In 2019 H and I traveled for the first time with another couple - a 4 night, 5 day trip to London to see the Philadelphia Eagles play overseas. It was all a bit of a whim, and we had a great time and found this was a good length of time to travel with these friends. When travel is safe again, we would like to do another short trip together and have settled on Iceland as do-able, and a place that would be fun explored together but that otherwise we would probably never get to. We haven’t done any research yet, but with light at the end of the Covid tunnel, we want to start putting this trip on our radar. And now is a great time to dream of fun things ahead! So - looking for recommendations as to time of year, and how much to do (or not do) in 3-4 days. If you have been, what are your highlights and recommendations??
When are you thinking of doing this? We would love to go in Feb, but afaik, Iceland is still off limits.
Regardless, I recommend avoiding summer. It’s soooo expensive then and overrun. From the videos I’ve seen, avoid the blue lagoon at peak hours if you do go in the summer.
Replying on this thread to make it easier to see responses. Iceland is on our list of possibilities as well for May/June 2021 if it’s open.
Took the Girl Scouts several years ago. It was great. And I recommend the late Summer. There are very few toursist once you get outside the tourist traps. We went in late August. Maybe the last weeks so many Americans/Europeans had returned to school.
We rented a great place on the golden circle and kept driving in a big loop. Accommodations are very inexpensive. Food is outrageous. You have to plan to avoid the tourist traps ( there are many). Plan to go off hours. We went to the Blue lagoon at 10 PM or something. Also, we went to many places that I would highly recommend.
It’s an unbelievable place if you like natural beauty and the outdoors. Don’t stay in Reykavik. Also, driving was pretty straightforward and a good way to see the countryside.
Check the lists before you go. I convinced the girls to bring waterproof gear (you’ll need it). You also need things you might not think of.
The late Summer is great for light. It stays light until past midnight.
We have no timeframe for this trip as of now - other than it won’t be before January 2022. Looking to hear from those who have been re: Winter versus Summer or other seasons.
We went in June. It was amazing. Day light almost the entire time so no worries about running out of time site seeing because it never got dark.
We spent 10 days but if I only had a few days this is what I’d recommend:
Stay in Reykjavic and rent a car. Driving is easy and you need to get out of the city to see the beauty of the country although we enjoyed the city and dining too!
The Golden Triangle - You can see the tectonic divide, the geysers, and Gullfoss all in one day.
Day trip to the SE coast - you can see the black sand beaches of Vic, Seljalandsfoss (take the time to hike behind the waterfall and go to the other smaller falls adjacent to it,) and Fjaðrárgljúfur Canyon (my favorite spot if I had to pick one).
Day trip to Snæfellsnes in the west. We hiked at Rauðfeldar Canyon (cool legend about a word that isn’t permitted on this site), visited Hellnar Harbor, climbed an extinct volcano, and went to Kirkjufell.
Those are all full day trips.
Highly recommend Dill, Grillmarket, and Fishmarket for restaurants.
I’d also skip the blue lagoon entirely.
We did an 11 day self-drive around the island (not the Westfjords, though) about 3 years ago, in early June. LOVED it. Make the trip as long as you can make it. There is SO much to see there. You fly into Keflavik. Skip the Blue Lagoon. It’s a large, touristy hot runoff pool from the power plant. Overrated, overpriced. There’s much better for you to do. Rent a car at the airport, and rent an apartment for the 4 of you somewhere near the airport or Reykjavik. People rent out their lower levels of their homes (walk out) - that might be perfect for you. You want to go when there is plenty of daylight, so that you can tour as much as possible each day. If you take a flight that gets you in very early in the AM, get in the rental car and go straight to the “Golden Triangle” of Thingvellir (a gorgeous geographic rift where Icelanders met for parliament beginning in the tenth century). Then to Gullfoss waterfall, and Geysir (the site of the original geyser). Most people who come to Iceland only see these sights, Reykjavik, and the Blue Lagoon. The reason to go see these so early in the morning is that they won’t be crowded with tourists then - the buses start to arrive in mid morning. After having seen these three sites, which will take probably about half a day, either go collapse at your airbnb, or if you have the energy, to Reykjavik to see their gorgeous concert hall (Harpa), eat fish and chips by the water, and see a beautiful church (Hallgrimskirkja).
