Would you go to Iceland or Scandinavia in winter?

There are so many good travel deals, and I've never been. Is this a crazy idea for five days or so? 

do you like it really cold? It makes it challenging to get around and see some of the sights. And the long hours of darkness may be an issue also. There's a reason it's so cheap, I think!

deborahg said:
There are so many good travel deals, and I've never been. Is this a crazy idea for five days or so? 

Sure.  Northern Lights.  Swimming in thermal springs while it is snowing (Iceland).  Only reason not to go is if winter is not your thing.

Suz and her friends are doing a Groupon to Iceland  end of November. Temperature doesn't look that bad and they just did a major trip to REI to make sure they can bundle up. I'd love to go. Jealous I'm not!

We are going to Reykjavik during the February school break.  Based on my research - 7-8 hours of daylight in February; temperatures should be equal to or slightly warmer than temps here; chance of windy rain or windy snow; inexpensive thermal swimming pools and hot tubs all over.  I can't wait!

there is an interesting article in Travel mag about the Iceland Troll Peninsula and winter skiing. Evidently you drive seven miles through a tunnel to get to the area. Looked super interesting.

On my bucket list for sure!!!

Absolutely! It won't be hard to get around at all...they are 100% prepared!

We had an amazing time there.

My wife and i went to Iceland last December. It was awesome - we saw the Northern Lights, snowmobiling on glaciers, hot springs, hiking at night in the snow...we will do it again someday. They have lots of good coffee, museums and decent restaurants. People are very friendly and it is totally worth doing. Flight from JFK is pleasant as well on Iceland Air.

Iceland is amazing! I was there in June (no sunset) and as a photographer, it was a "target rich" location. Highly recommend it. Great people, great locations. I was told their winter last year was pretty bad with road closures due to snow but I think that was more in February or so. I'd like to go back in winter for the ice caves and Northern lights and sunsets.

We were actually thinking February break. Weird I know  

New Year's in Reykhavik looks pretty amazing.

http://luxeadventuretraveler.com/celebrating-years-eve-in-reykjavik/

I've actually been to Scandinavia in Winter on more than one occasion. Went to Reykjavik and Copenhagen over Thanksgiving back in 2000. Went to Helsinki, St. Petersburg and Moscow over Thanksgiving back in 2002. And because we're slightly crazy, my wife and I went to Helsinki and Tallinn (Estonia) in January 2008 for our Honeymoon. (What?!?)

Sure, it can be cold there, but it's not generally not that much colder than it is here. We did get quite a chill when we were in Moscow for a few days when the skies cleared up and the temperature dropped substantially. Bring your heavy jacket, hat, scarves, gloves and boots and you'll be fine.

Here are some pictures from these voyages that show actual people in some of these places having a good time.

This is me at the partially frozen over Gullfoss (Golden Falls) in Iceland. Brrrr.

There's also my wife and I at the Sibelius Monument in Helsinki which was a stop on the bus tour we took. Not quite so brrr, but yeah it was chilly (it was starting to snow around this stop).

And a few days later here we are in the the high town portion of Tallinn looking down over the lower town. We're not even wearing hats. They do have plenty of wool products there if you need any though!

So yeah. It's cold there. It's cold here. If you still live here and haven't moved to Florida then you'll be fine. There are plenty of hot beverages, especially in Helsinki where the coffee flows more freely than anywhere else I've seen other than Seattle.

We went to Iceland in December 2013 and it was wonderful.   True not a lot of sunlight and it did snow, but very beautiful and interesting.  Would love to return in the spring or summer.

Depends where in Scandinavia but I think Iceland would be a better bet. There's some moderation in temperature because of the gulf stream and it's a lot closer to NJ (i.e., shorter flight). 

My sister went to Minneapolis in the winter to see a play.

LilMiss just got back from Iceland and, while they had a fantastic time (see photo) her one major complaint was lack of daylight. The weather was not too bad (it did rain/hail a bit) but with only 6 hours or so of light each day, it was hard to get in any sightseeing. A trip to the glacier (see photo) was fine but by the time they were driven to the waterfall it was dark again and they couldn't do the hike behind it. People were very friendly and they need the tourist dollars but she said if she went again she'd def do it during the summer (And the Northern Lights were a no show as there was little solar activity)

It does sound like you need to plan well, and have enough activities that do not require daylight to enjoy - great post!

