Published November 2026 · Last updated: November 2026
November in Iceland is dark, wet and quiet: Reykjavík goes from 8 hours of daylight on 1 November to about 5 hours by the 30th, and the city's 1991–2020 average temperature for the month is 2.2 °C. The things worth doing are the ones that suit those conditions: northern lights on clear nights, glacier ice caves once the guided season opens, Iceland Airwaves (5–7 November 2026), geothermal pools, and Reykjavík's indoor culture on stormy days. In Reykjavík, Volcano Express at Harpa is open daily 10:00–20:00 with shows starting every 15 minutes, which makes it an easy fit for the long November evenings.
What November is actually like
The defining fact is the speed of the change: daylight in Reykjavík falls by 38–45 minutes a week through November, and the losses only level off at the December solstice. We computed the figures week by week, because "short days" doesn't help you plan a week.
Daylight lost per week in Reykjavík, November 2026 (computed, method below the table)
| Week | Daylight at start | Daylight at end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 → 8 Nov | 8 h 00 min | 7 h 15 min | −45 min |
| 8 → 15 Nov | 7 h 15 min | 6 h 31 min | −44 min |
| 15 → 22 Nov | 6 h 31 min | 5 h 49 min | −42 min |
| 22 → 29 Nov | 5 h 49 min | 5 h 11 min | −38 min |
Sunrise and sunset, Reykjavík and Akureyri
| Date | Reykjavík sunrise | Reykjavík sunset | Reykjavík daylight | Akureyri sunrise | Akureyri sunset | Akureyri daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov | 09:11 | 17:11 | 8 h 00 min | 09:05 | 16:45 | 7 h 40 min |
| 15 Nov | 09:56 | 16:27 | 6 h 31 min | 09:56 | 15:57 | 6 h 01 min |
| 30 Nov | 10:43 | 15:49 | 5 h 06 min | 10:50 | 15:11 | 4 h 21 min |
Method: NOAA solar-position equations, sun's upper limb on a flat horizon (−0.833° with refraction), Iceland time = UTC all year, Reykjavík 64.147° N 21.943° W, Akureyri 65.684° N 18.111° W. Other almanacs may differ by a minute because of rounding. Akureyri sits in a fjord, so mountains hide the sun for longer than the table shows.
Two details follow from the table. From 17 November, the sun rises after 10:00 in Reykjavík, so attractions that open at 10:00 open before sunrise until early February. And civil twilight adds roughly 50–70 minutes of usable light either side of sunrise and sunset, so the 6.5-hour day of mid-November gives about 8.5 hours in which you can walk or drive without a headlamp (computed, sun less than 6° below the horizon).
Weather: 1991–2020 averages for November (Veðurstofa Íslands)
| Reykjavík | Akureyri | |
|---|---|---|
| Mean temperature | 2.2 °C | 0.6 °C |
| Mean daily high / low | 4.6 °C / −0.1 °C | 3.6 °C / −2.1 °C |
| Precipitation | 87 mm | 68 mm |
| Sunshine | 40 hours | 15 hours |
| Mean wind | 4.9 m/s | 3.6 m/s |
Computed as the mean of the 30 November values, 1991–2020, in the Met Office's published monthly station files (Reykjavík station 1, Akureyri station 422).
Read it as: around freezing at night, wet (87 mm of precipitation in an average Reykjavík November), colder, drier and calmer in Akureyri, and wind as the factor most likely to change your plans.
What runs in November
- Northern lights. Reykjavík has about 10.5 to 12.5 hours of full astronomical darkness a night in November (computed, sun more than 18° below the horizon), so darkness is not the limit; cloud is. Use the Icelandic Met Office aurora forecast on en.vedur.is, which pairs a cloud-cover map with a 0–9 activity scale. Our KP index guide explains how to read it, and our 2026–2027 northern lights forecast lists viewing spots near the city.
- Ice caves. Natural ice caves in Vatnajökull are deep winter-only and guided-only. Visit Vatnajökull describes them as accessible "from November and usually throughout March," depending on weather. Tours mostly leave from the Jökulsárlón area, a long day from Reykjavík, so check your operator's first departure of the 2026–27 season before you book.
- Whale watching. Elding lists its Reykjavík Classic Whale Watching season as 1 January to 31 December, 2–3.5 hours, adults 14,500 ISK (checked 6 November 2026). Winter sailings are more often canceled for wind, so build in a spare day.
