Iceland in February

February is the month Iceland comes back. It gains almost three hours of daylight in twenty-eight days, and Reykjavík sees nearly triple January's sunshine. Temperatures are fractionally colder than January, which surprises people, but the light changes everything about what you can fit into a day. It is also the month with the best food week and a free festival across the whole capital area.

Daylight: The Fastest Gain Of The Year

Two things worth drawing out. First, by the end of February Reykjavík has more than ten hours of daylight - the same as late October - so a late-February trip is not really a dark-season trip at all. Second, the north gains faster than the south: Akureyri starts the month 25 minutes behind Reykjavík and ends it only 9 minutes behind.

Weather And Temperature

Where these numbers come from. The Icelandic Met Office publishes 30-year normals tables for 1961-1990 only - there is no published 1991-2020 table. We computed these from the Met Office's own monthly station files across the 30 years to 2020, and verified them against its CLIMAT sheets, which express each month's rainfall as a percentage of the 1991-2020 mean. They are computed, not published, and we say so rather than implying an official table exists.

February is a shade colder than January on the mean, which catches people out - but the mean daily maximum is slightly higher, so the difference lives in colder nights rather than colder days. The real change is sunshine: 61.6 hours in Reykjavík against 22.6 in January.

Vetrarhátíð: The Winter Lights Festival

Reykjavík's midwinter festival runs 4 to 7 February 2027, across all six municipalities of the capital area, with more than 150 events - and everything is free. The programme centres on three things: a Light Trail of illuminated buildings and artworks, Safnanótt or Museum Night when museums open late without charge, and Sundlauganótt or Pool Night when swimming pools stay open into the evening with music and lighting. Swimming outdoors in the dark in February, in a heated pool, with the city lit up, is about as Icelandic an evening as a visitor can have.

The 2027 dates for the individual sub-events have not been published yet, only the festival window. If you are planning around Museum Night or Pool Night specifically, check closer to the date - and note that the festival's own web page still carries a 2026 date in its banner image while the body text gives the 2027 dates.

The Best Food Week Of The Icelandic Year

Three consecutive days in early February, and the sequence is worth planning around. Bolludagur on Monday 8 February 2027 is Bun Day, when bakeries turn out cream-filled buns and children who wake their parents by swatting them with a decorated bolluvöndur earn one bun per successful hit. Sprengidagur on the Tuesday is Bursting Day: salted lamb and split pea soup, eaten until you cannot. Öskudagur on the Wednesday is technically Ash Wednesday, but in Iceland children dress in costume and sing in shops for sweets, which makes it feel much more like Halloween than like the start of a fast.

Þorri Ends, Góa Begins

The þorrablót season closes in February. Þorraþræll, the last day of Þorri, falls on Saturday 20 February 2027, and Konudagur follows on Sunday 21 February - Women's Day, the first day of Góa, when husbands return the favour of Bóndadagur in January. The rule is the Sunday of the eighteenth week of winter, landing between 18 and 25 February depending on the year. The custom of giving flowers is more recent than it looks: it spread from florists' advertising in the late 1950s. Our January page covers Þorri and þorrablót in full.

What Else Is On

There are no public holidays in February. Bolludagur, Sprengidagur, Öskudagur and Konudagur are all observances rather than days off, so shops and services run normally.

How Busy Is It?

Busier than January, and the two are often wrongly lumped together. Icelandic Tourist Board figures show 148,657 foreign departures through Keflavík in February 2025 against 121,590 in January - about 22 per cent more - which made February only the fourth-lowest month of the year rather than one of the two quietest. It is still well under half of August volume, so it remains a genuinely quiet time to travel, but do not expect January emptiness.

Aurora, Ice Caves And Driving

February keeps long dark evenings while the weather windows improve slightly, and it moves toward the equinox period when geomagnetic activity statistically peaks - so it is a reasonable aurora month, though no official Icelandic source ranks months and darkness alone guarantees nothing. Ice caves remain in season; the permitted window in Vatnajökull National Park runs October to April, tightened after a fatal collapse in August 2024, with daily risk assessments and capped group sizes.