I don’t know how physically active you are, but the hiking in Iceland is truly incredible. The most memorable hikes within easy driving distance of Reykjavik, for us, were Glymur and Reykjadalur. Glymur is about an hour’s drive to the northwest of Reykjavik. It’s challenging and extremely scenic. I’m glad I did it when I did, because I couldn’t do it now. But it was one of the best hikes of my life. Reykjadalur is less than an hour to the southeast of Reykjavik. It’s an easy hike into a hot river, where you can bathe in the thermal waters (undeveloped, you just get in the shallow hot river).
The most spectacular sites, if you are limited in your time, is then a drive southeast around the island, to see the glaciers. The big draw is Vatnajokull, with several spots to see glacial lakes and beaches covered with extruded bits of the glacier. You can go up on the glacier with a tourguide, if you like, and also take guided tours of glacial caves, and go for a boat ride on a glacial lake. But it’s plenty to just drive to all the viewpoints. Once you get past this area, there are virtually no tourists, even in summer. The beach and viewpoint just past Vatnajokull (Hvalnes Lighthouse) were deserted, and very beautiful. You can arrange to stay in a guest house out that far, but there are really very few accommodations near Vatnajokull. It is possible to just stay in your one place somewhere near the ring road (1), east of Reykjavik, and just do these things as day trips. This is enough to keep even the most hyperactive tourists busy for four days of 24 hr sunlight. If what you want is to see the sites, you need daylight, so for that reason I would go between May and August.
It rains all the time, it’s windy, and not terribly cold. We wore layers, with a rainsuit as the top layer. Umbrellas would be useless. Waterproof hiking boots very necessary.
Instead of the Blue Lagoon, do yourself a favor and go to the local town swimming pool (they’re all over). They are cheap, spotless, and a real cultural immersion experience. Everyone must shower in the open public showers, with a good soapy scrub and shampoo, before entering the pools. There will be hot pools, cool pools, indoor pools, outdoor pools, even possibly waterslides. The public pools serve the same purpose as the pubs in the UK. People were friendly and pleasant.
Food is expensive. We bought food at the Costco there (it was newly opened, with lines to the back of the store), and cooked. We also got fish and chips and middle-eastern kebab food from take-away type places. And lots of chocolate with salted caramel from the Bonus supermarket. Chocolate with licorice bits is very popular there, too. Cannot advise you about splurgy restaurants or hotels, since we were there to see the natural sights.
If you want to make it a longer trip, it is well worth it to spend two weeks or more there, going all the way around the island, and into the interior. We hiked an enormous cinder volcano, saw active volcanic fields, ominous black sand beaches, saw killer whales stalking seals, soaked in isolated natural thermal pools in the middle of deserted wildernesses, had enjoyable, informative conversations with Airbnb hosts, all from a drive all the way around the paved ring road.
I would love to go back. We stayed one night on the way back from visiting older S when he was at St Andrews one semester. We were there the end of March and it was cold! The temp wasn’t bad, but the wind coming off the water took your breath away.
We got up at hit the road around 7am and did the highlights of the Golden Circle. We were the only ones there at Thingveillir. We almost missed it altogether. There was one bus at the geyser and a few people at Gullfoss That was super cold as well, but it was mostly iced over and so beautiful. Very different from my friend’s summertime pictures. We got back just in time for our flight home. And then we had to drive 5 hours from the airport home. It was a very long day.
We had a two night stopover a few years back. We stayed in Reykjavik, rented a car to do the Golden Circle, and spent a day in and around the Reykjavik area, including Blue Lagoon. That’s plenty for 2-3 days. Golden Circle is a “very” full day, probably only do-able in the long summer days. I think we left at 7:30a and returned by 11p. Though this depends on how long you linger, hike, explore, etc. (Sunset was midnight, sunrise was 3am, so we didn’t have to worry about light)
We were planning to go back summer of 2020 and, after plenty of research, booked an Airbnb outside of Vik to explore the southwestern areas of the country. These two combined probably would fill a solid 6-8 day visit.
