easyJet EZY6655 · OutboundTue 15 Dec
BHX
Birmingham
KEF
Keflavík
Departs07:05
Lands10:10
Flight time3h 05
Seats1A · 1B
BoardingSpeedy
Getting there
Birmingham to Keflavík, before most people are awake
easyJet · HomeSat 19 Dec
KEF
Keflavík
BHX
Birmingham
Departs11:00
Lands~13:45
Car back by08:30
BoardingSpeedy
Landing time home is approximate; check the booking.
Outbound, straight from the booking
Seats and bags
- Mr David Crocker
- 1A
- Ms Megan You Min Lee
- 1B
- Bag drop opens
- 04:05
- Bag drop closes
- 06:05
- Check-in closes
- 60 mins before
- Boarding
- Speedy Boarding
first on, first off - Bag 1 each
- Small cabin bag
45 × 36 × 20 cm
Row 1 has no seat in front, so it goes up in the locker - Bag 2 each
- Large cabin bag
56 × 45 × 25 cm - Bag 3 each
- Checked hold bag
dropped at the desk
★ Dave's choice
Our wheels
A Tesla Model Y. Obviously.
Collected at Keflavík at 10:30 on Tuesday and handed back at 08:30 on Saturday. Dual-motor all-wheel drive, winter tyres, and the heater switched on from a phone before every frozen morning. Quiet enough to hear the aurora. (You can't hear the aurora.)
⚡ Supercharger stops
Reykjavík, Vatnagarðar 24 and Álfabakki 6 · in town
Mosfellsbær, Háholt 11 · on Road 1 heading north (Húsafell day)
Laugarvatn, Efstidalur II · on the Golden Circle
From supercharge.info; the car's own map has the live list. Ask the hotel about overnight charging.
Reykjavík, Vatnagarðar 24 and Álfabakki 6 · in town
Mosfellsbær, Háholt 11 · on Road 1 heading north (Húsafell day)
Laugarvatn, Efstidalur II · on the Golden Circle
From supercharge.info; the car's own map has the live list. Ask the hotel about overnight charging.
AWDPre-heated seatsNo petrol stopsHeated steering wheel
Four long nights
Every night is an aurora night, if the sky behaves.
Iceland in December gets about 20 hours of darkness. Clear skies plus a little solar activity and the whole sky moves. Check the forecast every evening.
Day by day
The plan
Mid-December daylight runs from about 11:15 to 15:30, so the days are slow and the nights do the work.
Tuesday15December
Land, then disappear
The hideaway, night 1Sauna 1
- Wheels up from Birmingham
- Land at Keflavík. Duty free on the way out
- Pick up the Tesla
- Lunch near the airport, then the great supermarket raid
- Check in somewhere secret on the Reykjanes peninsula
- Warm blue water in the dark, eyes up for the aurora
Wednesday16December
A whole day of doing nothing
The hideaway, night 2Sauna 2
- Breakfast, yoga if we feel virtuous, back to bed if we don't
- The spa ritual: silica, algae, steam, lava-walled rooms
- Lagoon at sunset, which in December is mid-afternoon
- A long dinner To book
Thursday17December
Into Reykjavík
The city suite, night 1Sauna 3
- A last swim, then 45 minutes up the coast to the city
- Megan's pick: choose the afternoon below
- Check in to the suite with its own sauna on the balcony
- Megan's pick again: Sky Lagoon, a northern lights boat, or a long dinner To book
Friday18December
Ski-doo Friday
The city suite, night 2Sauna 4Glacier
- Out of the city in the dark, in the Tesla or a super jeep
- Supercharger: Mosfellsbær (Háholt 11) on the way to Húsafell, or Laugarvatn on the Golden Circle. Leave at 100%
- Snowmobiles across Langjökull, Iceland's second-biggest glacier. Three ways to do it To book
- Thaw out in the balcony sauna, then Megan's pick for the night
Saturday19December
Home for Christmas
Fly home
- Out of the city in the dark, with winter time to spare
- Hand back the car at Keflavík. The hire company recharges it (worth checking the rental terms for a minimum return charge)
- Fly home to Birmingham
TueThe hideaway spa
WedThe hideaway spa
ThuOur balcony, maybe Sky Lagoon too
FriOur balcony, after the glacier
Light and weather · Reykjavík
Four hours of sun, and a lot of beautiful blue
The sun barely clears the mountains. Either side of it come long stretches of twilight, the soft blue hours that make Iceland look painted. Hover or tap a band for exact times.
Nautical twilight · the sky is deep blue, the horizon is just visible and the brightest stars are out. Our first and last light of the day.
Civil twilight · bright enough to drive and walk about without lights. Pink and blue skies, the best photo light.
Daylight · the sun is up, but only just: it stays very low the whole time, so expect long shadows and golden light all day.
Night · properly dark: aurora time. About 15 hours of it.
Times as a table
| Day | Nautical dawn | Civil dawn | Sunrise | Sunset | Civil dusk | Nautical dusk | Daylight |
|---|
Calculated for Reykjavík from the sun's position, accurate to a minute or two. Iceland stays on UTC all year, the same as UK winter time.
What to expect · a typical mid-December
Weather, roughly
These are long-term averages, not a forecast; real forecasts only reach about a week ahead. Check vedur.is from 8 December.
