~~ Iceland megathread ~~

uck51js9zml2yt

Noel Mc12345 wrote: »

Thank you so much. Can i ask how long it took to drive between bifrost,. Fludir, vik and hofn.

I did 1 each night with a days driving, stopping eating etc
Arrived lunchtime in rek and drove to bifrost in a few hours. Great scenery en route.

Budawanny

EverythingGood wrote: »

Just back, was there for a 7 days. Driving is simple and straightforward. Get an SUV type car. 2 days is enough in the capital, get out of the city for a bit longer if you can...its an amazing place. We went all the way to east Iceland, did the whole island.

Westfjords also?

Budawanny

EverythingGood is correct. 2 days on Reykjavik is enough. the beauty of Iceland is out in the country.
If you have an SUV I would recommend driving through the central highlands also. just breathtaking. but to be honest the whole Iceland is gorgeous.
you cant go wrong.

uck51js9zml2yt

I ordered from these. You need full insurance.
https://www.iceland4x4carrental.com/
Found them excellent to deal with.
As above, anywhere is amazing.

EverythingGood

Budawanny wrote: »

Westfjords also?

Yep. Amazing country. Lots of driving in 7 days but well worthy it. Air B&B is a dream also

OffalyMedic

Planning a trip for myself and my boyfriend to Iceland for mid-October. Looking at seeing as much of the island we can in a week or so. Is the following plan realistic or would people recommend spending same time just doing northwest, west and south? Any must see's i've missed or anything on list you wouldnt recommend?

Day 1: The Golden Circle - Thingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall.
Day 2: Chasing waterfalls - Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss Fimmvörðuháls trail. Stay in Vik
Day 3: Black sand beach to Jokulsarlon - Reynisfjara shore Skaftafell National Park and hike to Svartifoss waterfall or visit an ice cave. Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon and find a place to stay in Hofn
Day 4: East Fjords – Drive to Egilsstaði - Northern Lights.
Day 5: Lake Myvatn - Dettifoss. Myvatn, Akureyri,
Day 6: Whale watching - Akureyri . After hit the road again and head to Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Day 7: Snaefellsnes Peninsula – explore then back to Reykjavik

Would do Reykjavik and blue lagoon on either day 1 or day 8 depending on flight times

sydthebeat

OffalyMedic wrote: »

Planning a trip for myself and my boyfriend to Iceland for mid-October. Looking at seeing as much of the island we can in a week or so. Is the following plan realistic or would people recommend spending same time just doing northwest, west and south? Any must see's i've missed or anything on list you wouldnt recommend?

Day 1: The Golden Circle - Thingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall.
Day 2: Chasing waterfalls - Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss Fimmvörðuháls trail. Stay in Vik
Day 3: Black sand beach to Jokulsarlon - Reynisfjara shore Skaftafell National Park and hike to Svartifoss waterfall or visit an ice cave. Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon and find a place to stay in Hofn
Day 4: East Fjords – Drive to Egilsstaði - Northern Lights.
Day 5: Lake Myvatn - Dettifoss. Myvatn, Akureyri,
Day 6: Whale watching - Akureyri . After hit the road again and head to Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Day 7: Snaefellsnes Peninsula – explore then back to Reykjavik

Would do Reykjavik and blue lagoon on either day 1 or day 8 depending on flight times

sounds like a great itinerary.

i take it youll be based in reykjavik at the start?

you could easily take in the black beach as part of day 2... and if your adventurous you could do the walk / hike to Seljavallalaug Pool to say you swam in iceland oldest swiming pool (dont expect luxury, but its well worth it IMHO)

so day 2 could be seljalandsfoss, swimming pool, skogafoss, black beach... vik.

i havent done the east and north of the island yet, but its on the bucket list.

BailMeOut

OffalyMedic wrote: »

Planning a trip for myself and my boyfriend to Iceland for mid-October. Looking at seeing as much of the island we can in a week or so. Is the following plan realistic or would people recommend spending same time just doing northwest, west and south? Any must see's i've missed or anything on list you wouldnt recommend?

Day 1: The Golden Circle - Thingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall.
Day 2: Chasing waterfalls - Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss Fimmvörðuháls trail. Stay in Vik
Day 3: Black sand beach to Jokulsarlon - Reynisfjara shore Skaftafell National Park and hike to Svartifoss waterfall or visit an ice cave. Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon and find a place to stay in Hofn
Day 4: East Fjords – Drive to Egilsstaði - Northern Lights.
Day 5: Lake Myvatn - Dettifoss. Myvatn, Akureyri,
Day 6: Whale watching - Akureyri . After hit the road again and head to Snaefellsnes Peninsula
Day 7: Snaefellsnes Peninsula – explore then back to Reykjavik

Would do Reykjavik and blue lagoon on either day 1 or day 8 depending on flight times

That's a lot of driving. Where are you staying each night?

OffalyMedic

BailMeOut wrote:

That's a lot of driving. Where are you staying each night?

