Iceland in December: Weather, Events and the Best Tours

Is December a good time to visit Iceland?

Yes, if you want the aurora, Christmas in a genuinely festive northern city, and the shortest days in Europe. December has the lowest hotel occupancy of the year at 45.3 percent, but that headline hides a split month: the first three weeks are dead and the last twelve days are the most expensive of the winter.

Most guides tell you December is cheap because the occupancy data says so. That is a half-truth and it will cost you money. Statistics Iceland does record 45.3 percent for December, the lowest month of the year, and 41.1 percent in South Iceland. But the month is bimodal. Roughly 20 December to 2 January prices at peak summer levels or above, and the three weeks before it are among the quietest travel days Iceland has. If you want cheap, come between 1 and 18 December. If you want New Year, budget for August rates.

For emptiness, December before the 20th and January are the two genuine answers. For the cheapest average price across the whole month, the operators name February, April, May and October instead.

What December buys you is darkness and atmosphere. At 4 hours 23 minutes of daylight mid-month, and 4 hours 7 minutes at the winter solstice on 21 December, you have nearly 20 hours of night to hunt the aurora in. The natural ice caves under Vatnajokull are in their December to February peak. Reykjavik does Christmas properly, with the thirteen Yule Lads arriving one a night from 12 December.

New Year is worth understanding before you plan around it. Reykjavik has no official municipal fireworks display. What happens instead is community bonfires and an extraordinary volume of amateur fireworks bought from rescue-squad fundraising stalls, set off by residents across the city. There is no ticketed show to attend. What you actually book is a vantage point.

Iceland weather in December

December in Reykjavik averages a high of 3.6C and a low of -2.0C and is the wettest month of the year, with around 15 wet days. Daylight averages 4 hours 23 minutes mid-month, bottoming out at 4 hours 7 minutes at the solstice on 21 December before very slowly turning.

Climate figures for Reykjavik from climatestotravel.com; daylight from worlddata.info, cross-checked against Icelandic operator daylight tables. Rainfall is given as wet days rather than millimetres because published Reykjavik rainfall totals differ materially between sources, from roughly 870mm to over 1,400mm a year. The monthly shape is reliable, the absolute total is not.

Reykjavik in December is not as cold as people expect. A 3.6C average high is milder than much of continental Europe at the same latitude, because the Gulf Stream does the work. What it is instead is dark, wet and windy, and December is the wettest month on the calendar, which means rain and sleet as often as picture-postcard snow in the city itself.

The daylight figures are the ones to plan against. Four hours and twenty-three minutes mid-month means the sun rises late in the morning and is gone by mid-afternoon, and it never gets high in the sky. Practically, you have one usable daytime activity per day and everything else happens in the dark. The compensation is that the sun spends its whole short arc near the horizon, so the whole day is golden hour.

Road and weather cancellations are at their annual peak in December. Build spare days into the trip and put anything weather-dependent, aurora nights above all, at the front of it.

Crowds, prices and what to book ahead

December has the lowest hotel occupancy of the year at 45.3 percent and the fewest Keflavik departures at 120,016, but it splits in two. Roughly 20 December to 2 January prices at peak summer levels. Before the 20th, Iceland is as empty as it ever gets.

Visitor figures are departing passengers through Keflavik International Airport for the full year 2025, published by the Icelandic Tourist Board, total 2,267,638. Roughly 99 percent of visitors arrive and leave through Keflavik. Hotel room occupancy is Statistics Iceland table SAM01104, whole of Iceland, 2025.

The headline numbers make December look like the bargain of the year. Icelandic Tourist Board figures put December 2025 at 120,016 departing passengers, the lowest month in the series and less than 40 percent of August. Statistics Iceland’s occupancy series shows 45.3 percent nationally and 41.1 percent in South Iceland, where the glacier tours run.

Those are monthly averages and they conceal the split. The festive fortnight from roughly 20 December to 2 January is one of the most expensive periods of the Icelandic year, on a par with or above high summer, because Icelanders travel home and international visitors come for New Year at the same time. The three weeks before it carry the low average, and that is where the value sits.

