What's on in Reykjavík (Iceland), Iceland through the year

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, New Year's Eve fireworks

• Festival

  Thorrablot

  19 Jan – 25 Feb · usuallyMajor festival

  The midwinter feasts run through the old month of Thorri: soured ram, fermented shark, and a room of people singing. Community halls and a few restaurants both do them. Source ↗

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually)), New Year's Eve fireworks (31 Dec – 1 Jan)

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Spring winter break in Iceland

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Thorrablot (19 Jan – 25 Feb (usually)), Aurora season (1 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Easter break in Iceland

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Easter break in Iceland

• Nature

  Whale watching season

  1 Apr – 15 Oct · usuallyWhale season

  Minke and humpback come into Faxafloi through the summer and the boats run several times a day from the old harbour. Sailings are cancelled for wind, not for cold.

• Festival

  First Day of Summer

  23 AprMajor festival

  A public holiday on the first Thursday after 18 April, celebrated with parades whatever the weather is doing, which is usually not summer. Source ↗

• Nature

  Puffins on the cliffs

  20 Apr – 15 Aug · usuallyBirdlife season

  The colonies come ashore in late April and are gone by late August; the ones reachable from town are on the islands in the bay rather than the south coast.

Still on: Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Whale watching season (1 Apr – 15 Oct (usually)), Puffins on the cliffs (20 Apr – 15 Aug (usually)), Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Summer holidays in Iceland

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Whale watching season (1 Apr – 15 Oct (usually)), Puffins on the cliffs (20 Apr – 15 Aug (usually)), Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Summer holidays in Iceland

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Whale watching season (1 Apr – 15 Oct (usually)), Puffins on the cliffs (20 Apr – 15 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Culture Night

• Festival

  Culture Night

  22 AugMajor festivalCrowded

  Menningarnott takes over the centre for a day in late August, ending with fireworks off Arnarholl, and the city marathon runs the same morning. Source ↗

Still on: Whale watching season (1 Apr – 15 Oct (usually)), Puffins on the cliffs (20 Apr – 15 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Aurora season

  1 Sep – 31 Mar · usually

  Dark enough to see them from roughly September to mid-April, cloud permitting, which is the part nobody can book. The city's own light means driving out for twenty minutes.

Still on: Whale watching season (1 Apr – 15 Oct (usually))

Busy — between the peaks, Autumn winter break in Iceland

• Closure

  Highland roads closed

  1 Oct – 15 Jun · usually

  Iceland's F-roads shut outside summer; the road administration opens them in stages from late May. Source ↗

Still on: Whale watching season (1 Apr – 15 Oct (usually)), Aurora season (1 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Iceland Airwaves

• Festival

  Iceland Airwaves

  5–7 NovMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Three days of music in bars, churches and the concert hall in the first week of November, which is the one thing that fills Reykjavik in the dark half of the year. Source ↗

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — New Year's Eve fireworks, Christmas break in Iceland

• Festival

  The Yule Lads

  12–24 DecChristmas & New Year

  Thirteen of them, one a night from 12 December, each leaving something in a child's shoe. The city's Christmas runs on this rather than on Santa. Source ↗

• Festival

  New Year's Eve fireworks

  31 Dec – 1 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Private fireworks, bought from the rescue squads who are funded by them, go up from every street at once. It is loud, uncoordinated and unlike anywhere else. Source ↗

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Highland roads closed (1 Oct – 15 Jun (usually))