- Iceland Airwaves. The official program runs 5–7 November 2026 across downtown Reykjavík venues, with special events on 4, 5 and 8 November, including two concerts in Harpa's Eldborg hall (5 and 8 November). Tickets and the schedule are on icelandairwaves.is.
- Icelandic Language Day is 16 November (a Monday in 2026), with readings and events in schools and libraries.
- The start of Christmas. Advent begins on Sunday 29 November 2026. In 2025 Reykjavík lit the Oslo Christmas tree on Austurvöllur on the first Sunday of Advent at 16:00, and the Austurvöllur Christmas market opened the day before. The 2026 dates had not been published on reykjavik.is on 6 November 2026.
What closes or changes
- F-roads (highland roads) are closed. The Road and Coastal Administration says the highland part of the road network is closed in winter, and Safetravel describes the highlands as impassable in winter except for a modified vehicle. Highland trips in winter are for specialist super-jeep tours only.
- The Norröna ferry stops calling at Iceland. Smyril Line lists Seyðisfjörður check-in on Thursdays from 10 September to 19 November, and there are no Iceland sailings over the winter until the spring timetable starts. If you are driving your own car, plan to leave before the last November sailing and confirm the date on smyrilline.com.
- Studded tires are allowed from 1 November (Reykjavík city information; they must come off after 15 April). If you rent, ask whether your car's winter tires are studded.
- Daylight driving. By late November, a five-hour day leaves no slack on long drives. Plan to be at your night's stop by sunset.
Road and storm guidance
Iceland's weather changes faster than forecasts in November. Before any drive outside the capital:
- Check umferdin.is, the Road Administration's live road map, or call 1777.
- Check the en.vedur.is forecast and warnings. Do not start a long drive into an area under an orange or red warning.
- Check safetravel.is for alerts, and leave a travel plan there if you are hiking or driving remote roads.
- In an emergency, call 112.
Roads can close at short notice in storms, and a clear road in the morning does not mean a clear road at 15:00. Safetravel's winter-driving page warns that wind and drifting snow can make driving dangerous even when the roads seem clear.
If the weather turns
Wind is what cancels November plans: whale watching, glacier walks and aurora tours all get called off. Reykjavík has a deep indoor bench, and you can fill a rained-out day without leaving the center.
- Volcano Express, Harpa. A motion-seat flight built from real eruption footage filmed at Fagradalsfjall and elsewhere on the Reykjanes peninsula from 2021 to 2024, with the motion of earthquakes, the feeling of flight and freefall, and the heat of lava. Before the flight, the pre-show area has a screen showing the Reykjanes eruption sites (with a live feed whenever an eruption is under way), a story map of 247 recorded eruptions, and a 48-hour earthquake monitor. It is open daily 10:00–20:00 with shows starting every 15 minutes, and a visit takes up to 45 minutes in total, including a 10-minute flight. Adults pay 3,990 ISK and children aged 4–12 pay 2,990 ISK; the ride requires a minimum age of 4 and a minimum height of 100 cm, and under-12s must be with someone aged 18 or over. Walk-ins are welcome, with tickets at the door or online. On 15 November the sun sets at 16:27, and a show starts every 15 minutes, so the dark hours between 16:30 and 19:30 alone hold more than a dozen show starts. Harpa is step-free throughout, and Volcano Express on Floor K2 is a 5-minute walk from Lækjartorg.
- Geothermal pools. Bad weather is pool weather in Iceland, and the outdoor hot tubs usually stay open in wind and sleet. Check each pool's hours on reykjavik.is.
- Museums and Harpa. The National Museum, the Reykjavík Art Museum, and Harpa's concert program run regardless of the weather. See what's on at Harpa.
For a full fallback list, see Canceled tour? Last-minute plans in Reykjavík and the Reykjavík indoor guide. For the city side of the season, see what to do in Reykjavík in the fall and the best things to do in Reykjavík in winter.
A November day that works
- 09:00–10:00: breakfast in the dark. In late November, start with an indoor stop such as Volcano Express at 10:00, before the sun is up.
- 10:30–15:30: the daylight block. Use it for the outdoors: the Golden Circle, the Reykjanes coast, or the waterfront walk to Sun Voyager.
- 16:00–18:00: a pool or lagoon at dusk.
- 21:00 onwards: check the cloud map and drive somewhere dark for the aurora if it is clear.
The next month gets darker still. See Reykjavík in December: a one-day itinerary for a day built around four hours of light.