Typical high3 to 4 °CMild for the latitude, thanks to the sea
Typical low−2 to −3 °CIcy pavements and roads in the mornings
December average0.8 °CHovering round freezing: some days rain, some days snow
Rain and snow~95 mmAcross the month, so about 3 mm a day. December is Reykjavík's wettest month
WindBreezyAverages about 5 m/s (11 mph), and stormy days gust over 25 m/s. Wind makes it feel 5 to 8 °C colder
Sunshine~13 hoursIn the whole of December 2024. Cloud is normal; clear nights are a gift
Up on the glacierMuch colderLangjökull sits around 1,000 to 1,400 m up: expect well below freezing plus wind chill. All the layers, and the snowmobile suit on top
Snow on the groundLikely-ishReykjavík averages around 12 snowy days in December, but rain can wash it away in a day
Aurora oddsCloud decidesPlenty of dark hours. What matters is a gap in the cloud: check the vedur.is cloud map each evening
Sources: Icelandic Met Office, Reykjavík December 2024 summary (1991 to 2020 averages are worked out from its figures); typical highs, lows and snowy days from Climats et Voyages and Iceland Monitor. Glacier conditions are a general estimate.
Where we sleep
Two stays. Both stay secret.
Reykjanes peninsula · southwest Iceland · 25 minutes from the plane
The hideaway
The name stays secret until we pull up. What you can know: it is built into an 800-year-old lava field, moss on every rock, with milky blue water running between them that only guests get into.
- A private lagoon, steaming in the snow
- A spa carved down into the lava
- Breakfast, the minibar and the spa are all included
- No light pollution, so the best aurora odds of the trip
Name:
The Hideaway
Somewhere on the main street · central Reykjavík
A suite with its own sauna
Right on Reykjavík's main street, so dinner, bars and Christmas lights are a few steps away. The Junior Suite comes with a 17 square metre balcony, and on that balcony is our own glass-fronted sauna looking out over the rooftops.
- Private sauna on the balcony
- Complimentary minibar and Nespresso
- B&O speaker for the sauna playlist
- Two nights, Thursday and Friday
Locals
Fluffier than us. Just.
Icelandic horses grow thick winter coats and stand about in the snow looking unbothered. Expect to stop the Tesla for them at least once.
Your scores, out of 10
Built around what you rated
Your top picks are in. The far-flung ones are saved for a summer trip, when the days are long enough to reach them.
Friday
8/10
Snowmobiling on a glacierThursday night
7.5/10
Sky LagoonEvery night
10/10
A sauna, every nightNext trip
9/10
Snæfellsnes road tripNext trip
7/10
Diamond BeachNext trip
6/10
Blue ice cavesMegan's turn · multiple choice
The first two days are a secret. The rest is yours.
Tuesday and Wednesday are sorted and staying under wraps. Thursday and Friday in and around Reykjavík are up for grabs: tap one card in each round (open "Details" for the how, when and how much), then send the answers to Dave.
Status
Sorted, and still to sort
- Flights both ways (1A and 1B out)Booked
- The secret hideaway, Tue and WedBooked
- The city suite, Thu and FriBooked
- Tesla Model YBooked
- Dinner at the hideaway, WedTo book
- Thursday afternoon and nightMegan picks
- Ski-doo FridayPick by 18 Oct
- Friday nightMegan picks
Also in Reykjavík
Things to wander into
- TjörninThe city pond, half frozen, with the swans
- The Yule LadsIceland has 13 mischievous Santas, one arriving each night from 12 December
- Harpa at ChristmasCheck what's on in the glass concert hall
- Grótta lighthouseThe nearest dark sky, ten minutes from the hotel
Winter, properly
Frozen waterfalls, black sand, snow on everything.
The far-flung south coast is saved for the summer trip, but December Iceland looks like this even from the roadside.
Tuesday, 13:10 · Bónus, Reykjanesbær
The great supermarket raid
Luxury hotels charge luxury prices for a can of Coke. We will not be beaten. Bónus is the one with the pink pig logo (no relation to the hot dogs), open 09:00 to 21:00, about ten minutes from the airport. Tick things off as they go in the trolley.
⚡ Fuel
🍗 Chicken department
🍫 Snacks
🍳 Breakfast
🎒 Road-trip bag
🚫 Strictly banned
- Anything from the seaIncluding the dried fish snacks everyone else is eating
- HákarlFermented shark. Doubly banned. Triply, really
- Prawn sandwichesIceland loves a prawn sandwich. We do not
- Room serviceOn principle
Label words to dodge:
fiskur = fishrækjur = prawnslax = salmonhumar = langoustinesíld = herring
Estimated saving versus four nights of luxury room service
Roughly one Tesla
Supermarkets don't sell alcohol in Iceland. If you want any, buy it in the arrivals duty free before baggage reclaim.
Pack · three bags each
What goes in the bags
Each of us has a small cabin bag, a large cabin bag and a hold bag. Row 1 has no seat in front, so both cabin bags go in the overhead locker. Tick things off as they go in; ticks are saved on each phone.
Wear on the planeThe heavy stuffGrippy boots, warm coat, thickest jumper. Frees up a whole bag's worth of space
Small cabin bag · 45×36×20The essentialsPassports, licences, wallet, phones and chargers, meds, the liquids bag, headphones, snacks for the drive
Large cabin bag · 56×45×25The outfitsDinner clothes, jumpers, trousers, underwear and nightwear for 5 days, smart boots
Hold bagSwim, spa and glacierAll the swimwear, slides, thermals, waterproofs, gloves and hats, big toiletries, conditioner
Coming homeFill the gapWet swimwear in the wet bag, snacks and any wool shopping into the space we left
The ruleLayers winThin layers beat one huge jumper: hot car, cold glacier, sweltering restaurants