Things to Do in Reykjavik in September
September weather, activities, events & insider tips
Shoulder Season · Good Value
September Weather in Reykjavik
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
52°F (11°C)
High Temp
43°F (6°C)
Low Temp
3.4 inches (86 mm)
Rainfall
70%
Humidity
⚠ Wind speeds regularly exceed 40 mph (64 km/h) during storms - secure all loose items and consider indoor activities these days
Is September Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + September opens the Northern Lights season without locking you into winter. You'll get enough darkness to catch aurora borealis from around September 10 onward, properly dark skies from roughly 9, 10 PM, while temperatures still sit at 7, 8°C (44, 46°F) instead of January's brutal lows. The equinox, around September 22, usually brings stronger geomagnetic activity, so September might deliver some of the year's most dramatic displays. You're hunting the Northern Lights in a wool sweater rather than full arctic gear, that changes everything.
- + September is your last clean window, the Highland Interior is still open. The F-roads to Landmannalaugar's banded rhyolite peaks, Þórsmörk's birch-choked valley, and the Kerlingarfjöll massif shut sometime between late September and mid-October when first snows hit. Come early-to-mid September and you'll walk the same volcanic landscape summer hikers saw. But with a fraction of the people and autumn color starting to burn through the lowland birch trees.
- + Reykjavik gets its own character back. The city's summer population of tour groups and backpackers thins considerably after the first week of September. You start encountering actual residents again, at Vesturbæjarlaug outdoor pool, at the Saturday flea market in Kolaportið down by the harbour, at the smaller galleries and bars along Laugavegur that don't feel purpose-built for visitors. The difference in atmosphere is noticeable from the first evening.
- + September still delivers whales. From the Old Harbour, boats chase humpbacks that spot't yet bolted south. The season runs right through the month. Captains nose 30, 40 minutes northwest into Faxaflói Bay, where late-season decks feel half-empty after July's sardine crowds. More railing, easier bow shots, zero elbow wars, same spouts, better view.
Considerations
- − 12°C (54°F) sunshine can flip to 60 km/h (37 mph) rain in the same afternoon. September weather here doesn't bend; it snaps. One minute you're basking in amber light, the next you're wrestling an umbrella against horizontal spray. The Icelandic Meteorological Office refreshes its forecast every few hours, never every few days, because standing still is not an option. Whale watching tours, highland hikes, even the snorkeling tours at Silfra get yanked or rewritten when a storm the morning map didn't show comes barreling in.
- − Daylight vanishes fast. Reykjavik sits at 64°N, and September is when the summer light account gets drained hard. At the start of September you'll still have roughly 14 hours of daylight. By September 30 that is down to about 11.5 hours, shrinking by over five minutes each day. For photography, the low-angle autumn sun delivers something extraordinary, golden hours that last actual hours, copper light pooling over the harbour and the coloured rooftops of the old town. Sightseeing logistics shift accordingly. You'll structure your days differently than you would in June.
- − Late September on the Highland F-roads? Pure dice roll. The Road Administration shuts gates based on snowfall, not some tidy calendar, some years you're locked out by the third week of September, others you can still punch through into October. Landmannalaugar and the Kjölur route aren't guarantees. They're maybes. If either is non-negotiable, pad your itinerary with slack days instead of locking yourself into non-refundable highland tours for your final days. Check road.is every morning before any F-road push. Not optional. Standard practice.
Best Activities in September
Top things to do during your visit
September in Reykjavik is cool and damp. The air smells of salt and wet earth. Daylight shrinks each week. But early September twilight still allows for long evenings of exploration. Locals are busy with the Réttir, the sheep round-up. That rural process fills the air with bleating and the greasy scent of lanolin. Meanwhile, the Reykjavik International Film Festival begins. It draws crowds into warm cinemas where the screen glows against the early evening blackness outside. Summer crowds have thinned. Many impressive natural phenomena remain accessible before the worst weather comes. Conditions vary. Crisp mornings give way to damp afternoons. Pack layers. You will be rewarded with moments of startling clarity. The landscape around Reykjavik starts its dramatic turn. Low-angle light illuminates the rusty reds and golds of the autumn tundra. It is a time for substantive spend time, whether in geothermal waters, cinematic storytelling, or the stark countryside just beyond the city.