Booking advice follows from that. For 1 to 18 December you can be relaxed: tours are available within days and rooms are plentiful. For 20 December to 2 January, book accommodation, transfers and any New Year vantage point well ahead, and expect summer pricing. In both halves the real operational risk is weather cancellation, not sell-out.

The best tours in Iceland in December

These ten are ranked for December. The aurora tour leads on nearly 20 hours of darkness a day. Anything that puts you in hot water or under a roof ranks above the long day trips, because with 4 hours 23 minutes of daylight an 11-hour tour is mostly a night drive. No whale or puffin trips are running.

1. 1. Northern Lights Bus Tour with Hot Cocoa

   

   Why it ranks here in December: December gives you the longest nights of the year, nearly 20 hours of darkness around the solstice, in the middle of the November to January aurora peak. It is the lowest-rated tour on this site at 4.3 from 14,846 reviews, and in December it is still the first thing to book.

   Experience one of the world’s great natural phenomena on a 4-hour evening bus tour of Iceland. Depart the bright…

   4.3 (14,846 reviews)4 hoursFrom £62

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

2. 2. Golden Circle, Kerid Crater, & Blue Lagoon Tour

   

   Why it ranks here in December: Our highest-rated tour at 4.9, and December is the month its shape makes most sense: see the Golden Circle in the short daylight window, then finish in the Blue Lagoon after dark.

   Enjoy the stunning Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon in one amazing day. Explore Thingvellir National Park, Geysir…

   4.9 (5,858 reviews)11 hoursFrom £192

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

3. 3. Golden Circle Full-Day Tour with Kerid Crater

   

   Why it ranks here in December: The one long tour still worth doing in December. Thingvellir and Gullfoss under low solstice light are better than they are in July, even if you see them in twilight.

   Take a full-day tour of Iceland’s iconic Golden Circle. Experience the stunning natural scenery and see the…

   4.8 (26,622 reviews)7 - 8.5 hoursFrom £68

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

4. 4. Sky Lagoon Entrance Pass With 7-Step Spa Ritual

   

   Why it ranks here in December: Hot water, sub-zero air and darkness by mid-afternoon. December is the month this makes the most sense, and it is a short trip from the city.

   Get entry tickets to Sky Lagoon, an oceanside geothermal spa, located only minutes from downtown…

   4.8 (7,331 reviews)VariesFrom £86

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

5. 5. Perlan - Wonders of Iceland Experience

   

   Why it ranks here in December: Its man-made ice cave and planetarium aurora show do real work in a month with four hours of daylight and frequent weather cancellations.

   Perlan is Iceland's largest museum and the top attraction in Reykjavík. Explore a real ice cave, feel the power of…

   4.7 (4,067 reviews)VariesFrom £43

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

6. 6. LAVA SHOW - Immersive Experience Entry Ticket

   

   Why it ranks here in December: Molten lava poured indoors, rated 4.7 from 4,003 reviews. In the darkest, wettest month an indoor headline act earns its ranking.

   Get close to real lava with an entry ticket to the award-winning Lava Show in Reykjavík. Experience the intense heat…

   4.7 (4,003 reviews)50 - 75 minutesFrom £40

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

7. 7. FlyOver Iceland Entry Ticket

   

   Why it ranks here in December: Thirty-five minutes, indoors, and the cheapest way to see the Iceland that December weather is hiding from you.

   Soar beyond the ordinary on an immersive flying theatre experience that combines motion seating, a giant…

   4.7 (3,949 reviews)35 minutesFrom £33

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

8. 8. Official Blue Lagoon Iceland

   

   Why it ranks here in December: Steam against freezing air in the dark is the December version, and its position on the Keflavik road suits a short winter trip.

   Comfort admission brings full access to all lagoon spaces, a towel, non-alcoholic drink, and one face mask at the…

   4.6 (6,031 reviews)VariesFrom £108

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

9. 9. Guided Foodie Walking Tour with 6 Tastings

   

   Why it ranks here in December: Rated 4.9. Six tastings across a dark, festive city is one of the better ways to spend a December evening.

   Learn about the culture of Reykjavik and Iceland through its tasty food on a guided walking tour. Visit 5 different…

   4.9 (1,920 reviews)3 hoursFrom £112

   Check December availabilityFull tour details

10. 10. City Walking tour in Small Group with Local Guide

    

    Why it ranks here in December: At £38, the cheapest tour here, and short enough to fit inside December’s four-hour daylight window.

