Why To Visit Iceland in Fall

Iceland is truly becoming a hot tourist destination and its peak season is approximately from mid-June to late August.  But if you couldn’t make it during peak season, there are significant perks to considering an Iceland trip in the fall.

The island-nation of Iceland resides at a high latitude, and as such, the timing of its seasons may be different than what you’ve come to expect. Iceland has a fairly brief summer, which is officially celebrated on the first Thursday after April 18. This day is called sumardagurinn fyrsti (the first day of summer). Although it is a bit of a stretch to call the weather summer-like around this time, Icelanders still celebrate this day with parades, sporting events and other organized entertainment. This is a remnant of the old Norse calendar which split the year in two; a summer and a winter.  With that in mind, I refer back to the latitude of Iceland which has a strong impact on its weather. By that we mean, Iceland actually has a fairly narrow range of temperatures throughout the year; it certainly gets cold in winter and gets warmer in summer; the extremes between these two is quite limited compared to temperate climates.  All of this provides an important back-story to why it is worth visiting Iceland in its Autumn season, as opposed to during its somewhat brief summer.

The largest and most compelling reason is cost.  The simple economics of supply and demand dictate that the normal costs associated with getting and staying here come down. This includes the big ticket vacation items such as airline tickets, hotel costs and the cost of tours. The other plus is that are simply fewer people, so you can spend less time queuing up.  Less money and less waiting?  Yes, please!

But, I’ll miss out on Iceland’s warm & sunny days!? Though it is true that you are less likely to experience the peak summer temperatures, you are about as likely to encounter inclement weather in Fall as any other.  Iceland’s weather is notoriously capricious, this holds true in any season.  So visitors are about as likely to experience cold, wind & rain in the peak of summer as they would be in the fall.  It’s just that statistically, the odds are in your favor for higher temperatures in the summer.  

With that out of the way, what are some fun and interesting things to do in fall?  Here’s a short list of some top fall attractions in Iceland:   

• Viewing the Northern lights - fall is the beginning of the “season”
• Visiting Thingvellir National Park - a great place to enjoy fall foliage
• Iceland Airwaves - a 5-day music festival that starts in Late October
• Imagine Peace Tower is lit on October 9th (John Lennon’s birthday) and remains lit till December 9th
• Berry picking 

Many of the normal Iceland tours and attractions are available in the fall (all year for that matter), from the Golden Circle, to Laugarvatn Fontana Geothermal Spa, glacier tours, whale watching tours, horseback riding, sightseeing bus tours as well as the many hiking and trekking tours available for the more adventurous!  That’s just a very short list of the possibilities.  Enjoy! From Berjaya Hotels, Iceland's leading hotel chain.