My in-laws visited several years ago and did the Grand Circle. This takes more time and I’d put these further reaches of the country behind those listed above, only for an extended stay.
There are only about 300K people, and 200K live in Reykjavik. Once you get out of the city, it’s pretty empty. Unspoiled. There would be a waterfall in some farmer’s yard that would be at least a state park here in the US, and there it’s just a waterfall behind a farmhouse.
Yes, food is outrageously expensive, and choices outside of cities/towns may be limited. During our tour, we were warned that some of our lunch stops would be at gas stations, which serve as convenience stores and cafes. Food there was fine.
We went in early September. Left Boston on a 90 degree day. Landed in Iceland early morning, 45 degrees! Warmest we saw was about 60 degrees. At the end of a hot summer, it was NICE! Flight from Boston was a little more than 4 hours.
We went for 9 days. Were able to spend a couple of days in Reykjavik (very walkable compact city), venture to the northwest a bit (Snaefellnes peninsula), out to Vik for 3 nights, getting as far east as Jokulsarlon (riding in a “duck boat” winding between icebergs was an unforgettable experience).
We went in January, right after New Years. If you go around that time, try to go for New Years itself and stay in the city for it. Lots of people told us that Icelanders spent up to a month’s worth of income on fireworks, so it’s got to be kind of crazy how many you will see.
If I had to do it over again, though, I’d go in early March. Seeing Iceland in the winter was spectacular, but the days in early January are just too short so it really cramped our ability to see as much as we wanted.
While there we did a 3 day tour with Arctic Adventures to the South Coast and Golden Circle. We were taken in a small van/bus for about 15-20 people. Since our trip was so quick (and daylight so dear), I was glad we went on a tour since I think we saw more than we would have seen on our own, and we had some really nice walking.
If you hope to have a beer or wine in the evenings, note that you can only purchase alcohol in state run shops. It is unlike many European countries where you can get bottle of wine or some beer at a grocery or convenience store.
Our last family trip before Covid was to Iceland. We went in June, right before the big tourist season started. Days were plenty long: the sun never seemed to go down. We did the ring road and went all the way around the island country in a big SUV over two weeks. Lots of hiking and adventures, some history and culture. I would have liked more time in Reykjavik, like another day, because I enjoy the culture/history/museums. H and boys were more into volcanos and hikes. No Blue Lagoon for us, but we visited plenty of other less crowded hot springs.
How exactly to do the trip depends on how active you are and what you like to do. We took one guided tour with an excellent guide that was all hiking in a southeastern park. Her big jeep got us through some deep water and her knowledge got us to some hidden waterfalls. We went to see the glacier, walked on it with the spiked shoes and climbed it and kayaked (in special suits in case we fell in) next to icebergs. I mention those adventures because they are close enough to be in the five day trip.
Food is expensive, as noted, and hot dogs(!) are a specialty. Some places are buggy but you can buy nets for your face. It does rain and those beautiful waterfalls make it seem like it is raining if you get close, so water clothes, including pants, are helpful. There are sheep everywhere.
We’d go back! I’d love to go in the winter and see the northern lights.
We packed food from the little markets in the city for our day trips and then ate dinner late at night in the city.
Alcohol was frightfully expensive. You can buy it at the airport after you land tax free which we will do next time.
Bring rain clothes.
Parentologist has it right.
I would add that one of the highlights of our trip was the Westman islands. I think I’ll remember the hiking forever.
I would have skipped the Blue Lagoon by choice ( too touristy and too expensive) but kids wanted to go so I was flexible. Turned out great. We also went to the Secret Lagoon ( so so) and a few others whose names I don’t recall. There was an app where you can find all the “hotpots” in Iceland. Some were tiny.
If you stick to nature and go early/late in the day you can avoid tourists nearly everywhere. If we arrived when a tour bus was somewhere, we’d just wait. People follow the crowd. Most just go to the same spots. If you do a little research and stay on the golden circle outside of Reykavik you can drive for miles and not see a soul. Don’t miss pulling over and walking in a deserted beach or hiking somewhere where buses can’t park.
