CHRISTMAS IN ICELAND | LOCAL TOURS, EVENTS & TRAVEL TIPS!

BEST TOURS DURING CHRISTMAS IN ICELAND

Iceland is an absolute winter wonderland during Christmas!​

There is a brilliant variety of fun tours and things to do during this awesome time of year. Having lived in Iceland all of my life - I've got the chance to experience quite a few!

Here are my absolute most recommend tours in December!

​NORTHERN LIGHTS SMALL GROUP TOUR

You might be asking yourself...​

'Is it possible to see the Northern lights in December?'

And I'm so happy to tell you, YES!

​December has the perfect conditions to see the magical Northern Lights and there is a variety of different Northern Light tours available to choose from!

But I do have one Northern Lights tour that stands out from all the other ones...

​Here's why!

Personally I've never been a fan of doing large group activities where I'm cramped in a large bus with 70+ other tourist. I've always much rather enjoyed doing small group, personal, local activities. And this tour here is right up that ally.​

The guides are brilliant. They're very friendly and helpful - and always provide their guests with hot Icelandic coco and treats during the tour.​

The tour is also very affordable and has one of the best northern lights pricing that I've seen.

You can read about and secure your spot on the Northern Lights tour here.​

THE REYKJAVIK FOOD WALK

​This brilliant foodie adventure is currently rated as the #1 thing to do in Reykjavik Trip Advisor for good reason!

On this awesome tour you'll have a fun local friend show you the very best local restaurants in Reykjavik city to try a variety of some of the best cuisines found in Iceland.

This tour is for everyone that wants to experience Reykjavik like a local, meet new friends, learn about the city & eat delicious Icelandic food.

The Food Walk always has a limit of participants on each tour to ensure a fun and personal experience for everyone. For this reason, it tends to get fully booked way ahead of time and that is why I recommend securing your spots in advance.

Click here for more details about the Reykjavik Food Walk tour.

GLACIER HIKING & WATERFALLS

This is also an awesome activity to do in December since it combines two of my favorite things: Majestic Waterfalls & Huge Glaciers!​

This tour is offers pick up from Reykjavik and will take you for a fun glacier hike suitable for all!

​You'll also be checking out some of the largest most beautiful waterfalls on the South Coast!

It's a full day of fun that I recommend to all visitors and friends on their way to Iceland!​

You can read more about the tour and book your spot for the Glacier Hike & Waterfall tour here!​

GOLDEN CIRCLE SMALL GROUP TOUR

This is one of the best see it all, do it all’ highlight tour of Icelandic nature from Reykjavik.​

In only a few hours you will discover the most unique gems of Icelandic nature, from powerful waterfalls, erupting geothermal areas to beautiful national parks.

You'll discover gems such as:

• Þingvellir National Park
• Geysir (Erupting boiling water 50 meters)
• ​Hveragerði Earthquake town
• Faxi Waterfall

You can find more about the Golden Circle tour here.

ICELAND WEATHER IN DECEMBER

The weather in Iceland during December might be warmer then you'd expect.​

The temperature ranges from -2 to +4 Celsius (28-39 Fahrenheit for my american friends.)​

I still always recommend bringing over some warm layers (coat, hat and cloves) to ensure that you'll stay nice and warm during outdoor activities such as the Northern Light tour or South Coast tour.

You can also check out our 'What to wear during the Winter' blog post!

HOW MANY HOURS OF DAYLIGHT DURING DECEMBER?

December is Iceland's darkest month with only 4-5 hours of daylight.

Sunrise tends to be around 11:00am and the sunset is at 4:30pm!

Pretty crazy, right?!

This makes December one of Iceland's cosiest months since the entire city is lit up with snow and Christmas lights!

DOES IS SNOW IN ICELAND DURING DECEMBER?

Yes!

Well ... usually!

Having lived in Iceland all my life, I can tell you that we almost always have a snowy December. Sometimes we even start to see snow in October.

But in most cases, it'll start to snow in Mid-November!

So, dress warm and get excited for a winter wonderland adventure!

RESTAURANTS FOR CHRISTMAS & NEW YEARS

I know everyone wants to eat out at a great, local fine dining restaurant at least once during their Iceland stay.

Specially during the holidays. Therefore, if you are visiting Iceland during Christmas or New Years Eve, please get in touch with us and I (or my colleagues) will recommend you the best available restaurants over the holidays and help you to make a reservation for your perfect date :)

Please note that it’s my experience for the past 5 years that every single restaurant in Reykjavik get’s fully booked very far in advance. Usually more than 1-2 months in advance so it’s necessary to make reservations early. Drop us a line and we will help you out!

You can get in touch with us here.

THE INGÓLFSTORG SQUARE SKATING RING

Reykjavik city has an absolutely awesome christmas skating ring in the centre of downtown Reykjavik, on Ingólfstorg Sqaure.

​​The genius behind this Skating Ring is the Icelandic phone company, Nova.

Every year, from December 1st to December 24th, they'll light up their Skating Ring with 100.000 lights. and create a somewhat Christmas village around it.​

If this doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will!

Admission is free is you have your own skates - it's also possible to rent skates for a low fee!

Iceland is such a magical place during christmas which is why I recommend visiting in December to all my friends and guests!

I really hope this blog helps your prepare for you Christmas adventure ahead!

​Please drop me a comment below if there is anything that I can help out with :)