Private Silfra Snorkeling 6 p. group - Meet on Location - with Underwater Photos
adventureSlip into a drysuit. Float silently between the continental plates in the clear, glacial water of Silfra fissure. Visibility is endless. It reveals a silent world of rock formations in shades of emerald and sapphire. Shafts of September light pierce the icy depths. Your guide will capture your submerged silhouette against this backdrop.
This is the only place on earth where you can snorkel directly in the crack between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.
Insider tip: Wear a thin thermal base layer beneath the provided suit. The water stays a constant, bone-chilling temperature year-round.
This month: The autumn light in September can create dramatic beams filtering through the crystalline water.
Private 2-Day Glacier Lagoon, Ice Cave and Northern Lights
otherThis intensive journey goes from Reykjavik to the southeast. You will walk inside a blue ice cave. You will hear the thunderous crack of icebergs calving at Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. You spend a night hunting for the aurora away from the city's glow.
It combines two of Iceland's most powerful geological spectacles, ancient ice and the dancing lights, into a single remote expedition.
Insider tip: Pack hand and foot warmers. The ice cave is freezing. You will stand still for long periods during the northern lights search.
This month: September offers increasing darkness, improving odds for the northern lights. The ice caves become accessible as the summer melt stabilizes.
Reykjavík All In One Food Tour - Eat, Drink & Explore with Locals
foodThis tour winds through downtown Reykjavik. It stops at family-run shops and casual eateries. You sample staples like hot-smoked arctic char, fresh skyr, and local schnapps. Your guide shares stories of the city's culinary evolution.
It provides a curated introduction to Icelandic cuisine. The tour demystifies local ingredients through tasting and context.
Insider tip: Come very hungry. Skip breakfast. The portions are substantial and the tour is a full meal.
Visit the Volcanoes - Half Day Private Tour - up to 9 passengers
private_tourDepart Reykjavik for the Reykjanes Peninsula. Walk on still-warm lava fields. Feel steam from fumaroles on your skin. Peer into the craters of recent volcanoes with a geologist guide.
It has a private, scientific perspective on the active geological forces that built Iceland, away from crowded tourist trails.
Insider tip: Wear sturdy, ankle-covering hiking boots. The lava rock is sharp and uneven.
This month: September weather on the exposed peninsula is highly variable. The low sun can create deep shadows that show the dramatic textures of the lava landscapes.
Reykjavik Private Northern Lights Tour with Pro Photographer
guided_experienceA photographer-guide chauffeurs your small group from Reykjavik to dark-sky locations. They find clear patches in the September clouds. They then instruct you on capturing the aurora's green swirls with your camera.
It turns the frustrating hunt for the lights into a guaranteed photography tutorial and a comfortable chase.
Insider tip: Dress in multiple layers, including a windproof outer shell. You will stand in open, chilly fields for long periods.
This month: The aurora season actively begins in September. Longer nights provide a viable window for sightings.
Full Day Golden Circle - Guided Tour
day_tripThis classic circuit from Reykjavik includes Gullfoss waterfall, the Geysir geothermal area, and Þingvellir National Park. A driver narrates the landscapes.
It efficiently delivers the well-known trio of natural landmarks that define the Icelandic experience near Reykjavik.
Insider tip: Claim a window seat on the left side of the bus when leaving Reykjavik for the best initial countryside views.
This month: Autumn colors in Þingvellir National Park begin in September. The mossy lava fields and birch woods turn gold and rust.
Where to Stay in Reykjavik in September
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for September travellers.
★★★★
Luxury
Iceland Parliament Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton
From $280 / night
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September Events & Festivals
What's happening during your visit
Mid to Late September
Réttir, The Icelandic Sheep Round-Up
Tens of thousands of sheep. That's what Icelandic farmers haul out of the highlands every September, animals that have roamed fence-free across the Interior since May. The round-up drags on for days up in the high country. But the sortál, the communal sorting by ear-tag into individual farm pens, turns into a small public festival. Picture this: several hundred sheep jam a temporary enclosure, lanolin and damp wool thick in the air, farmers yelling over the racket to claim their animals, kids scrambling up the pen walls, neighbours arriving with trays of food. Nothing else on the Icelandic calendar feels like it. Locations and specific dates shift by district. Sorting events within an hour's drive of Reykjavik are open to visitors who'll ask around or scan municipal notices. The mood is celebratory in a blunt, practical, unmistakably Icelandic way, unsentimental, useful, and communal.
