Iceland in June.

Midnight sun, National Day, the highlands opening, and the country at its busiest and brightest.

Straight from the app. Get Icebreaker for the live version: tonight's aurora, the weather where you are, and what's open.

June is peak everything except aurora. The sun dips below the horizon for two hours around the solstice and never leaves an orange twilight; you can hike, drive or sit in a hot spring at midnight in daylight. The F-roads into the highlands start opening one by one as the snow lets them. National Day on 17 June fills Reykjavík with balloons, brass bands and one girl dressed as the mountain. Book everything ahead; you are not the only one who read this.

Light and weather

Daylight: 20 to 21 hours, and it never gets properly dark; sunrise around 03:00, sunset just after midnight at the solstice. Northern lights: No: the sky never gets dark enough.

High: 13 °C
Low: 7 °C
Rain and snow: 43 mm
Sunshine: 190 hours
Wind: 3.8 m/s
Daylight: 20 to 21 hours, and it never gets properly dark

Reykjavík averages, 1991–2020 (Veðurstofan)

What's on in June

Sjómannadagurinn, Seamen's Day, first Sunday of June: harbour festivals in every fishing town, and Hátíð hafsins in Reykjavík.
17 June, National Day: parades, concerts and the Fjallkona, the Lady of the Mountain, reciting a poem at Austurvöllur. Shops closed, bars not.
Summer solstice, 21 June: the longest day; Grímsey and the north get the full midnight sun.

What's open, what's closed

Everything. F-roads open through the month, Kjölur first, Sprengisandur and Landmannalaugar later; Vegagerðin publishes the dates. Whale watching at its most active. All countryside restaurants, campsites and museums open.

What to do

What to pack

Layers, shell, sunglasses, eye mask. Summer tops out around 13 °C on average; a warm June day is 18.

Prices and crowds

High. The most expensive month with July; book three months ahead for hotels and the popular tours.

Verdict

The Iceland of the photographs. Bring money and an eye mask.