I grew up in Iceland and I can tell you that New years is the time I miss the most of all. It is true that transportation might be a little tricky for you because of weather, but as far as I have been told that time of year has become popular as a tourist time so maybe Icelanders have done something about transportation and functions for tourists. Granted, you will not be able to mountain bike around the country during winter as you would in the summer but you should be able to travel a little bit close to the "city".
What I miss most is the people spirit during that time. Icelanders are extremely joyous (sp?) at that time and you will not find a block of street that does not have neighbors united in their joy, celebration and lighting up the sky with fire works. It is a little out of hand :) but absolutely not to be missed. The weather will be cold so dress well, take money with you as things tend to be a bit spendy. This is in my humble opinion the best time to get to know Icelanders and not "just be a tourist". Have fun... and keep us posted about your trip... :) Oh... and don't forget to go swimming in one of the out door pools. Hopefully it will snow while you there and you should pick a snowy day to go swimming. You'll see why I recomend this when you experience it.

I live in Iceland, and I can promise you that Reykjavík is Magnificent during the new Years, I strongly urge you to com and see the fireworks and maybe travel somthing around Iceland afterwards to see some snow and real Icelandic weather.
The last 2 years have sufferd to god weather, so there is hardly any snow in the capital during new years, althoug its cold.

If you want any further info. just contackt me at frimann@internet.is and I will help you inn all that I can.

hi, it get´s dark at around 5 p.m. and brighter around 10-11 a.m. in the morning. in the summer it never gets dark for almost 3 months, a little freaky but you can stand it if you have good curtains. The air is clean compared to other countries and out of reykjavik it get´s really clean. some foreigners have not been exactly complaining but they the the warm water smells like eggs, i wouldn´t notice i´ve gotten used to it, but you can drink from the fossit the cold water it is so clean. every year icelanders party like they have never done it before, and that is 31.st of december. they spen more money on fireworks than the fine food they eat that evening. then everybody start blowing them up like crazy on the stroke of midnight and i understand that, it´s not so common around the world. then everybody goes downtown to party and walk between bars and clubs. Beware the inner viking get´s out at that point and if you´re not used to see women drink like they´re 2 meters bigger and 100 kilos heavier then you´re going to be surprised. The bus system just changed and i hate it because i don´t have a car nor a limousine to drive me around. The bus fare is 220 icelandic kronur. so i recommend that you buy tickets or the green card,that lasts for a month for 4500 kr. or just rent a car, because in week days the bus stops at 23:00. Very stupid. everything is rather expensive here the food (shop in Bonus or Kronan,cheapest), the clothes, especially designer clothes and believe it or not 2nd hand clothes are just as expensive as new ones (label) unless you go to the salvation army or the red cross, instead of going some tourist trips, that are probable not cheap, go to artgalleries and openings, there is a lot of that going on and also in the icelandic music industry, little/big concerts even in bars/pubs if you like the music that is not very known or underground then go to 12 tonar (music shop), and if you´re in the electro music go to Þruman (Thruman) the owner can probable find what you want and tell where and when some dj´s are playing. there are a lot of nice coffee houses that have very good coffe like Kaffibrennslan. The hottest places to party are Kaffibarinn, Sirkus (björk´s favourite) and Oliver (where the "elite" goes, sometimes, not my style). Nasa is rather popular too, sometimes with concerts. The most popular icelandic music is Sigurros, gusgus, Minus e.c. and so many in every aspect just ask. it is rather cold here now so dress well, and be prepared to have a wild time...Have fun! :)

Hi, I'm dragging up an old thread here -- I'm planning a late-autumn trip (Sept or Oct 2007 - it's going to take me a while to save enough money, heh) and am have also heard that parks etc are closed after the peak summer tourist season. If I rent a car as is my plan, I expect that I can still find places where I can camp/trek in late autumn?

If you can, get to some of the smaller towns and participate in one of the bonfires. I recommend Taxis or the charter busses for ground transortation, they're pricy but he drivers really know how to handle the roads.