Driving is still winter driving: storms, ice and closures, though with a much more usable daylight window by month's end. The highland F-roads remain shut. See winter driving for what the law actually requires on tyres.

Related Guides

Compare with January, quieter and darker, and December for the solstice. The when to visit hub sets the months side by side, and a February evening is a good argument for hot springs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Daylight Does Iceland Get In February?

February is when the light comes back in earnest. Reykjavík starts on 7 hours 5 minutes, sunrise 10:10 and sunset 17:15, and ends the month on 10 hours 2 minutes, sunrise 08:40 and sunset 18:42. That is a gain of almost three hours in twenty-eight days - a pace of about six and a half minutes a day that then holds through March, which, being three days longer, adds slightly more in total. Akureyri is about 25 minutes shorter at the start of the month and only 9 minutes shorter by the end, because the north gains light even faster than the south.

Is February Colder Than January In Iceland?

Marginally, and not enough to plan around. The Reykjavík mean for February is about 0.5 °C against 0.7 °C in January, and Akureyri runs -0.8 °C against -0.5 °C. Interestingly the mean daily maximum is slightly higher in February, so the difference sits in the cold nights rather than the days. What genuinely changes is light: Reykjavík gets 61.6 hours of sunshine in February against 22.6 in January, nearly triple.

What Is The Winter Lights Festival?

Vetrarhátíð is Reykjavík's midwinter festival, and it runs 4 to 7 February in 2027. More than 150 events take place across all six municipalities of the capital area, and they are free. It includes a Light Trail of illuminated buildings and artworks, Safnanótt or Museum Night when museums open late without charge, and Sundlauganótt or Pool Night when swimming pools stay open into the evening with music and lights. The dates for those individual sub-events in 2027 have not yet been published.

What Are Bolludagur, Sprengidagur And Öskudagur?

Three consecutive days before Lent, and the best food week of the Icelandic winter. Bolludagur, Monday 8 February 2027, is Bun Day: bakeries sell cream-filled buns, and children who manage to swat their parents awake with a decorated stick earn one bun per swat. Sprengidagur, the Tuesday, is Bursting Day: salted lamb and split pea soup, eaten to excess. Öskudagur, the Wednesday, is Ash Wednesday, but in Iceland children dress in costume and sing in shops for sweets, so it resembles Halloween more than a fast.

Is February A Good Time For Northern Lights?

It is a workable month with a real advantage over midwinter: you still get long dark evenings, but the weather windows are marginally better and you are moving toward the equinox period when geomagnetic activity statistically peaks. That said, no official Icelandic source ranks months for aurora likelihood, and darkness alone does not produce a display. The practical approach is the same in any winter month: allow several nights, be willing to drive away from cloud, and check the forecast at en.vedur.is each evening.

Is February Busier Than January?

Yes, noticeably. Icelandic Tourist Board figures show 148,657 foreign departures through Keflavík in February 2025 against 121,590 in January, about 22 per cent more, and February was only the fourth-lowest month of the year rather than one of the two quietest. So the common framing of January and February as equally quiet is wrong. February still runs well under half of August volume, but it is not a January-level lull.

Sources

Temperature and precipitation computed from Veðurstofa Íslands monthly station data for Reykjavík and Akureyri, 1991-2020, cross-checked against the Met Office's CLIMAT sheets. Daylight computed with the NOAA sunrise and sunset algorithm. Festival dates from the City of Reykjavík; calendar rules from Almanak Háskóla Íslands and Konudagur history from Vísindavefurinn. Visitor numbers from Ferðamálastofa. Where 2027 event dates are not yet published we say so rather than repeating last year's.

Last updated: 2026-08-12 · Reviewed against official sources.