Visiting Iceland in Winter
Why you should visit
Iceland in the wintertime!
Even though it isn’t safe nor realistic to travel at the moment, I feel like the desire to travel – and plotting epic adventures – is what gets many of us through this dark-pandemic winter. And even though it won’t be possible for most of you guys this current winter, I wanted to talk a little bit about why it’s so epic to visit Iceland in the winter-time!
Of course, that midnight sun and bright summer sky are appealing, but if you ask me, the winter is when the real magic happens.
Better Light
If your aim is to get the best possible photographs, then the winter might just be your best friend. While the day is short in the period from October to February (peaking on December 21st with only 4 hours of daylight), the sun casts a beautiful glow during much of the day.
You wont have to wake up at 4 AM to catch the sunrise, nor do you have to stay awake until 12 PM to see the sunset. Instead, you can sleep in, have a chill breakfast before heading out – all without a single worry about missing out on all the magic... unless we are chasing northern lights of course!
The fact is, that the quality of light during the winter often is better for taking pictures than during the summer when the light is harsh during a big part of the day. The down-side to the winter light is of course the limited supply of sunlight hours. With the darkness however, you get the magical northern lights, which is obviously pretty epic.
Fewer People
It‘s hard to say really what things will look like in a post-pandemic world – but my guess is that Iceland will be quite popular once things start opening up again. However, the number of tourists definitely decreases during the winter time and you might just have the chance to experience some of the spectacular landmarks just for yourself.
It‘s very special to experience natural landmarks such as Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss alone and this has definitely been a silver lining this year. With fewer people, you also often get better rates!
The Weather
One of the most exciting things about Iceland is the winter time is really the weather. At times, watching the weather-news can be more exciting than going to the cinema – you just need popcorn and a beer – and enjoy the show! You never really know what kind of weather you’re going to experience. Only one thing is certain and that is that the weather is going to be unpredictable!
Coming to Iceland in the winter will likely mean that you’ll encounter snow – if not in Reykjavik, then somewhere else around the country. Northern towns such as Siglufjörður almost guarantee snow – same applies for Snæfellsnes, West Fjords and the North and East in general. Some of my favourite endeavours in Iceland include snow and ice – a good whiteout gets me every time.
Still not convinced?
Then let the pictures below convince you! With love from Iceland,
— Gunnar.
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