40 minNew Volcanic Area
★ 4.8 · 569 reviews
- Reykjanes lava fields
- Fagradalsfjall craters
- No landing
- Free cancellation
$528
Check availability→ October to March
Iceland helicopter tour in winter
Winter gives you the best version of this landscape and the worst odds of seeing it. Four to five hours of usable daylight, frequent cancellations, and snow on black lava that photographs better than anything the summer offers. Here is how to book around it.
Do helicopter tours run in Iceland in winter?
Yes, all six run year-round. What changes is daylight and reliability. In December the usable window is roughly 11:00 to 15:30, so there are far fewer slots, and weather cancellations become common enough that you should assume one will happen. Prices do not drop — fares here are broadly stable through the year.
Winter flying at a glance
- Do tours run?
- Yes, all yearAll six tours operate through the winter
- Usable daylight in December
- Roughly 11:00 – 15:30Four to five hours, which is the real constraint
- Cancellations
- CommonWind, cloud base and visibility all have hard limits
- Price change
- Essentially noneFares are stable; availability is what changes
- Best winter view
- Fresh snow on black lavaThe highest-contrast version of this landscape
- Highland access
- Helicopter onlyThe F-roads to Landmannalaugar are closed
- Northern lights by helicopter
- Not sold hereThese are daytime scenic tours
- What to wear
- Serious layers if the tour landsIce or open ground in an Icelandic winter wind
Why winter is the best-looking season
Black lava under fresh snow is the single highest-contrast thing this landscape does. The snow settles in the hollows and blows off the ridges, so the flow structures that are hard to read in summer — the folds, the collapsed tubes, the edges of each field — get outlined in white. From the air it stops looking like rough dark ground and starts looking like a drawing.
The light helps too. In winter the sun never gets high, so you fly in the kind of low raking light that summer only gives you at the very start and end of the day. The whole flight is golden hour, if the cloud allows.
The highlands close by road entirely, which makes the Landmannalaugar tour the only way into that country between roughly October and June. The rhyolite colours under snow are a different thing again.
How to book around the weather
- Book the first slot of your first full day. If it cancels, there is somewhere to move it to. This is the single most useful thing on this page.
- Assume one cancellation. Plan the trip so that losing the flight on any given day is annoying rather than final.
- Ask about rescheduling, not refunds. A refund gets your money back and leaves you without the flight. Most operators will move you if there is a slot.
- Watch the wind, not the temperature. Cold does not stop helicopters. Wind and low cloud do.
- Take the shorter tour if your window is tight. A forty-minute flight has more slots in the day than a three-hour one.
- Do not book the last afternoon. In winter this is close to booking nothing.
Every tour, current fare
Which tour suits a short winter day
Shorter tours fit more easily into four to five hours of daylight, and have more slots to be moved into.
Swipe sideways →
| Tour | Price | Door to door | Landings | Per minute | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fagradalsfjall Eruption | $554 | 35 min | None | $15.83 | 5.0 · 5 |
| New Volcanic Area | $528 | 40 min | None | $13.20 | 4.8 · 569 |
| Hengill with Landing | $578 | 1 h | One | $9.63 | 4.4 · 12 |
| Fire and Ice, 2 Landings | $910 | 2 h | Two | $7.58 | 4.8 · 155 |
Book direct
Book a winter flight
All tours run year-round. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
40 min
1 hHengill with Landing
★ 4.4 · 12 reviews
- Lands on a geothermal ridge
- Steam vents up close
- One hour door to door
- Free cancellation
$578
Check availability→ 
2 hFire and Ice, 2 Landings
★ 4.8 · 155 reviews
- Glacier landing
- Hengill geothermal landing
- Two hours door to door
- Free cancellation
$910
Check availability→ Common questions
Winter helicopter tours in Iceland, answered
Do Reykjavik helicopter tours run in winter?
Yes, all six run year-round. The constraint is daylight — in December the usable window is roughly 11:00 to 15:30 — and weather cancellations, which are common enough that you should plan for one.
Are helicopter tours cheaper in Icelandic winter?
No. Fares are broadly stable through the year and last-minute seats are not discounted. What changes is availability: there are far fewer slots in a four-hour daylight window.
Is winter a good time to fly over the lava fields?
Visually it is the best time. Fresh snow settles in the hollows and blows off the ridges, so the shape of each lava flow gets outlined in white, and the sun stays low all day rather than for one hour.
What happens if my winter flight is cancelled?
A weather cancellation by the operator means a full refund or a free reschedule. This is why the flight belongs on your first full day rather than your last — a refund on the final afternoon leaves you without the flight.
Can you see the northern lights on a helicopter tour?
Not on these tours. All six are daytime scenic flights over the volcanic area, the glaciers or the highlands. Northern lights trips are sold separately, mostly as bus or boat tours.
Can you reach Landmannalaugar in winter?
Only by air. The F-roads into the highlands are closed from roughly October to June, which makes the helicopter tour the only practical way in during the winter months.
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