Hoping to get an Airbnb at end off each day (booked in advance). Don't think himself would be up for hiring a campervan for the week

sydthebeat

OffalyMedic wrote: »

Hoping to get an Airbnb at end off each day (booked in advance). Don't think himself would be up for hiring a campervan for the week

jesus i wouldn't want to be driving a campervan in october in some parts of route 1 if you got a blast of snow.....

kearneybobs

When I went in Feb we stayed mostly in Reykjavik for a few nights.
Then went down the south coast to Vik.
Ended up staying in Vik two nights (not a whole lot there) but was a fairly good base to use for a glacier walk, crash plane, black sand beaches and waterfalls over the course of the two days.
We intended to have a fairly lazy/slow paced trip.

Drive down is really easy. Pretty much straight road and about 40 minutes south of Reykjavik we got to a portion of the road that was closed over night due to snow.
Could barely see the markings on the road and was mostly using the lights off the car in front of me to judge where I was.
Other than that section the roads were clear and straight.

Stopped at one of the water falls and the girlfriend slipped on some ice and broke her wrist!
She was initially planning on doing all the driving and ended up forgetting her driving licence so lucky I've had mine for about a year and a half.

If I was going back I would deffo spend least time in Reykjavik as we had spend several nights there at the start and end of the trip.
I'd want to see more of the island and do a round trip over about 2 weeks or so.
That 8 day itinerary is a lot of driving. No idea how long it take to drive around the island.

Nigel Fairservice

This was our itinerary. We did a circuit of the island.

Day 1: Reykjavik (sightseeing)
Day 2: Reykjavik (sightseeing, whale watching)
Day 3: Reykjavik (Blue Lagoon)
Day 4: Borgarnes, Hraunfosser, Deildartunguhver Springs, Akureyri (looked around for a bit and spent the night here).
Day 5: Godafoss, Lake Myvatn (the flies!!!!!), Namaskard Geothermical Site, Dettifoss. Spent the night in Faskrudsfjordur.
Day 6: Jokulsarlon, Svartifoss, Reynisdranger Black Beach (Vik), Skogafoss, Seljandsfoss. Spent the night in Lambafell.
Day 7: Selfoss, Kerid Crator, Gullfoss, Geysir, Thingvellir & Almannagja, Spent the night in Reykjavik.
Day 8: Home

feargale

Day 5: Godafoss, Lake Myvatn (the flies!!!!!)

Midges?

Hammer Archer

OffalyMedic wrote: »

Day 2: Chasing waterfalls - Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss Fimmvörðuháls trail. Stay in Vik

As you're taking in Skogafoss anyway, I'd 100% recommend trekking to Kvernufoss nearby. You can park at Skogar museum (2 minute drive from Skogafoss parking) and it's a max 10 minute walk from there. It's a similar waterfall to Seljalandsfoss but it was completely deserted when we got there (compared with the hundreds of people at Skogafoss). Beautiful waterfall but not many people seem to know about it.

fricatus

Hammer Archer wrote: »

As you're taking in Skogafoss anyway, I'd 100% recommend trekking to Kvernufoss nearby. You can park at Skogar museum (2 minute drive from Skogafoss parking) and it's a max 10 minute walk from there. It's a similar waterfall to Seljalandsfoss but it was completely deserted when we got there (compared with the hundreds of people at Skogafoss). Beautiful waterfall but not many people seem to know about it.

Similarly, when you're at Seljalandsfoss, check out Gljúfrabúi, which is about 200 metres further away from the car park - it's hidden inside a gorge, but you can walk through the shallow stream (or step across the stones) to get in - it's really something.

BelovedAunt

Lads I'm going on a 12 day ring road trip in June and have only booked the first weeks accommodation and no tickets for anything. Is there anything that typically books up months in advance in Iceland?

sydthebeat

BelovedAunt wrote: »

Lads I'm going on a 12 day ring road trip in June and have only booked the first weeks accommodation and no tickets for anything. Is there anything that typically books up months in advance in Iceland?

blue lagoon

acorntoast

Hey Boards,

We're thinking of going on an impulsive trip to Iceland. Reykjavik first and then around the countryside. We haven't booked yet but may do so tonight! If you've done a trip like this before, can you recommend anything?

Thanks!

k123456

Not much to see in Rek, the interesting stuff is in the "countryside" To a certain extent you will see Rek at night, assuming you stay there

We joined and prebooked tours online, most are an early pickup about 0700, at your hotel .

People feel compelled to visit the Blue Lagoon , I have been , very touristy and expensive, apparently a better one is Laugarvatn Fontana..Perhaps book an all day tour of the South Island , which includes Laugarvatn (two hours is enough in any thermal bath).



Northern lights ,,,so so , we spent about four hours at night on a coach tour chasing these . The pictures make these look more impressive , than they are in reality. In summer I assume , a non runner due to 24/7 light

The geysers, glaciers , black beaches, scenery are amazing, We did the South island tour, with a company called Arctic Tours (recommended)

A pint is approx 12 e !

I would guess in the summer , perhaps a few Midges about, so insect repellent needed

Nigel Fairservice

If you're just going for a weekend I would probably just stick with Reykjavik and the Golden Circle.

