The best time to visit Akureyri

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Akureyri sits at the inner end of Eyjafjörður, about 60 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. That latitude decides most of your plans. In summer the long evenings give you time for a whale trip after dinner. In winter the short days push sightseeing into a few hours around noon and leave the nights for the aurora. Some services, however, are seasonal: the tourist information centre in Hof shuts from mid-October to the end of March, and the highland roads only open in summer.

Light through the year

The US Naval Observatory's tables for Akureyri show how quickly the light changes. On 1 December the sun rises at 10:54 and sets at 15:09. On the winter solstice there are just over three hours between sunrise and sunset, measured against a flat horizon. The mountains around the fjord rise to 1,000 to 1,500 metres, so in town the sun disappears behind them even earlier. By 1 March the day has grown to about ten hours, and at the equinox on 21 March it is just over twelve.

From early June to early July the sky never gets darker than civil twilight. On 21 June the sun sets at 00:57 and comes back up at 01:31. Visit North Iceland speaks of midnight sun from late May to late July, but for Akureyri that is not quite right: the sun does go down, only for a short time. If you want to see it stay above the horizon all night, you have to go to Grímsey, which lies on the Arctic Circle. Our page on Hrísey and Grímsey explains the ferry and the flight.

Temperatures and rain

Akureyri is milder than its latitude suggests. Based on the Icelandic Met Office's 1991–2020 averages, July comes out at roughly 11 °C and August only slightly lower. Visit North Iceland gives 10 to 18 °C for summer days in town, and Visit Akureyri mentions peaks of up to 25 °C. From December to February the monthly average sits just below freezing.

The drier months are May and June, with roughly 20 to 25 millimetres of rain each. October to December are the wettest, at around 70 millimetres a month. Autumn also brings the first storms. On 18 October 2026, for example, Safetravel issued a storm warning for the whole country with winds of 15 to 25 metres per second. Pack for changeable weather in any month; the what to wear page has the details.

Summer, from June to August

This is the busiest time. Cruise ships call in Akureyri mostly from May to the end of September, and the tourist information centre has its longest opening hours. The highland F-roads usually open from June, and only to four-wheel-drive cars. Whale boats sail from Akureyri, Hauganes, Árskógssandur, Dalvík and Húsavík, and the speedboats from Húsavík visit Puffin Island while the birds nest, roughly from mid-April until mid or late August.

The town fills its calendar too. Listasumar, the arts summer, runs through June and July, and the Arctic Open golf tournament is played at the end of June around the solstice. A family festival takes place over the long weekend at the start of August, when Iceland has its Commerce Day holiday (Monday 2 August in 2027). Akureyrarvaka, the town's culture night, falls on the weekend closest to 29 August. One thing reviewers of the Mývatn day trips mention again and again is the swarms of midges at the lake in summer.

Autumn and spring

September is a good compromise. The days are still long (almost 15 hours of sun on 1 September), the cruise season is winding down, and the nights are dark enough for the aurora again. Visit North Iceland names late August to April as the northern lights season, with September to March offering the most reliable dark skies. The Met Office publishes an aurora forecast on a scale from 0 to 9 next to a cloud map, which is worth checking before any evening trip. October brings the Eyrarrokk music festival on its first weekend, plus the A! Performance Festival and the Cosy Days.

In spring the light returns quickly. April still has snow on Hlíðarfjall and the children's ski race Andrés Önd, while the Húsavík boats start their season. Easter is a public holiday period in Iceland and many shops and public services close on some of the days; in 2027 that means Thursday 25 March to Monday 29 March. The National Day on 17 June is another holiday to plan around.

Winter, from November to March

Winter is quieter and darker, and it suits a different kind of trip. Hlíðarfjall, the ski area above town at 500 to 1,000 metres, normally opens around December and runs into April when the snow allows. Dog sledding near Akureyri and snowmobile rides at Lake Mývatn are winter activities, and the Christmas market on Ráðhústorg adds to December. Several operators run winter versions of their day trips with pickup in town. Aurora tours collect you in the evening; some include a free second try the next night if the lights stay away.

Direct flights from abroad follow the seasons as well. easyJet flies from the UK between October and April, while the charter flights from Zurich and Amsterdam run in winter between January and March and again in summer. The getting there page lists them.