10 Days in December? | Iceland - Lonely Planet Forum

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Sun, 24 Jul 2016 18:58:35 +0000

Hey everyone,

I'm taking my cousin to Iceland on a photography trip, and the only available time for him is December. I went in April a while back and drove through lots of snowstorms, so I'm expecting quite a bit of that and VERY short days, but what else should we prepare for?

Since I went in April, I could still do some of the mid-season things. I drove the full ring road and camped along the way, did some dogsledding, enjoyed the Myvatn nature baths, Jokulsarlon, the major waterfalls around Vik, etc. I would love to repeat some of that trip, but I know that's not realistic with only 4 hours of sunlight per day.

My main questions:

What is driving like in the winter season? How hard would it be to make a day trip out of places like Vik and Jokulsarlon?

What activities can we NOT do, that are generally for warm weather only? Aside from the Highlands, which I know is impossible.

What activities can we do ONLY in the winter season that we should take advantage of? Aurora is a big one for us.

Then generally, if our main goals are exotic locales for landscape photography, spotting/photographing Aurora, some adventure, and a good 'first taste' of Iceland for him, what else would everyone recommend? I loved everything about my time in Iceland, so past that I'm not picky, I'm just itching to be back :)

CLIFF NOTES:

10-14 days in early December
Want to get a good first taste of Iceland for my cousin
Photography is a main goal
Curious of what is possible with only 4 hours of sunlight a day

Many thanks!

ONLINE

Sun, 24 Jul 2016 19:55:49 +0000

There is a good chance ( risk) that early December wil turn out milder than April (read rain insted of snow).
Remember there is light after sunset and before sunrise as the angle between Suns path and horisonten is VERY, VERY small.
A pity that there are countries where you do not set the vacation weeks yourself.

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ONLINE

Mon, 25 Jul 2016 01:08:56 +0000

In response to #1

Oh that's a good point about the light, I'm actually excited about the low sun. Last time I was in the Nordics I spent some time in Svalbard, right in the middle of summer, so it'll be nice to try something in a darker season.

And technically we can both schedule travel whenever we want (I get 2-4 months so I jump around), but since he's pretty young that's just the earliest we can assure that funds will be ready for him and that I won't have other plans. Plus I quite like the idea of visiting during a quieter month, tourism wise at least.

Edited by thebeginning

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Wed, 26 Jul 2017 01:02:02 +0000

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