Mid to Late May Visit - Too Early
 

I am planning a trip to Iceland. I understand that some hotels do not open until mid-June. I was planning a two week trip around the Ring Road. Would mid-May or late May be too early given weather and what facilities are open?

Mid-June is when the tourists arrive in droves and it gets busy. I suspect the hotels you are talking about are those schools which morph into hotels for summer.

In 2006 NE Iceland did experience some quite nasty arctic weather around May 2O, but obviously that sort of thing could happen any time. We were in the area about three weeks after that and had 20° and a dust-storm one day then 1° and snow the next!

You might do best to aim for first two weeks in June to beat the rush, although you would probably do fine in late May when it would be a bit quieter.

I think you need to specify which facilities you want to know about. We found most things open, but a few of the smaller museums still shut. Farm B&B/hotels which we used were certainly far from empty in early June.

Can't comment on the spring, but we did 2 weeks in October. Ran into the same issue with some lodging and restaurants being closed, but we were definitely able to find good lodging and food. Many of the museums and the like were closed, but if you're going for the outdoors stuff, it's always open (and free).

I'd recommend the early trip... having the whole country to yourself was definitely worth it.

Thank you. I have already discovered that Fosshotel Aning - for example, is not open until 4 June.

That one is a school and does not open as a hotel until the pupils finish for their summer holiday.

Hi always,

i've been planning a summer trip to iceland this year, and certainly there are hotels that open all your round, and would be open in May.

the type of hotel you are talking about - there are about 16 of them all round the country - are the summer or "edda" hotels, which as the other poster said, are largely only open in the school hols.

iceland is pushing all year round travel and you would certainly find some places open whereever and whenever you were there.

you could try www.farmholidays.is for various tours and all sorts of accommodation. [they cover everything from beds for hikers with sleeping bags, and camp-sites to B&Bs, guest houses and some top end hotels].

to do a tour of the ringroad, i reckon you need at least a week and that will be pushing it. 10 days would be better - we are going for 11 nights and are restricting ourselves to the west of iceland as there is so much to see.

good luck,

regards, ann