Iceland

Holidays by Destination Europe Iceland When to Go 

Surrounded by pretty wild sea, Iceland's weather is dependent on what happens to blow in - classically four seasons in one day.

Temperatures are mitigated by the presence of the warm Gulf Stream which flows along the southern and western coasts but because it brings the milder Atlantic to meet the colder Arctic air, the weather is often both changeable and windy. In Reykjavik for example no public clock is reliable because the wind blows the hands off course.

Summer temperatures (June to August) can reach 17ºc but there can also be wet and misty spells and temperatures as low as 10ºc. The best place for sun is the northeast - as long as the wind is southerly apparently. However, whenever you go it will be much cooler in the mountains.

In winter temperatures can be either plus or minus 7 or 8ºc, averaging 1ºc in January, and there can be heavy snow and even avalanches blocking roads. Tourism then is mainly in the larger Reykjavik hotels and other main towns, and there are limited daylight hours - pretty much just three or four in the middle of the day and further north even less.

It's a fun time to visit though because there aren't the crowds and, like most northern countries, candles everywhere are a talisman against the cold and dark and there are specific attractions such as the Hafnarfjordur Christmas Village.

September to January is the time to see the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, and activities like dog sledding are January to around April.

Spring and autumn offer rather more daylight hours and slightly warmer temperatures but the main tourism season is late May to early September with things really hitting their stride late June, July and August. The lightest time is June when in the north the sun never fully sets.

Whenever you go be prepared for the elements. Although the air is often startlingly clear, anywhere without vegetation the wind can whip up dust in almost no time. On the southeast and northeast coasts sandstorms have been known to strip the paint off cars.