Sunrise_Sunset

Considering a trip here, family of 4. Kids are still reasonably young; 7 and 5.
We are thinking 4 or 5 days might be enough (for our budget too!).
What are the best things to do with kids there? They are not into long car rides so long tours are out.
We are thinking summertime might be the best, as the temperatures are higher, but that rules out seeing the Northern Lights. This is ok, as it's not a non-negotiable for us, we just want to visit the country and enjoy the culture and sights in general. But the alternative could be to go in early April and us taking turns to go on a Northern Lights tour while the other stays at the airbnb with the kids.
Is car rental is a necessity, even for a short trip like this?
Approximately how much spending money would we need, excluding tours?

Sunrise_Sunset

Also, has anyone done the Golden Circle direct tour? The shorter one with a duration of 6 hours.
I am just wondering about how much of that time is spent on the bus driving and how much is spent sightseeing? Some of us get travel sick so I want gauge if it will be doable for us or not.

rainbowtrout

There are only two ways to get around Iceland. Bus tours or car hire. You can't go anywhere otherwise. Car hire is your best bet, you can go wherever you want and stay as long as you want and stop along the way if something takes your fancy.

Don't know how much the bus tours cost, but with small kids you are probably better off with a car and not being tied to the bus schedule.


There are plenty of outdoor heated swimming pools you could bring your children to, you could also bring them to some of the museums in Reykjavik, whatever you do Iceland is hugely expensive, there's nothing cheap.

Most of the attractions of Iceland are the natural attractions, it's not exactly set up for kids attractions, the country simply doesn't have the population.

firemansam4

OffalyMedic wrote:

Day 1: The Golden Circle - Thingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall. Day 2: Chasing waterfalls - Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss Fimmvörðuháls trail. Stay in Vik Day 3: Black sand beach to Jokulsarlon - Reynisfjara shore Skaftafell National Park and hike to Svartifoss waterfall or visit an ice cave. Jokulsarlon glacial lagoon and find a place to stay in Hofn Day 4: East Fjords – Drive to Egilsstaði - Northern Lights. Day 5: Lake Myvatn - Dettifoss. Myvatn, Akureyri, Day 6: Whale watching - Akureyri . After hit the road again and head to Snaefellsnes Peninsula Day 7: Snaefellsnes Peninsula – explore then back to Reykjavik

Any reason why you have just included northern lights on day 4?

I think if its something that you would like to see when you are out there then you will need to be prepared to go out at short notice on any night you are there.

Aurora activity is very hard to predict and getting clear skies can be quite rare in Iceland.
It depends how high on your list to see them is I guess.

OffalyMedic

firemansam4 wrote:

Any reason why you have just included northern lights on day 4?

No reason really only to have a rough schedule made for the days we are there and with all the things we'd like to see. Will go and see Northern lights when ever we can and keep an eye on auora activity

Noel Mc12345

Sorry Claire, i would not be able to advise regarding family holiday but I would say that I found very reasonably priced accommodation on air BnB and booking.com for three people

firemansam4

OffalyMedic wrote:

No reason really only to have a rough schedule made for the days we are there and with all the things we'd like to see. Will go and see Northern lights when ever we can and keep an eye on auora activity

You probably won't need to travel very far from the places you are staying to see them, just to get away from light pollution.
The smaller displays can be a bit underwhelming compared to pictures you may have seen but if you are lucky enough to see a big display they can be a lot better.

Best of luck with the trip anyway, you will love Iceland, I did the South Coast as far as Hofn by car and loved every bit of it.

uluwatu

So apparently the geyser water is sometimes too hot to bathe in :pac:

BelovedAunt

I'd highly recommend visiting the Snaefellsnes Peninsula for two days if time permitting. I did a 12 day Ring Road trip and it was my favourite part of Iceland.

OffalyMedic

Booked our flights this morning going from the 8th to the 15th of October.

Have spent the rest of the morning trying to organise car hire but with so many horror stories its really stressing me out. Think i'm going to book with thrifty and use AIG car hire excess. Unless of course anyone has any other recommendations?

Our plan is:
Day 1: Fly into Kefalvik Airport @ 13.05, collect rental car, go to blue lagoon, check in to accommodation in Reykjavik.
- Buy Alcohol in the duty free and food in Bonus

Day 2: Explore Reykjavik
- Free Walking Tour – http://citywalk.is and http://www.freewalkingtour.is.

Day 3: Golden Circle to Hella
- Thingvellir National Park (Þingvellir) - Geysir - Gullfoss waterfall - Kerið Creater- Kledur Turf Houses

Day 4: Hella to Hofn
- Seljalandsfoss - Gljúfrafoss- Skogafoss - Black Sand Beach Reynishverfi – Skaftafell glacier – Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon

Day 5: Hofn to Egilsstad
- Hengifoss waterfall - Drive around waterfall or some of eastern fjords

Day 6: Egilsstadt to Akuryri
- Dettifoss waterfall – Selfoss Waterfall – Hverir (Myvatn Nature Baths) – Krafla - Myvatn and Godafoss Waterfall

Day 7: Rest Day in Akuryi before flight to Reykjevik

Day 8: Fly Home

Is this doable in October? Is there any must do activities/ sights we've left out? Any other information at all?