Our saying, if there’s a gift shop then it’s probably a tourist trap. We saw the touristy places and they were beautiful but the open landscapes were also extraordinary. Local people will point you to spots also.
I loved the hot river. We went about 10PM. Was wonderful though a robust hike.
The thing about the hot dogs is that they are made of lamb and have a remoulade on them that is yummy. We went to the stand made famous by Bill Clinton near the Reykjavik waterfront. We wanted a very light meal for dinner that night and the pilsurs (sp?) were only 450 krona (about $4.50 US) each. We each had one, but it was so good we each had a second! Cheapest meal in the country.
If you don’t know the Clinton story, Bill was in Iceland, post White House for a UNICEF conference. As he walked by the employee shouted to him to come over and try the best hot dog in Iceland. He horrifed his security detail by going over, ate a hot dog and agreed it was the best he’d ever had. They proudly display a photo of Clinton eating his dog.
We were told it was the most popular food venue in the country. We saw long lines of locals waiting to be served. Luckily when we were there it was drizzling so there was no line.
The hot dogs from that stand are amazing!
Try to visit the Sun Voyager statue at sunset (whenever it arrives!) for an amazing photo
Black sand beach at Vik
Seljelanfoss and the smaller one nearby
If you have time, going around the Reykjanes peninsula offers otherworldly geography, the bridge between continents, and the dreaded blue lagoon
Jokullsarlon boat trip - we stayed in Hofn and also did Vatnajokull for a long day. Make sure to go to the beach across the road where the bits of iceberg wash up on the beach.
We really enjoyed the Thorbergssetur Restaurant and Museum especially the photo op with the large books. I want to go back!
This is bringing back memories from like 2 years ago. We stayed in the city the first and last nights. We got a car at the airport then did the circle over 5 days, I think. As people said the hot dogs are amazing and our cheapest meal by far. We stayed in arbnb the whole time. So one was a horse farm… Woke up, made breakfast then went horse back riding for as long as we wanted to… Each day was an adventure of sorts like that. Then we drove a few hours stopping along the way for sites to the next destination. We ate lunch out and made most dinners in. Food at the restaurants is very expensive unless $26.00/hamburger is your norm. But the food is really a amazing. Some of the best lobster bisque ever! The bread that came with it was even better. All the fish is amazing.
It’s funny we bought these small bottles of different liqueurs and just opened them 2 nights ago and did some tastings… I would definitely by some at the airport before heading out. Also a Costco just opening up like the month we were there… Get supplies if needed since yes things were much cheaper.
It has wickedly, weird, wonderful scenery if you go around the circle.
As stated once you leave the city we drove for miles and miles without seeing another car… Stay on the main road for the most part. We made the mistake of using Google maps to save 15 minutes… Story for another time… Lol.
Some of us are eagerly awaiting this story!
OK then… Lol… We are in a Kia since it’s like the only car they had at the rental car. Smaller one, not a lot of power (get a nicer car with power lol)… Anyway, we are just driving around the circle like day 3 and my son says let’s take a right and we can save 15 minutes according to Google maps… Like we didn’t have all day anyway but I bite. Well, I am afraid of heights but somehow I am always the driver in Hawaii, Mexico, anywhere that you can drive off the road to your death… Anyway, first off we are going like straight up, not really but it felt that way and I am losing power and yes its a stick manual… Once I got to the altitude we need to the road is like all slippery rock at this point and finally like horizontal but like windy roads. On gravel and like going up one side and down the other over and over. I am hyoerfocusing literally just on the path since it’s getting darker and darker… I was driving like into a storm cloud of some sort. What I didn’t know we’re on the edge of a mountain with no guard rails. My family is texting each other not to make a sound and they all thought they were going to die each time I had to drive up on side and down the other… This went on for like 20 minutes. Then once I reach the top it started sleeting /raining. Pitch dark on an extremely narrow road and on gravel so it was slippery… I was sweating at that point and it’s raining hard. Another like 15 minutes… Finally we get to the road to go down to the city we were going to and it’s a beautiful day out…
Whew, made it