you might almost get the lagoon to yourself. New Years and Christmas are becoming a popular time to visit Iceland. The Christmas season brings beautiful decorations all around the country, crazy fireworks on new years and bonfires all around. The 23^rd of December is Thorláksmessa, a celebration in honor of bishop Þorlákur Þórhallsson. On that day it is customary to eat buried and fermented skate, decorate the Christmas tree, buy the last few Christmas presents and walk down the famous shopping street, Laugavegur.

Spring

When: End of February – April

Climate: Average temperatures vary from 4-10 °C ( 39 - 50 Fahrenheit).

Along with the spring come longer days and the spirit of Iceland gets a huge boost after a cold, dark winter. Most tours and activities are offered to tourists but without the lines and crowds of the summer. It is a beautiful time to visit attraction like the Golden Circle, the Glacier lagoon and hike the Esjan. Lucky tourists might also see the northern lights before the summer comes and it is bright again for 24 hours. Accommodation is not as expensive as it is in the summer and you might also get cheaper flights than you would during high season. Popular spring events include Easter where Icelandic kids stuff themselves with chocolate eggs and Reykjavik Blues Festival where well known international blues artists come to Reykjavik to play in this growing festival.

There is no bad time to visit Iceland

To sum it all up, there is never a bad time to visit this small country in the middle of the Atlantic. It is all about finding the right time for you to experience the things that you want to experience. If you want to go to a great music festival, be here in the summer for Iceland Airwaves. Come to Iceland in February for the Þorrablót tradition, where all the local restaurants serve traditional Icelandic Food. Or if you want to be in Iceland for the famous beer day, be there on March 1st. There´s always something to do, you just have to pick your ideal departure date.

What do you think is the best time to visit Iceland? What event or time of year attracts you to the country?

6 Great Reasons To Visit The Blue Lagoon

2012-02-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

Geothermal spa, the northern lights, skin care benefits, great dining and more. No, this is not the new cd track list for Icelandic singer Bjork! These are a few of the reasons why people visit the Blue Lagoon more than any other tourist attraction in Iceland every year. But why is the water there so special? How does it attract more people than the whole population of Iceland each year?
Before I answer that, there is one thing you need to know!

What is the Blue Lagoon?

The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa located 30 minutes away from the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. If I were asked to describe it I would say that it´s like an incredibly large blue-ish colored pool in the middle of a lava field with white mud on the bottom. It looks like something that people living on the moon would bathe in. Don´t believe me? Take a look at their live webcam to see for yourself. The Blue Lagoon attracts over 400 thousand visitors each year, that´s 80 thousand more than the population of Iceland. But enough of the small-talk, here is a list of what makes this place so special and keeps people coming back year after year.

Guests putting silica mud on their faces

1. The Geothermal Spa

The number one reason visitors come to the Blue Lagoon is for the Geothermal Spa. The water in the lagoon is all geothermal water which means that it is completely natural. The lagoon is over 5000 m²and contains more than 6 million liters of geothermal seawater (The average bathtub holds 200 liters of water). And because this is Iceland the facilities of course also include a sauna and a geothermal steam bath.

2. Located in a Lava Field!

The location of the Blue Lagoon is in the middle of a Lava Field in southwestern Iceland. No, it couldn´t have been just next to some hotel or something, nothing is so easy when you are in Iceland. This is a big part of what makes this place so special because where else in the world can you feel so peaceful and relaxed close to active volcanoes!

3. Skin Care Benefits

The water in the lagoon originates 2000 meters beneath the ground and on it´s way up to the surface it captures a lot of the earth´s minerals. That sounds pretty cool but what does that mean for visitors? On this long journey the water goes from being natural seawater to being awesome, mineral rich, skin care-ing seawater. The water contains silica, mineral salts and blue green algae, and it´s been researched to have great effect on psoriasis patients. So the white mud that I said was on the bottom of the lagoon is actually great for your skin, they have wooden boxes with fresh silica mud so guests can put some on their body, face or even their hair if they´re up for it.

The Blue Lagoon

4. The Northern Lights

Sometimes known as Aurora Borealis, these lights that appear in the sky on bright winter nights are so amazing that people travel around the world just to catch a glimpse of this natural wonder. The lights aren´t always visible but on clear winter nights lucky visitors of the Blue Lagoon do witness them. If you really want to impress people with your unbelievable knowledge, tell them how they are caused. The Northern Lights are caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere.... Impressive!

5. The LAVA restaurant

So you´ve relaxed in the geothermal spa, put some silica mud all over your face, seen the northern lights and even gotten a massage, maybe even a beer at the lagoon bar. What else do you want? Well maybe some great place for dinner and since the capital is a 30 minute drive then why not stop by LAVA, The Blue Lagoon´s restaurant, and get something great to eat before you head back to your hotel in the city. The restaurant is built into a cliff so it features a natural lava wall and that´s where it gets the name “LAVA” from.

6. It´s in Iceland!

Did I mention that before? If the Blue Lagoon isn´t a good enough reason alone to visit the country then there are loads of other cool things to do and see in Iceland. The country that´s famous for Bjork, Sigurros, volcanoes, economic crisis and more has a lot to offer for tourists from all over. Reykjavik, The Glacier Lagoon, The Golden Circle, and Old Viking Food are only a handful of reasons to visit this great country in the north.

The Northern Lights

Go to the lagoon´s official webpage for opening hours and prices.
Reykjavik Excursions also has great day trips to the Blue lagoon and many other popular attractions in Iceland.