Late September (typically last week, running into early October)
Reykjavik International Film Festival (RIFF)
RIFF kicks off the last week of September and rolls for 11 straight days through cinema venues packed into central Reykjavik. The festival zeroes in on independent and art-house cinema, keeping Nordic and Scandinavian film front and center while folding in a wider international program. Forget red carpets. You'll find the director wedged into a 60-seat room with 40 viewers, talking past the scheduled hour because nobody wants to leave. If you're in Reykjavik at the end of September, RIFF hands you a real local evening, sitting in a small Reykjavik cinema watching an Icelandic or Faroese film while darkness slams down outside by 8 PM. No special planning needed beyond checking the program.
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View Reykjavik Packing List →Essential Tips
Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
The Icelandic Meteorological Office at vedur.is drops a three-day aurora forecast daily, scale runs 0 to 9. Anything above 4, paired with cloud cover under 50%, means move now. Most Northern Lights tour operators watch this exact forecast and will scrub the trip if conditions are hopeless. Yet on borderline nights the call between couch and chase hinges on how far you'll drive from Reykjavik's light dome. Download the vedur.is app before landing, you'll get real-time updates with zero translation hassle.
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur has fed Reykjavik since 1937. The hot dog stand on Tryggvagata near the harbour, it's one of the city's rare constants. Everyone knows it. Everyone's eaten here. Order 'með öllu'. Translation: with everything. You'll get crispy fried onion, raw onion, ketchup, brown mustard, and remoulade. Sounds basic. It isn't. Stand outside. Harbour behind you. Temperature reads 7°C (45°F). Bite into the hot dog. Suddenly the cold doesn't matter.
Skip the Blue Lagoon. Vesturbæjarlaug in the west end, Sundhöll Reykjavíkur downtown, and Laugardalslaug to the east, these are where Reykjavik residents swim. They're less crowded, cheaper, and better. The rules aren't suggestions. Shower naked before you enter. No exceptions. Staff will send you back if you spot't. The hot pots, those smaller sitting pools at 40, 44°C (104, 111°F), are where the real conversations happen. September night, 42°C (108°F) water, cool air on your face. This is Reykjavik's signature experience.
50 minutes. That's the bare minimum between Reykjavik and Keflavík International Airport, 51 km / 32 miles of Reykjanesbraut highway when conditions behave. But September wind and rain? They'll stretch that drive considerably. One stretch of the airport road sits so exposed that crosswinds shove full-size buses sideways. Budget 90 minutes for airport transfers on any morning where weather looks uncertain. Don't cut the timeline for an early departure assuming the road will be clear.
Avoid These Mistakes
10°C (50°F) in Reykjavik isn't 10°C (50°F) anywhere else. Shoulder-season forecasts lie. Add 50 km/h (31 mph) North Atlantic wind and that mild weather becomes raw survival. Wind chill in Iceland isn't trivia, it's the forecast. Tourists in light jackets and running shoes? Spotted within 20 minutes of landing. They'll stay uncomfortable for most of their trip.
Book Northern Lights tours for one night and you'll probably miss them. Cloud cover is the real enemy, it follows no schedule. On any given September night in Reykjavik, your chance of clear enough skies sits at 50, 60%. Decent odds across three nights. Maddening if you've booked just one. Most solid operators will rebook you free on a different night when weather kills your shot. That policy only saves you if you've left actual days in your itinerary to use it.
Don't even think about it. Driving Iceland's F-roads, those highland gravel tracks, in a standard rental car is asking for trouble. The F-designation isn't just bureaucratic nonsense. It marks routes that demand 4WD and, on many stretches, river crossings without bridges. Your standard rental? Zero insurance coverage on F-roads. These river crossings aren't puddles, they're actual rivers flowing across the track, not the road surface simply getting wet. Picture this: your car stuck mid-stream, no mobile signal in the highlands, and you're learning exactly how inconvenient that combination can be.
Don't wait. The Blue Lagoon won't hold a spot for walk-ins. That geothermal bathing complex at Grindavík, 45 km (28 miles) from Reykjavik on the Reykjanes Peninsula, demands advance booking. Shoulder-season September? Still sells out weeks ahead. Arrive without a reservation and you'll arrive to find no available entry.
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