    Enjoy a small-group walking tour of Reykjavík with a local. See the Harpa Concert Hall, Parliament, Hallgrímskirkja…

    4.8 (517 reviews)2.5 hoursFrom £38

    Check December availabilityFull tour details

Events and festivals in December 2026

December runs on Icelandic Christmas tradition. The thirteen Yule Lads arrive one per night from 12 to 24 December, the winter solstice falls on Monday 21 December with 4 hours 7 minutes of daylight, and New Year’s Eve on 31 December is a citizen-run night of bonfires and amateur fireworks.

The Yule Lads are the thing most visitors have not heard of and end up remembering. Thirteen mischievous brothers, each with a name and a speciality, arrive one per night from 12 December, and the last of them comes on Christmas Eve. Children leave a shoe on the windowsill and get a small gift or a potato depending on behaviour. It is a real household tradition rather than a tourist performance.

New Year deserves a clear warning, because a lot of itineraries get this wrong. Reykjavik does not put on an official municipal fireworks display. What happens is neighbourhood bonfires in the early evening followed, at midnight, by an enormous volume of privately bought fireworks let off by residents, funded by sales from the volunteer rescue squads. It is genuinely one of the great New Year experiences in Europe, and it is entirely decentralised, so there is nothing to buy a ticket for. The bookable product is a vantage point: a viewpoint tour, a harbour cruise or a hotel with a view. Plan for it early.

We only list dates we can stand behind. Where a date follows a rule rather than a fixed day of the month, the rule is shown alongside it. Anything we could not verify is left off rather than guessed.

What is closed or not bookable in December

No whale or puffin tours are running: the last whale cruise of the year sailed on 30 November. The highland F-roads are shut until June or July. Many long day tours run but spend most of their hours in darkness, and December has the year’s highest weather cancellation rate.

What to wear and pack for Iceland in December

December needs full winter kit plus grip. Reykjavik hovers just below freezing, the pavements freeze and thaw, and it is the wettest month of the year. Thermals, a properly waterproof shell, winter boots and slip-on ice cleats are the non-negotiables.

• Thermal base layers, top and bottom
• Insulated jacket plus a fully waterproof and windproof shell over it
• Waterproof over-trousers
• Winter boots with deep tread, and slip-on ice cleats for city pavements
• Warm hat, waterproof gloves and a buff or balaclava
• Head torch, essential when there are only four hours of daylight
• Swimwear and flip-flops for the lagoons
• Camera with manual exposure and a small tripod for the aurora
• Spare batteries, cold drains them fast

How we chose these tours

Every tour on this page was scored for how relevant it genuinely is in December, then sorted by that score, then by verified GetYourGuide rating, then by verified review count. Anything out of season is excluded and named above rather than quietly left off.

Most month pages are a tour list with a date bolted on, which means the same ten tours appear for every month of the year. That is not useful. Our default site ordering is rating then review count, and both are static, so on that basis every month would produce an identical top ten. So each tour carries a separate seasonal relevance score for each month, from 6 for the single experience that defines the month down to 0 for anything genuinely out of season, and that score sorts the list first.

Two consequences are worth stating plainly. First, the northern lights bus tour is the lowest rated tour on this site at 4.3 stars from 14,846 reviews. From November to March it is ranked first anyway, because in those months it is the reason people come and a top ten that buried it would be dishonest. Second, we do not rank on live GetYourGuide availability. Availability calendars reflect rolling booking windows rather than seasons, so a tour that is genuinely bookable next spring can look unavailable today. Season comes from published operator seasons, not from a booking widget.

Prices, ratings, review counts, titles and durations were verified one by one against the live GetYourGuide listing for each product on 28 July 2026. We do not publish a rating or a review count we have not checked, and we do not publish a date, a season or a closure we cannot source. Where the honest answer is that we do not sell something, such as a natural ice cave tour, we say so and point you at what does exist instead.

We earn a commission if you book through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. That does not change the ranking. The tour ranked first in December is not the most expensive one on the list.