A total solar eclipse crosses Iceland on August 12, 2026 — the first since 1954. Real totality times and durations for 20+ towns, an interactive path map, and sky-direction diagrams to help you plan.
All times are UT, which equals local Icelandic time (Iceland does not observe DST). Click any row to see it on the map above.
| Town | Region | Totality starts | Duration |
|---|
Most of Iceland sees a very deep partial eclipse even outside the path of totality — but only inside the path does the sky actually go dark.
Drive times to the path
A once-in-generations event
This is Iceland's first total solar eclipse since June 30, 1954, and Reykjavík's first since the year 1433. The next total eclipse over Iceland isn't until June 26, 2196 — and Reykjavík won't see another until 2245.
The shadow moves fast
The Moon's umbra races across Iceland at roughly 3,400 km/h, sweeping from Hornstrandir in the north to the Reykjanes peninsula in under 7 minutes total.
What else you'll see
During totality, expect Venus to the southwest, Jupiter and Mercury low in the west, and possibly Mars to the northwest. The stars Regulus and Castor/Pollux flank the eclipsed Sun, with the Big Dipper overhead.
Weather odds
Based on long-run August cloud statistics, a fixed spot has roughly a 1-in-4 chance of clear or partly-clear skies around 18:00 UT. Staying mobile and chasing clear breaks along the path can meaningfully improve your odds — some estimates put it near 50/50.
The partial eclipse begins around 16:47 UT. Totality first touches Iceland at Straumnes Lighthouse at 17:43:28 UT, reaches Reykjavík around 17:48 UT, and makes its last landfall at Reykjanestá at 17:50:07 UT. The partial eclipse ends around 18:47 UT. Iceland uses UT year-round, so these are also local clock times.
Yes, just barely — downtown Reykjavík gets about 1 minute of totality, with the Sun roughly 24.5° above the western horizon. It's the first total eclipse visible from the capital since 1433, so expect it to be busy.
Látrabjarg in the Westfjords gets about 2 minutes 13 seconds — the longest on the Icelandic mainland. Snæfellsnes towns like Hellissandur (2m07s), Svöðufoss (2m06s), and Ólafsvík (2m05s) are nearly as long and considerably easier to reach from Reykjavík.
The named-town durations and times come from published path calculations for this specific eclipse and are treated as confirmed. The map's shaded corridor and the "use my location" tool use a simplified geometric model to estimate totality at arbitrary points, and should be treated as an approximate guide rather than a guarantee — especially near the path's edges.
Iceland's weather is famously changeable, which cuts both ways. Long-run August statistics suggest roughly a 1-in-4 chance of clear skies at any fixed spot at eclipse time — but the path crosses very different microclimates in a short distance, so travelers who stay flexible and are willing to relocate a short drive on the morning of the 12th tend to have meaningfully better odds.
Not until June 26, 2196. This truly is a once-in-several-lifetimes event for the country.