Blue Lagoon in the dead of winter is great.  great skiing up north.  great food in reykjavik.  glaciers.  beautiful people.  

Okay, Iceland people, trying to figure out whether there's any way we can plan a super last-minute trip there at the end of December. Did you book it all on your own, or did you use a travel company? Seems like crazy money through a tour company, but it also sounds like driving there in December can be crazy hazardous. Thanks for any help!

cleg said:

My wife and i went to Iceland last December. It was awesome - we saw the Northern Lights, snowmobiling on glaciers, hot springs, hiking at night in the snow...we will do it again someday. They have lots of good coffee, museums and decent restaurants. People are very friendly and it is totally worth doing. Flight from JFK is pleasant as well on Iceland Air.

Flying from JFK comes darn close to crossing destinations off my list. Way to ruin the first and last day of a vacation! Are there any options from EWR? 

driving an extra hour means you’ve lost a day in each direction? If you time your flights right it’s about 60 minutes to JFK so assuming 20 to EWR it’s less than an extra hour each way

conandrob240 said:

driving an extra hour means you’ve lost a day in each direction? If you time your flights right it’s about 60 minutes to JFK so assuming 20 to EWR it’s less than an extra hour each way

No, but traveling is already stressful and adding a trip to JFK (which would be VERY lucky to be only an hour) makes going to the airport much worse. Maybe it's no big deal to some people, but the last time I went to JFK we got into traffic and were afraid of missing our flight, despite having allowed several hours. And, even if you are lucky enough to get there in only an hour, you would be a fool to not allow much more time, so then you will be sitting in the airport all that time.

take the train if it’s a peak travel time. I don’t do it often but it’s not really a big deal when it’s a ton cheaper or the only non-stop flight. 

conandrob240 said:

take the train if it’s a peak travel time. I don’t do it often but it’s not really a big deal when it’s a ton cheaper or the only non-stop flight. 

Taking the train means going to Penn and then switching to that JFK subway that then has a bus, right? So, if you have luggage, that's not trivial. 

Maybe my tolerance for that kind of hassle is lower than yours, but every time (and it hasn't been many) that I have gone to JFK, I have sworn "never again!"

And it is definitely more hassle than a single connection through some other airport.

I'm fine going through JFK! Just want to know about the Iceland part of it. Any advice is much appreciatedd.

A friend who travels extensively for work had enough of seeing Reykjavik via the ring road in a couple of days. (Not to say there isn't a reason to spend longer, just one opinion.) I think if I went to hike, I'd pick a different season.

I've been thinking about doing an open-jaw flight on WOW to Iceland, staying in Reykjavik for a few days, then continuing on to Amsterdam or Brussels for the rest of the week.

No. Nj transit to LIRR. It’s fairly easy and we do it if flight is anywhere near peak.

Connections through other airports can make you not get where you are going.

sac said:

conandrob240 said:

take the train if it’s a peak travel time. I don’t do it often but it’s not really a big deal when it’s a ton cheaper or the only non-stop flight. 

Taking the train means going to Penn and then switching to that JFK subway that then has a bus, right? So, if you have luggage, that's not trivial. 

Maybe my tolerance for that kind of hassle is lower than yours, but every time (and it hasn't been many) that I have gone to JFK, I have sworn "never again!"

And it is definitely more hassle than a single connection through some other airport.

zucca said:

I'm fine going through JFK! Just want to know about the Iceland part of it. Any advice is much appreciatedd.

What do you want to know?

It’s cold and dark this time of year. Not a great time to visit. There are often really good package deals in this low season on TravelZoo, Secret escapes, even Groupon.

Unless you are doing some serious “off” travel, I don’t think you need a package. Most things are fairly easily accessible from Rejkivic using a cab.

Most people just do a few nights on icelandair on your way to a European city and, IMO, 2-3 days is plenty.