Are We Crazy to Be Considering Either Iceland or The Hebrides in October?

I went to Iceland in late October (25th-31st). I stayed in Reykjavik and did several day trips from there (Golden Circle, South Coast, Northern Lights excursion). Pros: not as busy (but still bustling at tourist spots), saw the northern lights several times. Cons: short daylight hours (sunrise at 9 a.m. was weird!) and it was quite cold and windy (but tolerable). Enjoyed my visit and I would totally go at that time of year again.

Have you thought about where in the Hebrides you'd like to go? They're both very different places, although they both will have not-so-great weather at that time.

I think that Iceland would offer more reliable winter activities (like ice caves and the Northern Lights). And I also think their days are a teeny bit longer than northern Scotland at that time of year.

The big issue with the Hebrides would not be the temperature, as it would probably be warmer than Iceland, but you would definitely have rain issues. And when it's stormy, the ferries don't run, and you could be stuck someplace. Plus, I'm not sure how many day tours they would be doing in Scotland at that time of year. Most of their business is during the summer, so a lot of them may shut down after September. Iceland, on the other hand, is prepared for visitors most of the year, and I don't think they shut down much for weather unless it's just impassable.

Based on all of the above, I think my vote would probably be for Iceland. You could stay in Reykjavik and definitely do some day tours from there. I love Iceland and I also love Scotland (and have been to both), so it would be a hard choice, but I think I would go with Iceland in this case.

EDIT: One other thing that occurred to me. I love Scotland, but that time of year when it gets gray and rainy, the scenery is not nearly as nice as it is other times of the year. However, Iceland's scenery is so unique and diverse that I think you would really enjoy it even during bad weather. 😊

Also, I'm sure mikliz97 will chime in here at some point, and she has been to Iceland more than anyone else on this forum, so I'm sure she would have some answers for you.

We did a brief Iceland road trip in 2023, driving along the south coast as far as the iceberg lagoon. This route included two waterfalls and the black sand beach. It wasn't October, so I don't know about ice conditions. The drive was not difficult.

We have also been to Harris /Lewis which is beautiful, but not sure about rain then. How about Orkney instead - not as rainy and the ferry ride from Thruso is beautiful.

We have visited Nova Scotia / Cape Breton Island in October. It was chilly but sunny and lots of tree color. Highly recommend that as an October destination if you have never visited there.

October days will be shorter in Iceland. It’s after the fall equinox, so the further north you are, the less daylight, and Iceland is much further north than Scotland. I’ve been to Iceland in October although just for a few days. The weather was clear, which it certainly isn’t always (regardless of time of year) but getting cold.

have you checked just how long, difficult and expensive the journey from Toronto to any of the Hedbrides is?? Which leads to the second question - which one were you thinking of?

As for the weather being iffy in October, it's not even been that good during the so called UK heatwave crisis! I'm intrigued about which programme you saw....

October days will be shorter in Iceland.

Actually, I just checked, and they're just about equal. Scotland might have the edge a little bit, but maybe five or ten minutes at the most.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

We grew up at 53.6 degrees latitude, so short days in fall/winter are in our DNA, as is cold. Rain? Not so much, and I'd be more put off by days of heavy rain than anything else.

Cynthia, I have been to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. (Halifax is one of my very favourite cities.) We've been to nearly every region of Canada, except for the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Newfoundland/Labrador. (I really do want to go to Newfoundland soon, but I'd rather go in late spring to see the icebergs.)

As for where in the Hebrides, I thought I'd base that on what was most accessible that time of year. I assume that would mean someplace in the Inner Hebrides.

The program we saw was "Designing the Hebrides," with Banjo Beale (whom we first saw, and liked, on Interior Design Masters).

Anyway, thanks again. It sounds like Iceland is our better bet. I was kind of thinking that. It would be easier to get to and a shorter trip, also.

The further north place will always have a shorter day, in the northern hemisphere, at any time between the fall and spring equinoxes. But you’re right that at the time considered for the trip it’s not a very big difference because it’s not long after the fall equinox: on October 10, Reykjavik has 10 hours 24 minutes of daylight, Edinburgh 10 hours 51 minutes; nearly half an hour, but not the deciding factor on which to choose which to visit, I would think.

Not what you asked for, but have you considered the Azores? There are direct flights from Toronto and it would be closer than Europe. On my list to do one day.

You know, I did think about the Azores, but I kind of forgot about that. I should look into that option.

Banjo's design programmes aren't really enough to plan a trip on. Spend the winter trying to find Alan Cummings' "Edge of Scotland" or the NBC re-edit "First Look on the Hebrides". He'll really get you inspired - and show what logistics are involved!

From Toronto Westjet fly to Glasgow, seasonally, until Canadian Thanksgiving, also Air Transat fly all year.

The point about Glasgow is that Loganair then fly on to the 3 airports in the Outer Hebrides, from Glasgow- Barra, Benbecula and Stornoway. Barra, of course, has the unique beach landing.

The winter ferry timetable starts a week after Canadian Thanksgiving, on 19 October 2026- when routes become much less frequent (regardless of the weather) so you would really want to do the Outer Hebs (even if driving) before Thanksgiving, not after.

So if you arrived Glasgow on Day 1, then flew out to Barra on Day 2 that would be a good start. You can certainly explore the islands of Barra and Vatersay quite easily by public transport. Then there is the little ferry over from Barra to Eriskay, which has an integrated and surprisingly good bus service to take you up through the Uists as far as the little ferry over to the Isle of Harris.
That ferry is a tidal service, but the adjusted times (when applicable are known months in advance.

