Iceland in August: what tours run

August is July with the dark coming back. The Highlands stay open, whales are on every day, and the puffin season ends in the second half of the month. By the last week the first northern lights tours restart. It is the best month for combining the Highlands with a night under the sky, and it is a bit less crowded than July.

What the calendars show

We hold the booking calendars for every tour we sell, so we counted. These are operators’ published dates and they can move, but they show the shape.

About 87 Highland-related tours show dates on 15 August, almost the same as July. Puffin tours drop from about 30 in mid-August to about 12 by the 31st. Northern lights listings rise from 38 in mid-August to 50 at the end of the month, then jump to about 115 by mid-September. Whale tours stay at about 80 all month.

The Highlands

The mountain roads are at their most reliable in August. Gravel Travel’s Kerlingarfjöll Small Group Hiking Tour from €337 is a twelve-hour 4x4 day with a hike through the geothermal valley, and Arctic Adventures sells a cheaper hiking day trip to Landmannalaugar instead, the Landmannalaugar Guided Hike & Hot Springs, from €191 for 14 hours with a four-hour hike and a soak. Midgard’s Þórsmörk Super Jeep from €285 is the shorter option at seven hours, leaving from Hvolsvöllur.

The shared Highland day tours show their last dates on 30 September in our calendars, so August is not a deadline. If you are choosing between them, pick by walking appetite. The Þórsmörk trip is mostly driving and short walks. The Kerlingarfjöll and Landmannalaugar hikes are for people who like a long day on their feet. The downside of every one is the price of the day and the road. You will be bounced about.

Puffins: go in the first half

Puffins start leaving in mid-August. Iceland Discover’s Puffin Tour by RIB Speedboat from €80 is a one-hour sail from the Old Harbour, and in our calendar its last date is 20 August. Elding’s puffin tour stops a few days earlier. After that, the few puffin listings left are mostly combined with whale trips. Don’t count on seeing birds in the last week of the month, and nobody can promise numbers earlier either.

Whales

Whale watching carries on from Reykjavík and Akureyri at its normal pace. If you only want one boat trip, read our guide to RIB or yacht before choosing. The bay is the same all summer, so August is as good as July.

The first dark nights

By late August the sky is dark enough for aurora in principle, but it needs a clear night and solar activity, and nobody can promise either. Our calendar shows the first super jeep tour, Arctic Adventures’ Northern Lights Explorer from €190, restarting on 24 August. Boat cruises such as Sea Trips Reykjavík’s Northern Lights by Boat from €88 show their first date on 1 September.

Our advice is to treat any August lights tour as a bonus on a trip that works without it. Late August nights are short and the sky is often still pale. Early to mid-September is the better bet.

Glaciers and ice caves

Glacier hikes are good in August. Natural ice caves are still closed because of summer melt. The caves that show dates are the tunnel on Langjökull and man-made ones, so book the glacier walk on its own merits.

What it costs

August prices sit close to July’s. Book the Highlands and any glacier day first, because small-group tours sell out. Accommodation in the south and north is at its peak.

Our honest take

August is the month we would choose if the Highlands matter and you also want a chance at the lights. Pick early August for puffins and late August for dark skies; you can’t have both at full strength. Book one Highland day and one boat first. Then leave a gap or two for weather, since a summer storm can still cancel a coastal trip. If the lights are your priority, go in September.