The spine road bus service links up at Leverburgh with that ferry (depending on the tidal ferry timings) to take you on to Stornoway.

Places like Calanais and the Arnol Blackhouse are open all year (but check their times), and Arnol offers a 25% discount for those who arrive on the W2 bus.
You can certainly get around Lewis and Harris by bus although of all the Outer Hebrides that is where the services are least frequent (off the spine road) and certainly needs planning.

It is possible to rent a car from local companies- either as a one way rental from Barra or Benbecula to Stornoway (with a hefty one way fee), or just on Lewis (Stornoway to Stornoway).

At that time of year especially, if you rent a car locally or are on public transport, then you are very agile when trying to get back to the mainland for flights home, as you will always be able to get foot passenger space on any available ferry to any available port, as opposed to trying to get car space, or indeed on any available flight- even if that means going to Inverness.

If you have a mainland car then you can be struggling to find an available car space, and certainly can't fly out!

I'm purely dealing with the logistics, not making any value judgement between Iceland and Scotland.

I am of no help at all with the Hebrides, but we have been to Iceland many times.

Two of our trips have been in late October and that is actually my favorite time of year there. The northern lights are usually really good during that month. There was an accident at an ice cave a couple years ago and one person was killed, so now they typically do not start the tours back up until Nov 1st, although Katla is open year round due to the nature of it. Glacier hikes are area round and a lot of fun. Especially this time of year if you do an afternoon tour as it is stunning to be up on the glacier when the sun sets and reflects off the ice. Jokulsarlon zodiac boat rides go through the end of October and are a lot of fun!

If you have solid winter driving experience, that is great, but even with that the weather in Iceland can really throw you, literally. It can and does blow vehicles off the road. We almost had that happen last August, but thankfully my husband had a firm grip on the wheel and somehow managed to keep us on the road. For October trips, if you have the winter driving experience and want to drive, that is what I would do. That said, any time of year in Iceland you need to check the weather/road forecast multiple times a day as it changes on a dime.

As you and others have said, you could base in Reykjavik and do day tours, but you might also consider a multi day tour which would cut down on wasted time with backtracking each day.

Not knowing exactly how many full days, not counting travel, it is hard to make a more specific suggestion. But if 4 days includes day of arrival and departures, then you could do a 2 day tour (day 2 and 3) up the south coast. If you have 4 days not including travel, I would add in Snaefellsness.

Day of arrival in Reykjavik is always good, IME. Land, get into town and wander in the fresh air and just take it all in. There are "free" walking tours that are a great into to the country, and great food tours as well that are especially nice on days of arrival. We have done both of those several times.

I'm appreciating all the feedback and info. Thank you.

me.crewe, of course we aren't planning our trip around a design program. That was simply the inspiration for us to consider the Hebrides. I appreciate your suggestions of other programs we should watch.

isn31c Thanks so much for the detailed information.

mikliz97 We would have a week--probably 6 days, after removing arrival/departure travel, so a multi-day tour would definitely be an option. Thanks.

The Hebrides are an all year round destination IMO - we have had many trips over the years to both the Inner and Outer Hebrides including the winter months of December/January.Weather is a lottery in Iceland and the Hebrides at any time of year though less severe in the latter overall.The issue as said with the islands are the ferries which have had a poor few years given the ageing fleet.That said, we’ve not personally suffered any particular problems - most run as normal all year round.

Mull is good in that you always have the option of taking the little Corran ferry south of Fort William , over to Ardgour and then driving for 45 mins or so (mostly single track) over to Lochaline for the 20 mins or so crossing to Fishnish on Mull. Neither of these ferries are prone to issues and are generally not affected by weather either given the crossings are so short.

It was Mull (Ulva specifically) that the programme was set, from the description.It’s a glorious, beautiful island at any time of year.Lovely colours in October and plenty still open.There is a school holiday week (sometimes 2 weeks) in mid October so things are still on the go, so to speak.

Iceland is a wonderful destination which I’ve enjoyed over two trips.If you can get down to the Ice Beach at Jokulsarlon, the drive itself offers is great scenery.I can’t say I was overly impressed in general with the Golden Circle scenery apart from the superb Gulfoss waterfall.The Strokkur geyser was great fun to watch.
Even getting up north and west out to the Snaefellsnes peninsula will give you a better taste of true Iceland grandeur than the Golden Circle.

Tough choice, though nice problem to have!

That is good that you have 6 days!

For tours, whether multi day or just day excursions, we have had great experiences with Troll (a handful of times), Bus Travel Iceland and NiceTravel. We did have one tour booked with Arctic Adventures, but it was cancelled due to weather. I will say they were great with communication as well as the refund.

Multi day tours are not cheap, so if you are up for driving yourself you will save a lot of money if you plan ahead and book things as far in advance as possible.

For aurora tours, we love Aurora Experts. He is so good and ethical, so he won't take you out if the odds are not good. He doesn't want to waste your time or money. He does offer a second chance. But also, he has warm winter jumpsuits to use if you get cold, has chairs, does not follow the masses so you are not in a field with hundreds of new best friends, has the typical cocoa and Icelandic snacks. He also takes your photo and some of just the aurora and will email them to you a few days after the tour, at no extra cost and you can do anything with them that you want to.

Thanks for the great info, scotlandmac and mikliz97.